Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when stone, silver, gold, steel, or glass is engraved. This handicraft often requires other traditional tools, which may be made by the engravers themselves to suit their own personal requirements. These tools are used to polish, to accentuate the lines of a pattern or design, to soften the finish of larger areas, or to create texture. The selection of the tool would depend up on the material which needs to be engraved.

We generally see engraving on wood, stone and metal surface. However, we have some relatively unknown engraving styles prevalent in the country and “Palm Leaf” engraving technique of the State of Odisha, India is unique as such. Some tribal artisans in the Bastar Region of the State of Chhattisgarh, India are also known for their unique style of engraving on Dry Vegetables. In a restricted form though but engraving is also been done on Bamboo as well.