Indian artisans - crafting a way of life

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Saurabh Gupta | 22 Jun, 2009
India may be 'incredible' but the people who toiled hard to give the country a place in the world map are however not 'shining.' Most of national award winning craftsmen whose exquisite crafts have helped India earn a place high amongst those in the world are unfortunately living without even the basic amenities. These craftsmen are fighting hard for their livelihood, health, education and safety of their family members.

The Indian craftsmen are common people, with many of them living below the poverty line. Most of them take loans from the local moneylenders for an interest rate of 5% or even more for a month for their bread and butter. And due to very less earning for their work they face problems in repayment of their loans. And this makes them to shift to alternate source of earning, which fossilizes that particular traditional art.

Since independence various steps have been taken for artisans' development. In 1963, the annual National Awards for Excellence in crafts was instituted. But today craftspersons are at the crossroads, beset with poverty and illness.

Muhammad Tughlaq of Moradabad, a national awardee and Shilpa Guru, who creates wonders from brass, told SME Times, "Our government needs to look into the basic problems of ours. Global economic recession is entirely different. Our problems are related to the basic needs of livelihood."

"We want genuine buyers of our art-crafts and this can only be possible through proper marketing of our products. The government needs to exhibit these works not only through showrooms but also through national and international museums and trade fairs."

"I am above 80 and probably the last man alive on earth who knows this art and after me nobody will make these (brassware). Because the new generation doesn't want to learn this fine work, which takes lots of time and hard work and after completion there are no rewards," he added.

Pointing to his masterpiece, which had taken almost 10 years to make and he got the Shilpa Guru for that, Tughlaq said, "I want this masterpiece to be displayed in a museum because this is last of its kind. It was our time when the kings ruled and we got rewards from them...but time keeps changing and this is our worst time."

According to 1995-96 census data there are around 47.61 Lakh artisans. It is estimated that India has around 3,500 clusters producing a variety of items including basketry, mat-weaving and cane articles, earthenware, folk paintings, glass, horn and bone, leather, jewelry, metal ware, musical instruments, pottery, sea shell crafts, woodwork, etc, with an estimated employment, according to the National Council of Applied Economic Research, of 13 million people.

There are various government and non-government bodies, who hold a number of design intervention workshops, which help these craftsmen to design and create products and crafts based on market needs and preferences. Some non-government organizations (NGOs) are there to help them by providing a platform for traditional craftsmen to showcase their art form and market them better.

Meanwhile, another national award wining artisan, Ubaidullah Rehman told this correspondent, "The best thing that our government can do is...to open an institute for all these traditional arts where a Shilpa Guru can get a government job to teach new artisans. And so we can save the art and the artisans both."

He also suggest that the government and NGOs can provide technical support to the craftsmen.

Although the government has started various projects aimed at finding markets for crafts and providing training in those crafts where demand often outstripped supply. There are exhibitions and promotional events for the welfare or these craftsmen. Exhibitions encourage craftsmen to try out contemporary marketing methods and have direct sales experience with the clients.

Along with these, craftsmen are also facing the challenges of terrorism, due to which the foreign tourists are cutting their visits to India and so the handicraft sector is suffering. The tourism industry supports far more than the 42 million Indians today.

Foreign influences that came to the Indian region to stay brought with them their own cultural expressions which often caused an explosion of artistic forms. They in turn adapted indigenous art forms for their regal paraphernalia while creating objects of jade, gold, silver, precious stones fashioned after the age-old techniques of terracotta, basketry or leather work.

"The government needs to create an environment that is right for the craftsmen to create his craft. The biggest challenge is to ensure that the skill remain relevant and alive. Their economic well being is linked with the continuation of their traditional skills that are generations old. If we do not listen to the voice of craftsmen, soon there will be no craftsmen left to talk to...," Rehman added.