Journal Archive

A debate has always existed about the role of museums in the representation of traditional art and craft. There are those that think museums detach craft from its true functionality, placing it behind glass casings and removing it from the grasp of the viewer. And there are those that view museums as preservers of crafts that are dying off in our modernizing world. Of course there are museums that have dealt sensitively with these issues in innovative manners like the Fuller Craft Museum in Massachusetts. However, in spite of these initiatives, most museums either artificially elevate craft into the same category as fine art or depreciate it as a mere cultural artifact. So when I recently visited the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City, I was pleasantly surprised to find a careful balance that presented craft as functional, beautiful and valuable.

The Rubin Museum of Art (RMA), located in a historic building in Chelsea NYC, is less than a year old yet boasts one of the largest and most in depth collection of Himalayan art in the world. With a focus purely on Himalayan art from the mountain regions of India, Pakistan, southwest China, Nepal, Bhutan and Burma, the RMA displays paintings, sculptures and textiles from the 12^th through the 19^th centuries. As a new frontier of art exploration, the RMA believes that Himalayan art can offer American viewers the opportunity to investigate the sacred, political and personal histories contained within.

The RMA's mission statement highlights both preservation and documentation of their permanent collection while also focusing on connecting people with art through exhibits and educational programs. Their collection is described as containing "images of historical personages…stories told in lively paintings…sacred teachings, natural events, and calamities…personified in forms moving freely between experience and imagination." Shelley and Donald Rubin were the original collectors behind the permanent collection and the RMA was birthed out of their vision to share this art with people and make it available and accessible to all. Through a variety of initiatives the RMA has already made a name for itself since its October 2004 opening. Rotating and permanent exhibits are curated to entice both scholars and new comers to Himalayan art, providing a wide spectrum of religious, personal and historical pieces. There is also two Explore Art galleries which explain the details and uses of some of the paintings and sculptures in the galleries. This unique aspect of the RMA assists in the balancing act I mentioned above. By adding valuable explanation, the mandalas and bronze Buddhas re-absorb their functionally and authenticity. The RMA also offers educational and other programs for children and adults that further explain the uses and meanings of Himalayan art. More information about the Rubin Museum of Art can be found on their website-www.rmanyc.org

Issue #009, 2022 ISSN: 2581- 9410 The black bead Mangala-Sutra, the auspicious cord, worn by Hindu women across India is the instantly recognisable symbol of wedded status.Presented by the groom’s family to the bride at the wedding ceremony it’s wearing symbolises the unbreakable nuptial vow and the blessings for a long and content union. The tradition and symbolism of the Mangla-Sutra is as strong today as it has ever been for this talismanic shield remains a powerful assurance of marital bliss, an effective protection from the evil eye andonce donned it is never to be taken off through all the years of wedlock. And while its designs are becoming more contemporary and patterns vary depending on custom and region the one thing that remains the same in this propitious safeguard is that it is strung together with tiny glass black beads. Across the sub-continent black markings have been regarded as carrying potent talismanic protection and the use of black beads extends beyond the Mangla-Sutra to cross beliefs, age and gender as a nazariya literally a deflection of the evil eye. Yet unbeknownst to the vast number of wearers the black beads that were once the tiniest handmade glass beads in the entire world have been replaced by plastic or machine made beads. A cursory online search has over 8 million results for Mangala-Sutrasand over 1 million for Nazariyas each search describing the uniqueness of design and the beauty of its embellishment - none mentioned the material or quality of the black seed-bead used. This act of subtle substitution has led to the death of an ancient globally renowned tradition of hand-crafting the tiniest minutest seed-bead in the world. The incalculable consequence of this act of substitution has led to a loss not just to the demise of a lineage of makers that extends back to antiquity but of the technology of producing these minute glass seed-beads. Though the history of glass production in India dates back over three millennia with finds unearthed in over 250 sites it has been surmised that bead making technology developed around 1200 BCE. Glass-bead remains have been unearthed in over 180 sites with about 40 sites appearing to be bead making sites. The difference between the glass-bead making centers lay in their process technology with the wound-bead method followed in the North– a technology that continues till today. While centers in the South followed the technology of hand-drawn bead making that produced the famed minute seed-beads. This hand-drawn process was an innovative and scientific leap forward as this technology was in effect amass-production method that revolutionized the process of bead-making. Here molten glass was pulled out in the form of long hollow tubes that were then cut up into the required size. This process increased production quantities and allowing for ease in sizing.Further treatment rounded off the sharp edges and the finished beads were polished and threaded for sale. It was these tiny seed-beads that were in great demand not just in the sub-continent but across the ancient world becoming a major global trade item. Exported for over 1500 years, first by the Arab traders and later by the Portuguese their network extended from Rome to China and to Zanzibar, Tanzania, Kenya and other parts of Africa.Their predominance across the Indo-Pacific sea routes in the 10thc. made them one of the most important items traded in that region. Obviously, an item of great status the drawn-glass beads have been found in royal tombs. In his seminal work “Towards a Social History of Bead makers” Peter Francis Jr. states – “the Indo- Pacific bead, is found in archaeological sites from South Africa to South Korea. For 2000 years. It was the most important trade bead of all times, and perhaps the most ubiquitous trade item - certainly of glass - in the ancient world.” India was the envy of the world and bead-making centers were visited not only by traders but others who studied the technology. While archaeological finds suggests there were several centers where drawn-glass beads were produced, it was dominated by the ancient port and production center in Arikamedu (now in Pondicherry) where the tradition died out by the late 16th. Though many reasons have been ascribed to the decline and downfall of the vast trading network that had been built over the centuries the Indian propensity to share oral knowledge and the migratory predisposition of the artisans had led to the knowledge of making being diffused globally. Evidence thus points to the fact that India exported not only the final product but also the skill and technology of hand-drawn beads. Yet, to fulfill the needs of the sub-continent production continued and the knowledge of making was not lost. The heir of the drawn-glass bead industry of Arikamedu wasthe small village of Papanaidupeta. Located at a distance of 160kms inwards in the Deccan from the original port site Papanaidupeta is in Andhra Pradesh at a distance of about 21 kms. from the temple town of Tirupati. With a total area of 1 sq. km. its ‘fame’ lay in it being the only place in the world that practiced and continues to have the knowledge and skill of the 3000 year old technology of hand-making seed-beads. Although it is hard to estimate when bead production started here its climactic conditions and natural resources made it an ideal site. Its existence as a well-entrenched center of bead production was first recorded by D. Narayan Rao in his ‘Report of the Survey of Cottage Industries’ for the Imperial government of Madras (1927-29). Rao described the hollow glass tubes as ‘small as a needle’ with the ‘glass worked into minute beads’ where ‘the size and thickness of the bead averages from the mustard to a gingely seed.’ This cautionary tale of its decline lay in the fact that while the glass-bead makers here were making and supplying the minute black Mangla Sutra beads among the other beads they were producing they were hidden from the world by a chain of middle-men who never let on where the bead came from. In this veil of secrecy and desire to profit lay the seed of its destruction. It was in the 1990s that the handmade beads were slowly and subtly exchanged for low-priced machine-made beads of plastic and glass. And as retailers were unaware of where the beads came from they were unable to source the beads or directly deal with the makers the decline set in and the last time the glass furnace was lit in Papanaidupeta was 2 years ago. It is thus not just that this technology of producing glass seed-beads with a lineage that extends back to antiquity that is endangered as memory of its production process fades. It is that the minutest glass seed-bead bead in the world linked to living culture and heritage with its continuing significance across India is poised at the edge of being lost. However the technology used in making still exists. The tools, furnaces are all locally made. The spaces are available and the skilled artisans are ready to revive the process. Is someone ready to pick up the gauntlet?

https://youtu.be/bQxKkH6ZaBI

https://youtu.be/bVXrtcYl9xY

Issue #006, Autumn, 2020 ISSN: 2581- 9410 THE DILEMMA OF EDUCATION FOR ARTISANS The future of traditional craft depends on the children of artisan communities. But, in my view the present drive to send all children to school will ensure the death of all traditional skills – craft, farming, healing, folk arts and other specific knowledge systems that artisanal and village communities hold within. ‘Education,’ as exemplified in the system of which we are all part, and which is institutionalized, structured, instruction-oriented and expert-dependent will make extinct all other ways of knowing. The reason for this, very briefly, is that the process of ‘knowing’ in ‘non-codified knowledge societies’ (instinctual, biological, unselfconscious, relating to senses) is very different from the process of ‘knowing’ in ‘codified knowledge societies’ (memory, text and digital codification). The Place of Crafts in Traditional Societies Not so long ago craft was an integral part of Indian life. Every activity of life was supported by artisan communities- from agriculture to day to day household activities to religious activities. Also from birth to death craft occupied a prominent position. That craft was very different from today’s craft, which has become mere income generation activity. The most important aspect of traditional life was the integration of living, learning and earning Threats to crafts Today, craft faces several threats:

Neither children of artisans nor any other children are taking to craft, even though there is a growing demand for hand work.
Raw materials are becoming difficult to get, most often due to wrong government polices.
New systems of awards and branding instituted by ‘well-wishers’ of craft are destroying the integrity of craft making. The UNESCO seal of excellence, master craftsmen awards, and Craft Mark are all detrimental to the cultural strength of traditional artisan communities.
Many craft shops run by the government ill-treat artisans by not paying or taking bribes etc.
The Prime Minister's rojgaar yojana (MNREGA) has in many cases made artisans leave their crafts to do unskilled work.
Due to disproportionate payment/ respect/ power given to designers, artisans would rather be designers than artisans .

