Durbar 2026: Boito’s monumental Godawan, Bonda Matriarchy Wall and Hansa Boita celebrate Odisha’s living crafts

The undulating Aravalis, the crisp wintertime breeze, and conversations astir conservation and culture. This was the backdrop to the archetypal Durbar acquisition of 2026 astatine the Abheygarh Palace successful Khetri, Rajasthan, that opened its doors to guests for the archetypal time. The Durbar, a confluence of culture, shines a spotlight connected the conservation of the Great Indian Bustard (whose numbers person steadily risen from 100 to 173 successful 2025) brought unneurotic by Godawan Estuary Premium Water.

Praveen Someshwar, CEO and MD, Diageo India, explains the ethos of Durbar: “It resonates due to the fact that it attracts an assemblage that comes to prosecute with civilization and trade successful a meaningful way. It besides reflects a increasing appetite for experiences that are much considered and culturally immersive.”   

In its archetypal 2026 variation (January 9 - 10), Boito, a slow-fashion marque from Odisha celebrating craftsmanship and storytelling from the State’s astir celebrated and distant corners, presented a trinity of taste storytelling. Richa Maheshwari, founder, Boito, came to this ngo alternatively serendipitously. Hailing from Odisha, this bundle technologist calls Bengaluru home. With a occupation successful SAP (Systems, Applications, and Products) for 16 years, COVID-19 offered a much-needed intermission and reset. “I took a sabbatical and travelled to Bhubaneshwar, my hometown and felt a tug to bash thing rooted successful the State and with its crafts. I past recovered our designer, Anshu Arora and went with her to conscionable tribes crossed the State,” Richa explains.

Boito worked with myriad trade clusters crossed Odisha to make 3 intricate installations astatine Durbar, celebrating the State, and its indigenous skills honed implicit centuries.

The Godawan

The Great Indian Bustard, Rajasthan’s State bird, was reimagined by Botio successful wood carving traditions from Nayagarh and lac enactment rooted successful Balasore. Paladhua wood (Indian coral tree) is utilized to make lightweight wood masks for theatre ( jathre), an ebbing tradition, truthful “using the aforesaid woodcraft skills to trade the Godawan became a communicative of trade revival for us,” says Richa. The 5 ft tall, vertebrate was carved successful parts, past transported to Balasore, known for its jau kandhei’– lacquer enactment usually done connected terracotta dolls. Over 50 women transferred resin-based affluent earthy pigments to assorted parts of the bird, which past stood connected its spindly legs supported by an robust base.

The 3rd trade astatine the installation is the towering ‘chatti’ (parasol) that is simply a solemnisation of Pipli, a municipality carved retired by a king to make intricate shades for the Jagannath Rath Yatra. Its signifier is inspired by Odisha’s temple architecture, with appliqué enactment fashionable successful the region. The 9 ft by 5 ft towering shadiness protecting the Godawan is symbolic of “both civilization and Nature that request protecting,” elucidates Richa.   

Spirit of matriarchy 

The Bonda people is matriarchal and celebrates its women — the hazard takers, the go-getters and the keepers of memory. Just 6675 members stay contiguous of a assemblage that migrated from Africa implicit 60,000 years agone to the Malkangiri portion successful Odisha. “Across Koraput and Malkangiri, you spot laterite walls of unsmooth boulders built by the matriarchs, not arsenic boundaries but arsenic a mode to encompass the community’s individuality and rituals with quiescent strength,” states Richa.

For the Durbar, this partition was recreated arsenic a paean to the matriarch, arsenic representation keeper. The 12 feet wide and 4.5 feet precocious partition was fashioned from 30 boulders — six dhokra and the remainder from sabai grass. Foot-tall figurines successful dhokra were delicately placed successful between, depicting the keepers of the tribe, enjoying a publication oregon indulging successful leisure. At the acold extremity of the partition is simply a accepted double-boiler bearing grounds to ritual — creating sagur, a ceremonial tone of the tribe. 

A Bonda pistillate figurine stands resplendent successful colourful beaded headgear and necklaces, with a trademark ringa (a rectangular portion of cloth worn arsenic a skirt, that was earlier crafted from yarn sourced from the kerang bark). “Now, Bonda women usage handspun fabric astir their waist, portion their torso is covered with long, heavy strings of beads. They screen their backs with a bluish cape erstwhile successful company,” says Richa, explaining the tribal attire.

Hansa Boito

Boito, draws inspiration from Odisha’s storied maritime past. The word is an homage to the Boita Bandana festival, wherever each Kartik Purnima, radical acceptable tiny boats successful representation of past voyages by the Sadhabas — a assemblage of affluent mariners, who embody prosperity. Their vessels were said to glide similar swans, and the Hansa Boita (swan boat) draws its operation from stories of the sea. “This 21-foot vessel made from cane and wrapped successful muslin is adorned with assorted Odia artforms,” explains Richa. The vessel was antecedently showcased astatine Bikaner House, New Delhi successful 2024.  

Odisha trade astatine Burning Man

The Durbar is not Richa’s archetypal outing with fashioning sculptures calved of communicative and indigenous skillsets. The ‘Navagunjara’ — a chimeric carnal with 9 parts from assorted fauna (presented by roboticist and installation artist, Jnaneshwar Das and Richa Maheshwari arsenic artists) went to Burning Man successful 2025, Nevada Festival. Sculptures are usually burned astatine the extremity of the festival, but the 17 ft Navagunjara made it backmost to India intact. It volition find its resting spot astatine exhibitions and possibly a depository successful India,” says Richa.

The carnal was archetypal described by writer Sarala Das successful the 15th-century retelling of the Mahabharata in Odisha with a rooster head, peacock neck, elephant arm, legs of a tiger and a deer, a lion torso, the hump of a bull, the process of a serpent and a lotus-wielding quality forearm. These were expressed done Odia artforms — sabai writer weaving, pattachitra painted cane, Pipli appliqué work, handloom kapdaganda shawl patterns, Ringa textiles and dhokra — each coalesced to marque this fierce and fantastic being.

“At Boito, we privation to enactment connected a transparency charter, truthful yet we tin pinpoint each clump and contribution. The intent is wide — we make opportunities for commerce, lone to let a pipeline of dependable enactment to prolong these crafts, thereby allowing the artforms to unrecorded on,” concludes Richa.