Wender·Vista
Rourkela
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileIndia
in the hills of northwestern Odisha

Rourkela

— a steel city where two rivers meet.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A steel city in the hills of Sundargarh, where the Koel and Sankh join to make the Brahmani. The Rourkela Steel Plant was one of India's first, lit in 1959. Today the same skyline holds the new Birsa Munda hockey stadium, which shared the 2023 men's World Cup with Bhubaneswar. Forest, ore, and a long river behind it all.

from the studio
Rourkela
— bring it home

Rourkela, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Rourkela

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Rourkela sits in Sundargarh district in northwestern Odisha, on a plateau where the Koel and Sankh rivers meet to form the Brahmani, about 340 kilometres northwest of the state capital Bhubaneswar. The city's footprint was laid out in the 1950s around the steel plant; it now holds roughly 550,000 people across the steel township, the older Civil Township, and the surrounding wards. The terrain is hilly and forested, ringed by the Mandira reservoir to the southeast and the wider Chhota Nagpur Plateau to the north.

— the stone

The Rourkela Steel Plant was one of three integrated steel works commissioned by the Indian government in the late 1950s, built in collaboration with a West German consortium led by Krupp and Demag and lit in 1959. Operated today by the Steel Authority of India, it remains the largest employer in the district and one of the largest plate mills in the country. The city around it was planned, not grown: straight sectors and avenues laid against the older village of Vedvyas at the river junction.

— the visit

The Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium, named for the Munda freedom fighter, opened in January 2023 with a capacity of around 21,000 and is the largest fully seated hockey-only venue in the world. Rourkela co-hosted the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup that month with Bhubaneswar, and the stadium has held Pro League fixtures since. The Vedvyas temple at the Koel-Sankh confluence and the Mandira Dam, about 30 kilometres south of the city, are the other anchors most visitors find.

— where
India · Sundargarh District, Odisha
— elevation
219 m · 719 ft
— position
22.2604° N · 84.8536° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
6 km E
Vedvyas Temple
river confluence shrine
30 km S
Mandira Dam
reservoir
5 km
Birsa Munda Stadium
hockey venue
165 km N
Ranchi, Jharkhand
neighbouring capital
340 km SE
Bhubaneswar
state capital
N
Rourkela
Vedvyas Temple
Mandira Dam
Birsa Munda Stadium
Ranchi, Jharkhand
Bhubaneswar
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Rourkela — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

In Sundargarh district in northwestern Odisha, on the plateau where the Koel and Sankh rivers meet to form the Brahmani. It lies about 340 kilometres northwest of Bhubaneswar, the state capital.

Because the Rourkela Steel Plant, commissioned in 1959 in collaboration with a West German consortium, was one of India's first integrated public-sector steel works. The Steel Authority of India operates it today.

A 21,000-seat field-hockey venue in Rourkela, opened in January 2023 and named for the Munda freedom fighter. It co-hosted the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup that month with Bhubaneswar.

The Koel and the Sankh meet at Vedvyas on the city's eastern edge to form the Brahmani, which then flows southeast across Odisha to the Bay of Bengal. The Mandira Dam holds the Sankh upstream.

Roughly 550,000 people across the planned steel township, the older Civil Township, and the surrounding wards. It is among the largest urban areas in Odisha after the Bhubaneswar–Cuttack region.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for our customers with ties to Sundargarh and the steel township. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio reads well in a study or hallway.

The slate, ore-red, and river-green palette suits Mid-century, Industrial-modern, and warm Traditional rooms. The Voynich treatment also settles against teak and brass in a contemporary Indian interior.

Yes. River and forested-hill subjects have held through the biophilic cycle, and place-of-origin art is a steady thread in heritage-modern rooms that want one strong, specific anchor on the wall.

A single Large or a 4-tile Mural sits comfortably above a standard sofa. A 9-tile Mural reads from across the room above a longer console without crowding the wall.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and stand up to moisture for a backsplash, a powder room, or a shower wall.

A microfibre cloth and water. No solvent and no abrasive; the colour lives in the ceramic surface and the finish over it is thin.

Yes. Reid Wender is the curator and the eye behind every WenderVista piece, hand-finished in our Knoxville studio. There is no licensing and no third-party stock.

— if this one stayed with you

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