Homogenization and mechanization of Traditional crafts. It is also important to examine the impact of interventions from various agencies, quite often introduced with good intentions. Mechanization that leads to lack of knowledge of materials, introduction of moulds that leads to boredom in work, unwanted scaling up that leads to depletion of natural resources, design inputs that lead to homogenization and lack of artisan participation in the creative process are all detrimental to craft in the long run. The uniqueness of craft is its locational identity- not only in the motifs and colour sense (aesthetics) but also in the production process. Design intervention by designers is homogenizing this aesthetic uniqueness. The quality and character of crafts are changing and craft is becoming factory like. This is happening because the artisan is treated as a laborer to execute someone else’s design. MY EXPERIENCE: BECOMING A CRAFT DESIGNER, RATHER THAN AN INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER Before discussing the specifics of the artisans’ knowledge system, I would like to share my own journey in search of authenticity and originality. It illustrates the dilemma faced by most of us when thrust into the mould of today’s education. It was during my study at NID, a premier design institute, that I began to explore certain fundamental questions regarding aesthetic sense, creativity, knowledge creation, value system, culture etc. Modern education is fundamentally a colonization of people that belong to the non-western world. Through education one is totally uprooted from one’s way of knowing and being. Knowledge production is destroyed and replaced with ready-made knowledge produced in the west, and ethical parameters are replaced by western notions. In all educational institutions in India, aspects of our being are subjected to this conditioning. At the level of information all we learn is about the west. At the emotional level we feel inferior to the west and become imitators. At the same time all true qualities of a learner are also destroyed by the schooling process. This is more evident in design and architectural schools as there even aesthetic sense is transformed as we learn the western aesthetic sense. Naturally, the question of what is wrong with design education in India has been the focus of my research. What bothered me at NID was that the design sensibility that was taught was not only western but also industrial. It was producing designers with western aesthetic sensibilities who were also conditioned for a standardized design process. The goal was a mass production of sorts. The same process was applied whether the designer was working in the craft sectoror with children! The design process that is being taught even in craft design institutions makes students think in terms of the logic of industrial production- mass production, mechanization etc. One is taught to forget the strengths of the craft system: that artisans are very skilled and can produce variations with no extra effort, and that craft is very regional.

Landscape products by Shri Apputti Chami, a highly skilled master potter with a fine sense ofproportion and aesthetics and his wife Srimati Lakshmi who is constantly assisting him LEARNING FROM ARTISAN COMMUNITIES I want to make it clear that my journey into the world of rural artisan communities was not with the intention of ‘developing’ or educating them. I went to them to regain what I had lost in the process of becoming educated. I went to learn from them. My strong feelings were that having escaped ‘education’ and ‘development’ they were still original and authentic and were holding on to a culture and worldview which had sustained them for centuries. While these interactions helped me distil myself in many ways, they also made me understand the numerous hurdles confronting artisans. From lack of availability of raw materials to the lack of demand for their products, there is a pattern to the problems artisans face. These remain discernible problems and need direct solutions. Some problems are insidious in nature and spring from interventions that come in the guise of ‘helping them.’ I view this as the uprooting of the rooted. ‘Development’ and equally ‘education’ remain the mantra of interventionist agencies. Vital issues related to culture, lifestyle and ethos of artisan communities are completely ignored.

Blackened coil tiles

Mural by the women pottersusing coils of clay

Creeper coil tile-part of a hugemural with different types of creepers

Black and red kitchen pottery using our unique method THE ARUVACODE INITIATIVE I ended up in Kerala in 1993, to work with a potters' community in Aruvacode, a tiny hamlet in Nilambur. It became self-evident from the very beginning of my interactions with the community that what was called for was efforts at re-awakening the self-esteem and self-confidence of the community. I made no technological changes to their working process; instead I attempted to initiate a creative process that would impart to them the confidence to face the market. Together we developed hundreds of new designs in terra cotta (www.kumbham.org). These items lend aesthetics to day-to-day utility items in urban living. We developed several products that were suited for landscaping, interiors and murals for modern architecture.

Figurines by 20 year old Srimati Lakshmi who has never been to school THE DO-NOTHING METHOD Training (for want of a better word) evolved on the premise that the people in whom we are encouraging creativity are culturally and aesthetically far superior and have greater creative potential than their city counterparts. The Do-Nothing method was founded on the belief that each person is creative and intelligent and therefore the need is only to initiate a process by which the trainees become inspired to use their subdued potential. My efforts to initiate creativity among the artisans proved beyond a doubt that the trainer’s interventions, if at all, need to be restricted to erecting a fence against outside influences that corrupt the genuine aesthetic sensibility of the artisans. HOW ARTISANS LEARN NATURALLY The way artisan children learn their respective crafts is as simple as how one learns one’s mother tongue. There is no conscious teaching, no conscious learning, but within three to four years the child learns to speak. Artisans’ learning process is in fact the learning process practiced by all indigenous communities. How a farmer’s child learns farming or how a traditional vaidya’s child learns their ‘craft’ follow the same process. Observe, immerse, explore experientially (playfulness, play and ‘toy’ making), and imbibe. The child learns without teaching nor conscious learning. The self-organizing system is at work. In fact, in most indigenous languages there is no word for teaching as learning is natural and it happens without any effort. Traditional artisans’ learning is experientially rooted, learner driven. It has the quality of re-creating, re-inventing and re-living knowledge. In the absence of conscious teaching and teacher, children ‘learn’ from everyone and everything around. Naturally, children of artisans are adept in learning from materials and they learn the craft as though the materials themselves have taught them. The cognitive conditions ensure the first handedness in these learnings and help learners situate themselves in the cultural conditions of their life. HOW CHILDREN NATURALLY HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF BECOMING ARTISANS The cognitive conditions in non-literate cultures are such that every child is a potential artisan. All children are constantly exploring various objects, exploring their materiality, making props for their reenactment of experiences (what modern adults call toys and play). This the perfect foundation for children to acquire the qualities of a true artisan. Of course, now that the school has invaded children’s lives this potential has become rare, and with the general contempt for working with hands, this is becoming even rarer. Children are able to connect with materials very intuitively. Their instinct guides them to respond to materials and situations and their bodies then learn properties and possibilities of materials experientially. This is true of all children. Why do children bounce while sitting on a sofa? Isn’t this a behavior that can be seen in children all over the world? Why are all children responding in the same manner? They are equipped to make sense of the world around them autonomously. The knowhow resides in the body and the learner imbibes the movements of the older generation. Instructions and information have hardly any role in the traditional system. THE CONFLICT BETWEEN TWO PARADIGMS- TRADITIONAL CRAFT LEARNING AND THE MODERN EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT The Paradigms of the process of learning among artisan communities and in modern institutions are very different. One is a holistic process in which learning happens in the act of living itself without much effort from the learner nor any conscious teaching by the one who knows, whereas in modern institutions the process is fragmented, hierarchy is established by the act of teaching, and both teacher and learner put in extra effort. So, a curriculum for artisans developed within the framework of the modern educational paradigm would be even more problematic as the very terms of reference are so different. In the indigenous system, materials more or less dictate the process to be adopted in order to work with them, and more importantly the sense of beauty is derived from the characteristics of the material and the process of engagement itself. The indigenous system is about alignment of the inherent potential in humans with the potential in materials. Modern education approaches all this from the point of view of filling the deficit. The fundamental difference between modern education and traditional learning is that modern education starts with the ‘known,’ a readymade curriculum and a very systematic method segregated from life, whereas the artisan way of learning happens in the midst of life and the realm of the ‘unknown.’ So, what would the blueprint for an artisan curriculum look like? And what should it not be? Craft intervention from ‘experts’ stresses don’ts. The artisan is becoming a laborer instead of being creative due to insensitive intervention from design experts. First and foremost, an appropriate education must create an environment for learning which is not merely physical but also psychological. Re-creating the condition of the ‘unknown’ is very crucial for awakening the inherent qualities in the learner. The difficulty in this would be that what was very natural needs to be recreated artificially and yet the artificiality needs to be hidden very carefully. The artisan must feel that there is someone to teach him, but no teaching should take place. This would retain authenticity and help the artisan to produce within the parameters of his cultural context. The ‘Do Nothing’ method I used in working with traditional potters in Aruvacode from 1993 was a very good attempt in teaching without teaching or enabling learning without teaching. Here, the mistake I made was that I did not pretend to teach, and this created confusion among the artisans as to why I was there in the first place. POTENTIAL OF DESIGN EDUCATION AMBIANCE FOR ESTABLISHING A LEARNING SPACE FOR ARTISANS Among mainstream institutions only design education has the potential to come anywhere near the natural learning process, provided it is re-imagined consciously by learning from children’s and artisans’ learning processes. Design education is fundamentally practice based and deals with materials and processes; development of aesthetic sense is part of the curriculum, and it is socially situated and deals with real problems. This is where one could look for guidance in order to create a curriculum for artisans. But unlike the designer the artisan learns from the material directly. It is the material that guides the process as well as the aesthetic sensibility, which is the result of childhood rooting into their context. So in in developing a curriculum, there can be mutual learning. CURRICULUM BLUEPRINT - CONTENT AND CONDITIONS A two-way strategy is required to address the continuation of crafts. One is to develop a system for the ‘upgradation’ of various skills related to understanding the market etc for the practicing artisan, and the other is for the children of artisans. Craft Design School for Artisans’ Children Because the conventional paradigm of education threatens all other ways of knowing, it is important to innovate and re-imagine a learning space for the continuation of crafts. Rural Design Schools would be meant for children of artisans either as separate from the regular schools or integrated within them, so that artisans feel that what they do is worth learning and thus children practice crafts. Other aspects of traditional knowledge can also be included in these schools. School for Practicing Artisans The ‘School for practicing Artisans’ would be based on a vision of development in which artisans are once more connected to all stages of the craft process, part of a broader community that links suppliers, artisans, and buyers. The main aspect of this lies in exposing them to the modern urban craft situation. There is no institutionalized mechanism in the country to enable artisans to upgrade or contemporize themselves. The artisan is made to depend on designers and managers, whose intervention is making crafts more homogenized. The modern development model of India has transformed its traditional craft economy, positioning local artisans as little more than labour for entrepreneurs, designers and middlemen. While many traditional artifacts have lost their utilitarian relevance and competitiveness at the local level, they have simultaneously become the bearers of cultural and ethical values. By giving rural artisan communities exposure to modern clients' tastes, the project will develop artisans' entrepreneurial, design, marketing and digital skills. This will allow them to take part in the emerging market for eco-friendly, socially just and culturally rich products. Where and by whom? More than the curriculum, location and administration of the program are important. If the institutions are placed within the context of their respective communities, children will be able to experience craft directly, and without much effort the transfer of knowledge will take place. The people responsible for the centre have to have deep respect for the abilities of artisans and must treat them with respect at all levels. In some sense, a very sensitive fencing is required so that artisans don’t feel inferior and start mindlessly imitating what is happening around them. So, the intervention must focus on creating self-respect in artisans, and encouraging the ability to create authentic products, the ability to solve problems etc LESSONS FROM TRADITIONAL CRAFTS There is more to learn from the knowledge paradigm of traditional artisans that can address the crisis of modern education at all levels. One can start with design education and then look at the total modern educational paradigm staring from children and going all the way to higher education. The biggest crisis in school education is that fundamental values that are natural to children are being destroyed, values like dedication to work or learning, involvement, creativity, self-initiative and quest for knowledge, development of skills and even real values of love, care, co-operation etc. Apart from obvious aspects in their lives such as sustainability, artisans offer lessons in the formation of values and attitudes towards work, the learning process, knowledge, skills and learning conditions etc. The biggest advantage of tradition has been that living, learning and livelihood are integrated and hence it is rooted in experience. Every moment is a learning moment. The child engages with knowledge right from the womb, as pregnant women in traditional societies continue to work even till the ninth month. The child is constantly immersed in an environment of knowledge creation yet hardly ever encounters teaching or instruction. All this happens in an environment of freedom and care so that the autonomy of the child is at work. The self is given importance without developing the ego.

Banyan tree mural 10 feet height–This was the first mural done in 1997 at Hotel Pankaj, Trivandrum.

Private collection Size 8 feet by 10 feet. The potters were trying out a new technique of using colorto define the shape In today’s technological world, learning from people considered backward will be a challenge. The real damage of education is the installation of superiority over our natural tendency for humility and openness. It is the educated elite who have to do the unlearning that is required to renew our respect for the rich cultural offerings of traditional communities. This is an arduous, long process. All photos by Jinan K.B.

The female octopus is born, grows to maturity, gives birth to her clutch of children, and promptly dies. I often think it must be wonderful to have ones role in life, its purpose and parameters, so clearly defined. I, on the other hand, for the last fourteen years in DASTKAR have straddled, often uneasily, the twin roles of designer and development person.Working in the field of traditional craft, the two are not always synonymous, though design can lead to development, and development should be designed. There is a conflict both of function and responsibility. Whose creativity are you to express, your own or the craftsperson's? Who is your client - the consumer, who wants an unusual and exciting product at the most competitive price; or the craftsperson - who needs a market for his product as similar to his traditional one as possible, so that it does not need constant alien design interventions, or conflict with the social, aesthetic and cultural roots from which it has sprung. Those of us who have gone through a formal art or design education have been taught to realise our own creative imagination to the full, and given the technical expertise and tools to do so. Working with craftspeople, one has to dampen ones own creative flame in order to light the craftsperson's fire. One must push, not pull..... The purpose of ones sample design range is to inspire craftspeople to do their own further innovation, not stun them into passive replication. They must be taught to use their minds and imagination as well as their hands.Craftspeople must be involved in every aspect of design and production and understand the usage of the product they are making. The interventionary voluntary agency or designer must also understand and study the craft, the product and the market they are trying to enter.Often there is a perception of organisations like the Crafts Councils and DASTKAR as arty-farty ladies obsessed with design. This obsession is seen as revealing our inherent superficiality and inability to think in truly "developmental" "issue-based" terms. Just as craft itself is rejected as a viable economic activity by those marching into the 21st Century to newer, more technological tunes. But artisans still make up 23 million of our working population; and to talk about the craft sector as a means to sustainable employment, without talking of design is like talking about the issue of the Child without talking of education.Crafts producers cannot be economically viable unless their product is marketable. The product can only be marketable if it is attractive to the consumer. i.e. if the traditional skill is adapted and "designed" to suit contemporary consumer tastes and needs. Design does not mean making pretty patterns. It is matching a technique with a function.All over India women are being taught to sew, embroider, appliqué, crotchet, knit and tat, with the bait of becoming economically independent. Almost always the second object they are taught to make (the first is a cushion cover!) is a tea-cosy, regardless of the fact that less and less Indian homes use tea-cosies. The shape is always wrong (is it a bolster cover or a dunce-cap?) because the craftswomen do not understand the usage, and have never been shown a teapot. Similarly, table mats are always made with the decorative motif squarely in the middle of the mat, because no one has explained that is precisely the area that is covered by the plate, and therefore can (and should!) remain unadorned.We should not be embarrassed or defensive about an emphasis on product design and marketing as the catalyst and entry point for development in the craft sector. The overwhelming demand for these services from craftspeople all over the country, and the disastrous results when supposed Income Generating Projects are left to flounder without guidance, should answer any doubts about the superficiality of this approach, or whether it is required. A recent survey of one of the craft producer groups we work with in Bihar showed the importance of an integrated approach to craft development and marketing. Sales generated through six DASTKAR exhibitions and Bazaars for which they were assisted with product design, raw material identification, production and quality control guidance were over 3 lakhs, as opposed to a total of less than 1 lakh at seven other Bazaars (including the CAPART Mela!) over the same period, selling their standard products.Why do craftspeople with centuries of a skilled tradition need these outside interventions at all is a question frequently raised. Looking at the distortions and deterioration caused by so many interventions, however well intentioned, does give one pause. But tradition must be a springboard not a cage. Craft, if it is to be utility-based and economically viable, cannot be static. It must respond to changes of markets, consumer needs, fashion and usage. It is the role of the designer and product developer to sensitively interpret these changes to craftspeople who are physically removed from their new marketplaces. In Ancient India, every individual had an implicitly defined role in society, ordained by birth. Craftsmanship was a heritage, tempered by years of arduous apprenticeship in chhandomaya (the rules of rhythm, balance, proportion, harmony and skill), controlled and protected by the structure and laws of the guild. In the guild the master craftsman, the raw apprentice and the skilled but uninspired jobsman all had a place and purpose. (Today’s craftsperson has to be all things in one, including his own entrepreneur.) The craftsman had the status of an artist. As a member of a society with strict rules and hierarchies, both within his guild and the outside world, he and his products were protected, and their quality and traditional continuity controlled. Customers were close at hand, their lifestyles not too markedly different from his. Whether his skills provided simple village wares or jewelled artifacts for the temple, it was a supportive interdependence based on a mutual need, understanding and appreciation. The craftsperson was his own designer, and the embellishments came only after the shape was perfected to the function. The aesthetic and the practical blended in a natural rather than artificially imposed harmony. Today most craftspeople, practicing traditional skills but vying with machines, speeded up deadlines and 'craze for forrun' fashions, no longer protected by guilds or the enlightened, hands-on patronage of court or temple, are increasingly faced with the problems of diminishing orders and the debasement of their craft. They are making products for lifestyles remote from their own, and selling them in alien and highly competitive markets. Their own lives and tastes have suffered major transformations - alienating them further from their skills and products. A traditional juthi-maker may still embroider gold peacocks onto a pair of shoes whose turned up toes echo the ends of his moustache, but he himself will probably be wearing pink plastic sandals! An alabaster Buddha will have a red bulb and electric flex spawning out of its belly in a mad attempt to contemporise it into a bedside lamp. Consequently, craft has degenerated today from a stunning ritual object of worship to bric-a-brac that sells on the pavement for Rs. 10.00. Though many Government and non-Government agencies have discovered traditional craft as a vehicle for income generation, its usage has not always been accompanied by a sensitivity to the needs of the craftsman and the consumer, or an analysis of the market. And, as the tourist and export demand for instant "ethnic" has grown, middlemen and traders, many of them ignorant and exploitative, have also jumped onto the bandwagon of craft production and sale. This has resulted in many of the more intricate and unusual forms and skills being abandoned, with the quick production of a cheap product being the priority. Motifs, techniques, stitches and usages distinctive to particular communities and areas have been merged and muddled together. The everyday utilitarian crafts have suffered too; bypassed in favour of more eye-catching, ornamental ones. The cheap, tacky looking yoke pieces, skirts and patches sold on the Janpath sidewalks and at the Surajkund mela under the generic brand name of "mirrorwork" and "Kutchi bharat" bear little relation to the extraordinary embroideries various Kutchi communities make for themselves, or their potential for further development. This is not just aesthetic disaster, but bad economics as well. Thousands of women with high-level skills and earning power are reduced to breaking stones for a living, while the antique pieces their grandmothers made sell in the Sunder Nagar boutiques for a fortune. At a CCI Seminar on crafts in 1991, Reema Nanavaty recalled the inception of SEWA's project in drought-ridden Banaskantha, "But even before water, the major problem of the women was work. Whenever you talk to the women, the first thing they ask about is work. Everything else is secondary." Today the old embroideries they were selling off their backs are the design inspiration for contemporary garments that earn the craftswomen incomes of Rs. 1000 to 1200 a month. People often say, why don't Indian craftspeople simply make the same beautiful things they used to? The reason for this is so obvious we have literally been blinded by it. Craftspeople cannot afford to keep samples and so have never seen what their forefathers used to make. Craftspeople's data banks are in their minds and fingertips but, if you paint Mickey Mouse to order often enough on a papier-mache box instead of a Mughal rose, eventually the memory of the rose will fade away. The irony is that it is we who are fortunate enough to acquire the beautiful objects that are their heritage; we who have access to museum collections and reference books. It is we, therefore, who must be aware of and sensitively interpret a craftsperson's tradition to him. This is our responsibility. A craftsperson does not have the confidence to say "no". He needs the order too much. As a result we have all turned into instant "designers" - often, alas, without introspection or homework. A bored housewife clips a cross stitch motif of be-ribboned kittens out of WOMAN & HOME and turns it into a kantha sari pallav; an exporter (too dependent on air-conditioning to trek out to Saurashtra) gives a patchwork toran to be replicated in Trans-Jumna - and adds a dash of Punjabi phulkari embroidery just for fun. Instead of re-interpreting the legendary skills of Kerala wood carvers to make new furniture, a glass sheet is perched on the top of antique boat prows or a truncated pillar to awkwardly transform them into a table. Nor are good ideas and good intentions alone enough to guarantee the desired results. Some years ago a funding agency commissioned a talented young designer to do a design project for an NGO working with tussar weavers. She developed a stunning range of high fashion Western garments which were show-cased at a high-profile exhibition in Delhi. But the producer group - tribal women who were part of a Gandhian Ashram in the depths of rural Bihar - were unable to fulfill the orders as they didn't have the requisite tailoring skills (the original sample range had been made by a friendly exporter in Noida) and the whole exercise, (and an investment of over 4 lakhs) was a disaster. The Ashram women trailed around for years to Melas and Bazaars trying to discount-sale the stock piles of unsold samples, all now out of date, crumpled and shop-soiled, and finally the IGP programme folded up altogether. The means and the ends, the design and the beneficiary, must meld and match together. Only then can long-term objectives be met. The motifs and usage’s of a craft tradition cannot and should not remain static. But changing them requires knowledge, sensitivity and care. NID designers, often slanged by the development world as being too rarefied and impractical, have achieved some significant successes in projects for Jawaja, Gurjari and Urmul, and in the North East, where their input has been long-term and sustained; and the NID student craft documentations are a invaluable reference source. An essential tool in craft development is that motifs, designs and techniques be documented and accessible. DASTKAR's project with Madhubani painters in North Bihar - one of the poorest, most backward parts of India - was an example of changing the function, changing the design and finding an appropriate though radically different usage for a traditional craft through the process of documenting its motif tradition. Discovered in the 60's, the votive paintings of Mithila, transferred from village walls to handmade paper, were an instant artistic craze. The paintings rapidly became something of an interior decoration cliché in contemporary urban Indian homes looking for an "ethnic" identity. Village women of all levels of skill and artistry were persuaded by eager traders and exporters to abandon their sickles for the brush. Inevitably there was a surfeit, and then a hiatus in the market. By the 80's, Madhubani painting as a marketable commodity was dead. You cannot, however, tell women who have tasted economic independence to go back to painting their walls. New ways of tapping this creative source needed to be found. DASTKAR felt the decorative motifs, the floral borders, the peacocks and parrots, the interlocking stars and circles, that embellished the Kohbar, encircling the Gods and knitting them into their cosmic patterns, were in themselves a rich directory of design motifs and decorative elements that could be used on products of daily usage and wear. Sarees, dupattas, soft furnishings, are by their function, less subject to the vagaries and shifts of consumer fad. The transition from iconographic art to functional craft need not be crass or commercial, if sensitively done. Not by gods and goddesses being transferred blindly by the hundred to cushion covers, but by women being taught to use their own artistic instincts in new ways. More dramatic, more spontaneous, more personally creative, I think, in many ways than an invocatory Kohbar being painted for money and hung mindlessly on a restaurant wall. In the devastation that followed the 1989 earthquake it was those women in North Bihar who were wage earners through craft who were able to sustain and succour not only their own families, but those of other less fortunate villages. That same strength today, gives them the power to say no to social practices or religious taboos that aim to victimize them. A craft designer, (whose ultimate objective is the coordinated development and self sufficiency of the craftsperson rather than herself) must keep in mind the existing skill levels of her target group. The designer must not just work with one or two master craftspersons. The sample range will be wonderful but production a disaster. She must project her initial designs to available skill levels, and use successive sampling workshops to gradually upgrade skills and design sensibilities. In the DASTKAR Ranthambhore project, working with almost unskilled women - their hands more used to wielding the scythe than the needle - the first patchwork range was made up of 6 inch squares and strips in very basic permutations. Vivid and unusual combinations of colours and prints disguised the crudity of stitchery and simplicity of design. They sold well, as do the much more complex designs of tiny triangles, hexagonals and stars in subtle colourways the women have gradually been trained to do in the intervening five years. Creating a simple but effective design, using a small budget and limited resources, is an exciting test of a designers skill. Seeing the growth and confidence of a newly emerging crafts community successfully selling products they have made themselves for the first time, using skills they never knew they had, is even more exciting. There are two cardinal principles:- one, the customer does not buy out of compassion. The product must be competitive in price, in aesthetic, in function, and two: The ultimate skill of the craft designer lies in making herself redundant. SEWA Lucknow is often cited as the NGO success story in using a traditional, almost moribund, skill (chikan embroidery) as a means to a 2 crore turnover and social and economic empowerment for thousands of women. But "design" in that intervention went far beyond the cut of a kurta or the application of a new embroidery buta. It included skill upgradation, the documentation and revival of traditional stitches, embroidery motifs and tailoring techniques, the introduction of new kinds of raw material (ranging from kota to tussar), sizing, costing, quality control and production planning - and an alternative marketing and promotional strategy that would enable a small, broke NGO to compete effectively with the entrenched dalals in the Chowk. The approach and philosophy was always:

to provide ideas and stimuli for creativity and innovative product design in the craftswomen themselves.
to explain the rationale behind items developed and guidelines laid down by us.
to develop a product range that incorporated the different skill levels of all members of the group.
to keep the product usage and price applicable to widest possible market and consumer.
to harmoniously incorporate the motifs, techniques and shapes of traditional chikan-kari into completely new products.

To our delight, we discovered that it was not the art of chikan-kari that was dead, nor the consumer demand for it, but the aesthetic sensibilities of those who had previously designed and sold the market product. Ten years later, SEWA Lucknow lives on, grown from 12 women to over 4,000; their designs no longer mine or static, but part of an on-going stream that mingles tradition and innovation, constantly evolving. Crafted and hand-woven products still permeate every strata and usage in Indian society - even the most dedicated terecot shirt and steel katori man will wear a cotton handloom lungi to sleep in, sit on a cane moda chair on his verandah, grow his money plant in a terra-cotta gumla, and buy his daughter a Banarsi sari for her wedding. Craftspeople though, are increasingly the marginalised and forgotten people - trapped between their past and their future. Is it arrogance or insensitivity that makes us deny them the professional and technical expertise that would bridge this gap? The investment in R and D, raw material, credit and infrastructural development that is automatically given to any other sector of the economy, bypasses them. Crafts, especially those made by rural or tribal people, are dismissed out of hand as out-dated mechanisms of production, with only a ornamental, short-term use. "Aajkal nahi chalega." But, all too often, it is not really the look of the product that causes the customer to reject it in favour of the assembly-line, industrial alternative, but the quality of the materials used - a factor beyond the craftsperson's control. Colourfast threads, rust-proof hinges and buckles, seasoned leather, fabric that does not shrink, are not available in rural markets. One day we may have no crafts; not because we no longer want them, but because all craftspeople will have gone the way of those starving weavers in Andhra who briefly hit our headlines and were then forgotten - their lifeline, the cotton yarn to weave with, exported out of their grasp. But, as Rabindranath Tagore reminded us, "The mind is no less valuable than cotton thread". Design and product development are an equally essential adjunct to the survival and economic empowerment of craftspeople. Craftsmanship is a form of communication - one man's way of interpreting the needs of another and transmuting his creative impulse and skill into fulfilling that need. This communication cannot succeed if rural Indian craftspeople are not taught the language of today's contemporary urban consumer. Once learnt, however, the lingua franca of good design can help them to re-design the development, not just of their craft, but of their lives as well. Laila Tyabji for those Moving Technology, Capart – Oct-Dec 1995. (re-printed in Economic Times 12th Nov,95 & UK Crafts Council Catalogue of HANDMADE IN INDIA exhibition, London 1998)

Issue 1, Summer 2019 ISSN: 2581 - 9410 The concern on ecological principles is forcing the design fraternity to turn towards more sustainable design solutions. There is a strong reaction against the dehumanizing effects of the Industrial Revolution and consequently, there is an attempt to go back to the traditional skills of design, craftsmanship, and community services (William Morris). The universal trend is shifting its focus from mass industrial products to localized and customized product lines, which are ecologically sustainable. The requirement of ecologically sustainable designed products are directing the universe from globalization to regionalization and further to localization (Shashank Mehta ).Local regional products are gaining recognition and are appreciated in urban and global markets as they are constantly evolving and innovating ways for survival and sustaining under serve constraints. There is tremendous scope for these regional product ideas and traditional knowledge skills to be developed for contemporary applications in India. A sustainable developed methodology for this rural and regional design industry is needed to convert the tradition skills and culture ideas of the specific region into marketable products at the grassroots level. So far, the interventional development programme in this sector is not effective enough because of unstructured and insensitive planning. India has many unexplored regional areas with rich traditional skills waiting to be brought into the main stream of contemporary business. We need to do much more than what has been done or achieved so far. My recent study in Kundera, a small village of Rajasthan gave me an insight and helped me understand a multitude of individuals, families and groups of people perpetuating traditional knowledge based activities of their forbearers. The purpose of my paper is to explore the possibilities of a structured methodology to offer assistance to enthusiastic women artisans of Kundera village of Rajasthan for their empowerment. The study will explore and identify their potential /talent/ aesthetic qualities and their aspiration and try to find the ways to use and apply their potentials and skills to the craft and business practices to gain empowerment .The paper will identify the various possible working segments within the working environment and try to address each issue according to their requirement and then create a structured methodology for implementation. The study investigates the issues of empowerment for the rural artisan from the currently existing and running craft initiative programmes within the country.

Introduction

The Ranthabhore National park in Swai Madhopur District of south east Rajasthan was created to enable the Tigers to live and move freely amidst the flora and fauna that were his traditional birthright, creating this space and freedom, however meant that villages, whose ancestors had for centuries lived within the environ of the park lost their homes and had to be resettled though these villages were settled in the areas outside the park. They lost their access to wood,A Directional Study water, and traditional farming lands. As an initiative to support these villages, Dastkar (NGO) Ranthambore was created with the objective of acting as a catalyst in rebuilding the displaced communities’ social and economic foundations. In the spring of 1989, Dastkar, Ranthambhore took charge of the income generation programme for the villagers particularly women. Today the cooperative has been providing training to about 300 women earning about 26 to 78 euros per month. Business turnover is about Rs 70,000/- per annum and aiming to achieve about a million rupees soon. The craft stores are mushrooming in a great speed all over the country because universal trend is shifting its focus from industrial products to localized and customized product lines, which are ecologically sustainable. There is tremendous scope for these regional product ideas and traditional knowledge skills to be developed for contemporary applications in India. Craft is a significant sector in India, not only because of its intrinsic cultural and aesthetic value but also because of its promising economic development. Handicraft employs more than 9 million people in India and contributes about 1.6 billion Dollars to export earning and 4 billion dollars to domestic earnings but it still reaps fewest benefits from the lucrative markets and even the most talented often live in abject poverty. Although, most artisans are highly skilled but still and have low social status. With the growing demand of handcrafted product, there has been a great pressure to produce more products to cater to the demand, hence more work forces is needs to be created in the present set up of Dastkar Ranthambhore center too, to help economic development in the country. To train more people in craft sector and build capacity in the present set up of Dastkar Ranthambore center for production increase, few near by villages of Ranthambore were visited; where more women artisan could be trained and brought to support the development of indigenous, localized, network.

The Problem

It is a shared opinion that the transition towards sustainability is a continuous and articulated learning process, which requires radical changes on multiple levels (social, cultural, institutional and technological). It is also shared that, given the nature and the dimension of those changes, a system discontinuity is needed, and that therefore it is necessary to act on a plan. The challenge now is to understand how it is possible to facilitate and support the introduction and diffusion of such innovations. ( Carlo Vezzoli, Fabrizio Ceschin and René Kemp) The cluster development programme created by the Government of India so far, are mainly related to very few surface areas. Design & technology training under these schemes aims at, up gradation of artisans’ skills without reaching to the core areas of understanding, which in return marginally improves or diversifies the existing product line. Hence sustainability and empowerment still remains questionable. Though, these schemes do help in developing a few new design as prototypes to some extent for the market but since these schemes are of such short duration within limited time and with unstructured approach with randomly selected team of trainers, mostly fall short of expectation of organizers and artisan both. Even the supply of improved/modern equipments to the craft persons during the training programmes to create products under these schemes, does not mean much as the artisans are not gone through a proper structural training to be able to use these equipment to its fullest potential. Further to this, the to lack of intensive market survey prior to these developmental work shops the product which get developed through intervention are not in tuned with the market demand, hence, designed prototypes remain in cold storages as these products fall short of understanding the demand of the market. The promotional sales organized by organizing the Craft bazaar and handicrafts expos to facilitate direct sale of articles produced by the artisan by the government, still remains an unsuccessful venture because of the artisans’ lack of confidence in their own created products due to improper training programmes They usually do not take owner ship and onus of their own initiative and depend on the government or their design trainers. As government run programmes are trying their best to promote craft Industry by providing many government run schemes but the effort is not enough or structured well to cater the demand of handcrafted business. There is a demand of well-structured craft initiative programmes from all the stakeholders in India if one wants the success of this industry.

FIELD EXPERIENCE

The Potential and The People

India is known to be culturally rich with rich traditional skills in almost in all the regional areas. Interiors of India are still with no assistance and initiatives from government and NGO’s. Though, there is tremendous scope for these regional product ideas and traditional knowledge skills to be developed for contemporary applications in India. Ranthambhore in Rajasthan showed enough interventional potential. Villagers had lost their homes, and had to be resettled in the areas outside the park loosing their access to farming lands. They did not have any traditional craft practice for their survival but were practicing craft mainly to create their daily requirements. Their source of income was most unpredicted in this scenario they all surviving on hard labor including the women of the village. Experiencing the regional people in their own natural habitat trying to find opportunity in the spectacular skills, unique imagery, and also fast disappearing appreciation for their own inherent traditional skills, all were astonishing facts, which needed reassurance and appreciation to bring them to empowerment. The groups of 30 women artisan from different age groups and economic back ground, who were enthusiastic, eager and passionate to work and learn new skills, belonged to same village from same community. The interaction with these women artisan was satisfying learning experience. It was surprising to find some of these women were reasonably educated and they could read and understand simple instructions. They took the lead during the first interaction and became the interface between their community and us; the mobilizing factor become easy; they could quickly translated the questions into local dialect if some one found it difficult to understand the instruction or questioned asked. The initial interactive conversational sessions mainly revolved around their family responsibilities, their personal problems, their economic front, community restrictions and also family disputes and of course about their aspirations, goal and desire where do they like to see themselves. The interaction and Intervention remained shared and not imposed one in the familiar and friendly environment. The idea was to unwind them completely so that, they are able to freely share their personal inhibitions, discuss freely about their skill potentials and capabilities and talk about problem they foresee in undergoing a training programme or spending their valuable work time with us.

Their Awareness and Enthusiasm

The biggest asset with these women artisan was that they all were familiar with Dastkar unit (NGO involved in craft initiative programmes) close to their village and were also aware of those women who are engaged in doing craftwork and business work, like visiting the various Bazaars and selling their products and are economically self-sufficient. They seemed aspired to be like them in similar situation with similar standing in their communities. They wanted to learn all the skills involved in craft business, so that they can earn for themselves and be independent like those women working with Dastkar unit.

Skill Potential

Visit to women habitats was to understand them more holistically with their families, neighbors and surroundings to explore and identify artisan’s potential /talent/ aesthetic qualities on an individual base. Auditing their skill level for the training programme became clearer as one could notice, enough hand crafted products lying around in their humble dwellings for their personal use. The homes were simple with a very few items aesthetically arranged according to their sensibilities. Their floor covers were made of used fabric (as to utilize the fabric better and in more sustainable manner) put together aesthetically in some kind of geometric structural pattern. The walls were extremely well decorated, with hand, painted local motifs and with locally available natural colours. The floors were clean with patterns created on mud by using hands. The most interesting product, which the whole community had created individually, was the pot stand. Female of the house is required to fetch the water from near by well. They keep the earthen pots one on the top of other on their head, to balance these pots they put a kind of a ring on their head under the pots, which serves as stand. The entire village community very well constructed applying various handcrafted techniques created this ring individually. The skill audit revealed that there was no dearth of basic skills in the community. Each of them had some kind of skill or the other at different level. Some showed interest in embroidery while other showed interest in sewing or machining. There were other women who were interested in weaving the basket from naturally available grass for their bread. Some showed interest in local motif development for the painting purpose while others showed potential in articulated communication skills. It was motivating enough to realize that the participation of stake holders was at its fullest and there was no dearth of basic talent in the region. Skill mapping and creating inventories of their skill potential, design sensibilities all became important facts to start up the intervention plan.

Experiencing The Market for the Available Skill

Experiencing the retail options of crafted products and then trying to balance the market requirement with the skill available of the artisan for manufacturing purposes seemed a focused idea for intervention purpose. Simultaneously visits to understand the regional and metro market within the country for product ideas and product categories to consolidate the intervention process for the artisan, if one wanted to start the intervention soon. A continuous auditing and evaluation of the product along with the journey taken so far in developing the product becomes important steps to keep abreast with the craft intervention for the business purpose.

Availability of Regional Resource

Experiencing and understanding the region for natural and industrial material resources, skills availability and other human resources all became important factor for the intervention .

The Idea

To develop workable self-managed people centric and independent model for competent business does not remain a Herculean task if crucial needs are satisfied through training and nurturing the required potential of an individual. It was evident after the field experience that the regional women needed empowerment. Traditional hand skills needed to be brought into professional enterprise as an important initiative. Women needed to be encouraged to work in a systemized manner where they can earn sustainable income for their empowerment and dignity of their life. Appropriate provision needed to be created which are not only culturally compatible but suitable to the needs and has potential for their earnings.

Directional Move Towards Intervention

One needs to first understand the socio- cultural, personal and economic needs and requirements of the artisan along with their aspirations and then try developing clusters into professionally manage self reliant-units with a strong build up plan according to individual and collective needs of the cluster then, creating an effective member participation and mutual cooperation for the women artisan to work more cohesively within their community by encouraging each of them to work in cooperatives to facilitate the mobilization of productive resources and efficient technologies. Further to this, assessing the productive contribution of the individual woman and identifying areas where productivity can be enhanced in design, technology, and marketing, organizational skills leadership, budgeting and planning by allowing the potential in each person individually to unfold in harmonious way for their development then, moving towards identifying the current needs and future trends in craft sector and then coordinating and integrating efforts to promote skills by training them accordingly for regional, local and national markets requirements.

Intervention

Artisan need a complete composite and amalgamated development plan for holistic learning and development for their empowerment. The intervention programme needs to be very broad minded approach. Training will depend on an individual’s competence level. There may be few artisans better then the others in certain skills or not good enough or are average in conceptual front or at organizational skills. All would require training of different kind and of different level according to their personal and collective needs. Structure and level plan according to the requirement of that particular cluster addressing each issue needed to be identified. The area of intervention was defined, in Design, Technology and Marketing and organizational skills.

Structure		Levels
Design	Sensitivity towards Design principals	Understanding and appreciation for local regional visual language	Synthesis of local and urban visual vocabulary
Technology	Understanding of hand tool equipments	Understanding of Basic machine techniques	Knowledge of application of tool for design development
Marketing and organizational skills	Understanding of Product development process and planning	Timely delivery and building confidence and leadership quality	Product budgeting costing, sale through effective product delivery

Artisans needed to be divided into small groups or slots according to their competencies; area of interest and level of their skill once the first audit of their skill was done then training needs to start accordingly. There was requirement for the training to start simultaneously in all directions where design, technology, marketing, organizational skills leadership, budgeting and planning all become important components for the training programme. At the initial level, each artisan needs to understand the basics and fundamentals of this structural plan (design, technology, marketing, organizational skills leadership, budgeting and planning) through different training programmes or work shops, exposure trips etc. Once that is clear and then the advancement of the fundamental may become selective by the artisan according to their developmental growth and interest.

Slots and Grouping

Exploring the potential further after the initial basic fundamental training, the artisans need to be offered a directional training to understand the requirements of the cluster and the skill potential that they already have and try to balance the both with the further training programme which is simplistic achievable in reality without any long durational and major training intervention since the training programme will only require the enhancement of the potential in them not a major intervention in alternative method of skill development work. This way of intervention not only will reduce the interventional time but also build confidence in the artisan because of the maturity level witch they would have already achieved in their own interested work. Catering to this structural plan then offering assistance to individuals for their development makes the intervention programme more successful. The artisan would soon learn to balance their skill potential with confidence to the demand of the markets. They will learn to balance the situation and realize, if certain skill or sensibility has not been appreciated or understood by markets in the present context, they will need to alter it or defuse it to some extend for better fit. Training needs to enhance and upgrade the available potential. It needs to begin by encouraging and pushing the cognitive skills in the artisan where knowledge, skills, and abilities of the individual artisan are brought out to the best of its potential. Knowledge referring to a body of information which they are exposed during and after the training and then applying it directly to the performance of a function without any out side helps by using their skills as an observable competence to perform a learned psychomotor act. Artisan need to apply their learnt ability as competence to perform an observable behavior or a behavior that results in an observable product. This cognitive evolution is similar to the stages of an infant development. First, the infant constructs an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences (such as seeing and hearing) and then tuning this knowledge with physical actions. Infants gain knowledge of the world from these physical actions, then they perform on it. An infant progresses from reflexive, instinctual action at birth to the beginning of symbolic thought toward the end of the stage. Similarly, if the interventions are well defined in sensitive manner it will have stronger repercussions. One does not need time, improving hand skills in the embroidery patterns (which artisan already have at different level, some more or some less) which needs to be practiced by the artisan after the initial required training but what they need to be acquiring is knowledge and skills that can be directly be applied in the artisan’s own art to enable innovation appropriate to contemporary markets.

In Design

The knowledge, skill and ability will make them confident in developing their own composition, colour application, line and form structures, so that they can make conscious efforts in developing their own design and try to implement their learning and knowledge by themselves into their craft practice and dovetail their new leanings of fundamentals into their interpretation of local and regional vocabulary according to their sensibilities and usage. This will encourage them to appreciate their own cultural identity without dilution of their ideas. They need to be encouraged to develop their individualistic taste in a very regionalist manner as their expression in craft vocabulary.

In Technology

They need to be able to express their design sensibilities through various techniques of embroidery stitches, motif development process and color choices. At the initial level, the colors and motifs may force them to choose very basic stitch techniques, but in due course of time after being trained in design, technology, marketing their sensibility, their vocabulary and their perception would definitely change. They will be able to understand the market driven forces and apply their technical knowledge sensibilities to more complex mediums of expression. The development process remains an ongoing effort. Artisan will keep getting fine tuned as the requirements from the outer agencies keep demanding according to seasons and trends. Few artisans who are more technically savvy could be exposed to more complicated embroidery tools or machine techniques and more complex medium or techniques to be applied. Once the structure of function (who is doing what according to competences of individual) in the cluster is clear to the group, the application of technology becomes more creative and selective by the individual.

Marketing and Organizing skills

Along with costing, timely delivery of the right kind of products, and sales, branding, the familiarization to potential market is an important learning experience for the regional artisans since they hardly are able to go out of their village. Time to time market survey to identify relevant content, direction and potential for the product category will enhance the artisan’s product knowledge and product information. They not only be able to understand the product category details but also will be able to understand fundamental of business tactics, an entrepreneurial skill with a critical awareness of the design and its process, which are powerful agency for change. The interventional training programme will further help artisans to understand the importance of the end user in design and try to innovate product to fit the client’s taste. The field trip to Museums to see the best of design product and analyzing contemporary crafts in a range of shops that sell hand crafted products would further enhance their product knowledge. They would need to visit the homes of potential clients to begin to understand their lifestyles and then try creating designs for those people whom they have met. Keen observation and personal interaction will serve as excellent inspiration for Innovations. The artisan would soon learn to balance their skill with the demand of the market. They will learn to realize if certain skill or sensibility is not been appreciated or understood by markets in the present context they need to alter it or defuse it to some extend. Catering to this structural plan and then efficiently further layering it with the required competency, offering assistance to individuals for their development will make the intervention programme more successful. Conclusion Communities are complex systems composed of people that need to engage with change to make change happen. A journalized intervention programme run by the government or NGO may not be the answer for sustainable empowerment. The paper tries to explore, the individual and collective need for women empowerment by understanding the multi-dimensional social process which will helps regional women gain control over their own lives which will foster power in them to improve their own lives, their communities and their society. The future need is to further explore the possibility of developing knowledge and understanding in craft as a intellectual experimentation which will respect traditional skills and will adopt a methodology that will unite the past, present and future perspectives of creative craft practices. References Rita C. Kean, Shirley Niemeyer, Nancy J. Miller; Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 34, 1996 Changing the Change paper presentations parallel sessions overview Sue Ellen M. Charlton; Women in third world development. Westview Press/ Boulder and London, 1984, Internet Citation Website(www.productmanagementtraining.com) Environment, Health and Safety(www.aiacaonline.org/health.html) [20 November 2009]. Website(www.kala-raksha.org/vidhyalaya.htm)

Introduction

Defined by caste occupation, the Rabari are camel-breeders who inhabit the desert area of Kachchh district in Gujarat, in the west of northern India. In actual fact, they are nomadic herders of sheep and goats, or cattle and water buffaloes, depending on their particular regional situation. The Rabari are among the few communities who still practice the craft of ply-split braiding which, in its traditional form, is now in decline. Young Rabaris are no longer learning it and the few remaining practitioners are all old men who learned to ply goat hair and camel hair as children from their fathers, grandfathers and uncles while migrating with the dhang (migratory group). Traditionally, Rabari men – it is a male preserve – would make a variety of camel trappings and bags. Girths known as tang, halters, and elaborate neck decorations adorned with tassels, buttons and cowry shells, known as gorbandh, were made to beautify and protect Rabaris’ most valuable assets – their camels. They also made bags known as khurji that were used to hold canisters of ghee and milk, and other essential items for the migration. The craft of ply-split braiding was integrated into a life that expressed an existential harmony between god and man and animal.

MYTHOLOGICAL ORIGINS OF THE RABARI CASTE

The dromedary continues to play a central role in Rabaris’ sense of identity, although only a minority of Rabaris are now specialised camel-breeders. Many migrant families still keep at least one camel ostensibly for draught but also because of the close identification of the caste with the camel. According to one of the myths of origin, Sambad the first Rabari was created for the specific task of tending the camel:

The first camel was made by Parvati from the sweat of Shankar’s body (Lord Shiva) and it had five legs. Sambad the first Rabari and the camel were both made of Shankar’s sweat. Each day Sambad took the camel to graze and because it had five legs, walking was a problem, Shankar came to know of this and he pushed the extra leg up and it became the camel’s hump, but the remains of the leg can still be seen on the camel’s chest. [Personal communication, Surabhai Kanabhai, Kachhi Rabari,10/8/1997]

CHANGING PATTERNS OF PASTORALISM

The way of life that sustained nomadic activity has all but gone. After 1947, successive Indian governments embraced a policy of aggressive industrialisation as the new nation-state strove to establish an independent identity in the post-colonial era. An integral part of this strategy was the drive to achieve self-sufficiency in production of food grains. The “Green Revolution” of the 1960s saw the widespread industrialisation of Indian agriculture that had a considerable impact on all aspects of rural life. In Kachchh, at the eastern most edge of the Old World Arid Zone, the old pattern of dry farming (a single annual crop watered by the monsoon) was replaced by year-round production supported by the intensive use of chemical fertilisers and newly-developed irrigation schemes. This resulted in the “reclamation" of wasteland which, along with much common grazing land, was turned over to arable.

For Rabaris, the loss of pasture fractured the symbiotic relationship that had previously existed between them and the farmers.

In former times, although Rabaris' migrations were motivated by the search for fodder and water, they were also an opportunity for income-generation Farmers generally harvested a single, annual crop after the monsoon. For the rest of the year their fields would lie fallow and they were dependent upon animal manure to regenerate the soil. Rabaris' migrations followed established routes and exploited the cycle of the seasons. Following the harvest, they would camp on farmlands for two or three days to allow their sheep and goats to graze on the stubble before moving on. The animals' manure would fertilise the land and the Rabari would be paid for this service, either in grains or money. Such contact also gave them the opportunity to sell ghee {clarified butter), wool and animals. Since the “Green Revolution” chemical fertilisers have largely replaced the need for manure and the wholesale conversion of wasteland and common land to farmland has effectively blocked Rabaris' access to water. These difficulties have been compounded by the activities of the Forest Department. In order to combat creeping desertification of the district – the result of over-grazing of Kachchh's shrunken pasture, and an aquifer that is overtaxed by irrigation schemes and private bore wells – the Forest Department has planted acacia (prosopis juIiflora) along the roadside strips to secure the land. The dhangs (migratory groups), denied the use of these strips as safe routes between grazing lands, have been forced to travel along the district’s highroads, much to the consternation of hauliers and other traffic. The rupture of the delicate harmony between man, animal and nature, has led increasing numbers of Rabaris to sell their livestock and to sedentarise.

THE PASSING OF THE CRAFT

As pastoral nomadism declines, so too does the need for halters, harnesses and camel girths. Now, only a handful of villages remain where Rabaris are still making their own goat hair ropes and producing tang The latter are mostly striking “op art" geometric patterns; narrative designs of camels, birds and human figures, occur less frequently. The use of goat hair persists but camel hair has largely been replaced by ready-to-use cotton purchased at the local bazaar. There is a ready supply of goat hair as nearly every family keeps at least one goat for milk. Camel hair, however, is harder to come by as the keeping of camels is confined to those families that are still nomadic. Thus, more recent examples of tang tend to be a combination of goat hair and cotton. The Dhebaria Rabaris of eastern Kachchh are considered to be the finest exponents of the craft. Two Dhebars in particular, were held in high regard for the beauty of the girths that they made – Somabhai Savabhai Rabari and Kanabhai Bhimabhai Rabari. The two men had grown up together, travelling with the dhangs across Kachchh from Sindh (now Pakistan) to the southern Gujarat, and beyond. They learned to ply-split braid by observing their male relatives; neither man had any formal instruction. Requiring little or no equipment, girths and other items could be taken up and worked as the exigencies of herding allowed. They were often worked as the men watched over their grazing animals. Sadly, both Somabhai and Kanabhai died in 1997 and their knowledge has passed away with them. Their sons have given up herding animals and like many Dhebarias, work as long distance lorry drivers.

Conclusion

With the loss of their vocation as camel-breeders and shepherds, Rabaris are negotiating new identities and redefining their role in the modern state of India. As they negotiate these changes, distinctive aspects of their material culture are starting to fall into decline, ply-split braiding being one such casualty. Girths and khurji (bags), once commonplace items in daily usage, are now rarities. Their value transformed from utility to commodity as they become sought-after objects prized by collectors and dealers. 1n common with another aspect of Rabari material culture – embroidery – they are now more readily found in private and public collections than in use by Rabaris.

Acknowledgements

I wish to express my gratitude to the Rabari Samaj of Kachchh for their support of my work over the last decade. Particular thanks are due to the late Somabhai Savabhai Rabari and Kanabhai Bhimabhai Rabari whose enthusiasm for their craft and generosity in sharing their knowledge with me has informed this article. Finally, my heartfelt thanks to my brother, Vanka Kana Rabari and his wife, Ramiben, for a home and their unstinting help during all my years in Kachchh. First published to coincide with ‘Expanding the Girths’, an exhibition of traditional and contemporary ply-split braiding; part of Spliterati-01 – the first Ply-split convention held in the UK in 2001

Cultural and creative industries, as defined in UN systems of accounting, today comprise over 6% of the global economy, with a combined GDP potential of $4.3T. Tucked within these staggering statistics are India’s crafts, representing its second largest source of livelihood. While that fact is acclaimed by the highest in the land, activists on the ground struggle to find robust data to back the claim. The Economic Census of 2012 was the first to include artisans, after strong civil society advocacy. The Census has lifted estimates well beyond the 13M artisans previously acknowledged. While numbers are still being crunched, anywhere from 40M to 200M Indians survive on hand production, depending on definitions of ‘craft’ and ‘artisan’. Statistical confusion has been critical in the neglect of a sector often dismissed as ‘unorganized’ despite age-old systems of organization and a competitive advantage as the world’s largest resource of craftsmanship. Global players envy what India chooses to ignore. Globalization brings with it unparalleled opportunities at home and overseas as well as unfamiliar challenges that may now be critical to survival. Among these is compliance to standards established in world markets which are now emerging at home. Compliance first arose as a discipline essential to exports. Oft-quoted examples are the employment and working conditions of children and women that constrained shipments of carpets and garments. Those overseas warnings suggest that tomorrow compliance may be as critical to domestic success. Product safety, material standards, occupational health, IPR, and a growing list of environmental as well as social concerns are within India’s emerging regulatory frameworks. A few years ago craft activists faced another homegrown jolt. After decades of complacent confidence in craft values inherited from Tagore, Gandhi and KamaladeviChattopadhyay, activists were suddenly informed by high rankers that hand-production was an embarrassing reminder of Indian backwardness, a ‘sunset industry’ out of sync with aspirations of modernity and global influence in a new millennium. In a struggle to respond, the craft sector has since positioned itself as an alternative that offers cutting-edge advantages: low carbon footprint, empowerment of the marginalized, huge opportunities for non-agricultural incomes in rural India based on local materials and skills, and unlimited prospects in world markets hungry for handmade quality that is certified, sustainable and ethical. Home and village-based earnings can reduce migration into city slums, while providing safety-nets to millions still at the margins: women, minorities, tribal communities. Within globalized sameness, Indian crafts have demonstrated a confident modernity exemplified by brands like Fabindia and Titan, and by Mumbai airport’s transformation as an acclaimed art experience. It recalls cultural diplomacy that has for decades projected artisans as Festival of India ambassadors. If all this helps makes a case for India’s handcrafts, the need remains for martialling data and evidence toward sector investment. A priority is to establish how ‘green’ Indian craft actually is, or should be. Then, how greenness is to be monitored, sustained and paid for in a market where domestic prospects are overtaking the export obsession. How green must crafts really be? How much will green cost, and how can buyers be persuaded to pay a premium for it? What answers may have emerged from Green Bazaars in several metros or the experience of Indian players creating natural products for global chains? If demand takes craft production to new levels, can they remain green? Not long ago the Crafts Council of India (CCI) brought together khadi weavers to confront a technology intervention that could have destroyed the USPs that give their fabric its world reputation. The conclave found that protecting this Indian advantage was not just about spinning and weaving. Khadi required standards and codes to embrace soil and water, raw material supply and processing, occupational health, fair remuneration, and enforceable certification systems. The concept of environment needed to extend into conditions in homes and workplaces --- not just where the loom is located but beyond to a myriad pre- and post-loom operations. User education must lift the perceived and actual value of hand production, with assurance that what is sold as hand-made is actually made by hand. Mechanized processes to reduce drudgery must allow enhanced value-addition through craftsmanship. Other requirements included access to finance and materials, awareness of fair trade, IPR protection, social and food security ... The expanding check-list was clearly beyond the capabilities of any single stakeholder. The message from khadi to the rest of the craft sector was obvious: tomorrow’s opportunities will demand new partnerships of awareness, knowledge and preparedness. Urgent issues await such collaboration. Crafts using wood and natural fibres are losing their sources of traditional material, like the ivory carvers before them. Sandalwood, rosewood, teak, red sanders: all face extinction while alternatives need testing and innovation. If grasslands continue to shrink, what happens to everyday green icons like chiks, chatais and jharoos? Moradabad’s famous brassware has lost its sheen through mindless mass production and dreadful conditions of work. Through an astonishing diversity --- from baskets and fish traps to architectural and interior systems, tough bridges and lighter bicycles --- cane and bamboo applications could transform the economies of the northeast and other deprived regions. Yet India is well behind its Asian competitors in protection of these forest resources, training of artisans, design innovation and marketing savvy. With growing concerns over child safety, makers of wooden toys in Chennapatna (Karnataka) and Varanasi may now need to return to natural dyes they once used --- a new notification on lead content in paint is soon to be enforced. But then, natural materials can have their own toxic impact. In Bagru (Rajasthan) and other pockets of dyeing and block-printing the environmental impact of effluents threatens closure of units releasing their waste into unprotected drainage lines. In addition to cow vigilantism, leather artisans face ostracism because of fallout on air and water quality. The crisis of water is everywhere. In Kutch, a community of world-renowned makers of ajrakh fabric was devastated when the 2001 earthquake sealed their groundwater source. An entire community shifted to a new location, Ajrakhpur. The crisis has followed them: groundwater levels have fallen dangerously. Clean, affordable technologies for use and re-cycling will now need linkage to natural resource management with artisans as stakeholders, not just as users. Being truly green is thus a capacity to be built on knowledge, both traditional and new. This may not be easy. India’s second largest industry is bereft of the research, organizational and advocacy capacities of sectors regarded as ‘organized’. Most B-schools ignore craft management, and high-profile confederations seldom bring their clout to craft policy and decision-making. Hope vests in networks of young artisans, entrepreneurs, designers and activists attempting to demonstrate sustainability in the market and committed to craft as a larger cause. CCI, with affiliates in ten states, will grapple with these issues at a forthcoming National Meet. The focus will be on sustainability that makers and users can practice: approaches and standards that can be practical in the marketplace, in the environment and as ethics. This may need inter-disciplinary linkage on a scale entirely new to the sector. The effort will be worthwhile. From the EU, of all places, has come a slogan: ‘The future is handmade’. China twelve years ago identified two industries critical to future influence: IT and handcrafts. The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be read as a powerful case for artisans and their capacities. More significantly, no other industry offers sustainability as a vision that is economic, environmental, social, political and even spiritual. Echoes of Gandhi and Gurudev, in an India so transformed from the one they knew.

The word ‘Pat’ means ‘piece of cloth’ in Sanskrit. Those who painted on these pats are known as Patuas or Patidars. The Patuas of west Bengal live in the outlaying districts of Medinipur, Birbhum, Purulia, Budwan, Mushidabad, Nadia, Howrah, Hugli and 24 Parghanas. Traditionally their main source of livelihood is based on painting and story telling. Earlier, they moved from house to house performing and telling their stories through paintings and also received a small fee in kind or in cash. The pats or scrolls narrate both Hindu mythologies and stories of Muslim pirs. There are also larger social, political and secular themes, which are portrayed. It is very interesting to look at the range of themes in the pats. With colonization new themes came up, which were political in nature such as redistribution of land. In recent years, with the intervention of NGOs and individuals engaged in reviving the art form, there has been an upsurge of many other new themes such as- the death of Mother Teresa, HIV prevention, the 9/11 disaster, Gujarat earthquake etc. Patua art has always been dynamic, constantly changing and adapting to meet the need and interests of audiences. These changes occur due to crisis faced by the Patuas or even due to the changing society or economy itself. It is said that urbanization and advent of other forms of entertainment have swallowed the traditional audience. The Patuas of Naya were nothing more than an artisan community for me, before I set foot in the small village of West Bengal. I had read about them on the internet and in some books. I had gone on this trip, with certain objectives in mind, as a rational and non-biased researcher. But what unfolded on this journey was much more than a researcher’s quest for ‘information’. It was also a very personal journey of discovering a whole new world of the Patuas, not just as artisans but as people. The Patuas have been artists and storytellers for generations now. Their art has evolved and adapted over the years. For them, painting is a source of livelihood. They provided a source of entertainment for people, going from house to house, but this has changed over the past few years. Now, their paintings are for sale. The new generation of Patuas has been able to see an influx of huge amounts of money into the community. This money enables them to buy their food, build houses, buy clothes, send children to school, get medical facilities etc. But it is also the same money which has created conflicts and jealousies within families. The Patuas do not own land, most of them are illiterate and do not have a fixed income. They are, however excellent composers and can document any new phenomena well. But what they still haven’t understood is how the market functions. Since the market is competitive and does not view everybody’s work of art as the same, there is a disparity created between artists. As a result, some Patuas with better contacts in the big cities and business skills are doing well, while, the others are unable to comprehend the phenomena, and this sudden widening of the market. They still want to earn a livelihood through the art, which was earlier not such a complicated affair. The Pata-chitra, is a very interesting form of art, the themes are varied. From the legend of Durga, Krishna or Manasa to today’s 9/11, or the tribals and their stories, the themes have always been changing and adapting. The pats however are hardly a reflection of their own lives. The paintings also do not have hidden symbolisms or meanings. Most paintings are very self-explanatory and easy to understand. They cater more and more to the needs and tastes of urban audiences. Many of the new themes in the paintings have been made on order or have been commissioned such as the ‘Tsunami’, ‘AIDS awareness’ etc. However it is important to note that the Patuas are the ones who then execute the work with their own imagination and the paintings definitely reflect their own world-view. For example, when they first drew a pat on AIDS awareness, the information given out in the pat was incorrect, it had to be corrected later when the pats were used to spread awareness by organizations. As I went about interacting with more and more Patuas in the village, I learnt a lot about their lives and their art. The children enjoyed playing with colours which were made at home from leaves and flowers. They learnt the art just by watching their parents. Most children start helping parents at a young age. They hardly go to school after a certain age due to financial constraints and responsibilities at home. Marriages at a young age are still very prevalent within the community. Some of my most memorable experiences were interacting with the children and the youth. I remember watching an18 year old girl paint. She was so happy to see me, and excited to tell me about her life. Unlike a lot of other girls in the village, she was extremely ambitious. She wanted to travel abroad and be famous. And yet it seemed that she was burdened by the responsibilities of her home. She had a 3 year old son to look after and had to run her house. This was the status of most young women in the village. There was so much energy and talent within them, just trying to find some space. Most Patuas try to make ends meet by doing various other small jobs. Such as working in the fields of Hindu landowners, some are rickshaw pullers, making small clay-dolls. Few have even gone to the cities to find jobs. However, Naya is slowly becoming the hub of the most flourishing Patua artists, unlike a lot of other villages where the Patuas stay. At the end of my stay with the Patuas, I had built personal relationships and had got a glimpse into their community. I had seen another side of life, where painting and art meant life. I remember watching them sing or just explaining their paintings, it brought such joy to their faces. They enjoyed singing and even though painting is a matter of livelihood for them, yet it manages to bring out the lighter side of life. I came back with many questions unanswered, many new questions in mind, and memories of the different kinds of people I had met. Somehow, I could not understand how a small pat that I had brought back with me, to be hung in my room, could ever reflect or encompass within it the story of where the pat was comes from.

Should India's traditional handcrafters occupy an elevated space in people's minds or should they remain on the pavements, bazaars, haats, and perhaps marginally in malls, to be looked at as poor street cousins of India's other cultural practitioners? Sixty years after three important Akademis were set up to promote cultural arts that come under the heading of dance, music, drama, literature and the fine arts, it may be time to take note of the huge reservoir of cultural heritage passing from generation to generation through the hands of craftspeople towards establishing a body that nurtures this heritage and builds respect beyond 'marketing products' or subsidizing 'welfare'. A Hast Kala Akademi could be created as a more compact, private-public autonomous institution promoting all non-commercial aspects of the craft sector while indirectly benefiting its economic prospects as well.

At a time when 'inclusiveness' is a strong component of public policy, crafts practitioners ought to be counted as repositories and propagators of India's folk and classical wisdoms, creativity, techniques, skills, and mythologies. Almost 94% of artisans and crafts people belong to the backward classes, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, minorities and women. They are not among those upwardly mobile classes who take to Western culture more easily through television and social network sites. They remember their cultural histories and imbibe them in their daily lives. Craftspeople belong overwhelmingly to those social categories for which reservation is sought as a tool for empowerment in legislatures, educational institutions, and public and private work places. Alongside, there are additional ways to offer them dignity and respect across the world apart from quotas and reservations. We can raise the stature and self- worth of these very people by providing institutions and platforms that go beyond a noblesse oblige style of patronage and a handful of departmental schemes that merely assist them in producing and selling better products in India and abroad. When the window through which we look at them is small, they will remain diminished when compared to other sections of society within the creative community. When they look helpless and unworthy of respect within our social and cultural parameters, they have to suffer customers who are happy to buy a foreign branded lipstick worth Rs 900 in a mall without a murmur but who bargain with them to reduce the price of a Rs 200 hand woven or hand-embroidered stole at Dilli Haat. Money is important, but money without dignity and respect leaves the soul impoverished. In the past two months, working groups and sub-groups on handicrafts and handlooms have spent many hours examining existing schemes in the Ministry of Textiles, and proposing new ones for the development of crafts towards the 12th Five Year Plan. The focus has been on exports in the 11th Plan, with the Planning Commission having cut down a number of schemes to make corporate style assessment procedures easier for bureaucracy. Unfortunately, exports have been hit by recession abroad. New policies have now to be devised to include the burgeoning domestic market that has many foreign products on offer in competition. The decentralized, unorganized sector, in which a single family or a few dozen people may be carrying on a fascinating and rare tradition of crafts work, do not fit into a catch-all approach of cluster development and large and rigid outlays for administrative convenience. This time, a wider consultative approach brought in many experienced activists, state organizations and thinking heads to contribute ideas for this sector: advocacy, marketing, design, promotion, entrepreneurship, brand building, education, health, and so on were all examined from the prism of existing schemes and suggestions invited for their improvement. However a cursory glance of all the subjects shows that they actually come under two overall heads - marketing and welfare. The end result of the exercise, while useful and positive, was still an exercise in tinkering with the existing situation rather than thinking bold and big. Since Independence, government agencies handling craftspeople and their work have been divided between the Khadi/Gramodyog department and various ministries such as Industry, Rural Development and the Ministry of Textiles. Sometimes programmes are duplicated, some slip between the floorboards altogether or, crafts interests are crushed under the weight of bigger interests within the same ministry. These divisions have left crafts floundering in the cultural field since no ministry deals with cultural aspects other than the Ministry of Culture. A composite appreciation of the cultural world from which crafts emerge and a forum for their sustenance and propagation cannot come if crafts are considered merely a cottage industry, manufacturing merchandise that need subsidies. They may need them in the short run, but unless they have a far greater worth, they will always remain the poor cousin asking for handouts. The Development Commissioners of Handicrafts and Handlooms within the Ministry of Textiles are responsible as department heads to manage schemes that hardly touch upon issues of culture even while they perform important development-related functions.

Although marketing is crucial for craftspeople, since their interests are mainly economic, a large number of them are proud and conscious of their cultural heritage. They demonstrate a fine knowledge of the cultural ethos of the region to which they belong. This involves history, ethnography, myth, legend, identities and meanings, which are in many cases on the fingertips of senior craftspeople as they have been inspired for generations from these wellsprings. Women and tribal groups among the more marginalized, still live with strong cultural moorings even if they cannot express it articulately in 'educated' ways. For instance, they will explain rituals and practices of their community at weddings and festivals, and link them to objects they make by hand for relevance and meaning. These important areas of cultural knowledge within the creative sector would be lost if we address only their economic concerns. Even buyers of handicrafts abroad these days ask for a 'story' to add value to the product they buy here and wish to sell in their highly industrialized societies where cultural identities are issues largely concerning immigrant communities. When Incredible India is largely the selling of India's landscape and culture, crafts cultures should not be relegated to mere crafts demonstrations or small bazaars where artisans are asked to wear their traditional dress. Most officials organizing these programmes do not have an intimate knowledge of their cultural background. What if we lose the stories that crafts cultures bring, particularly when the process of adding value can be precisely a cultural story apart from better design, packaging or branding? 'Packaging' a product can be in the form of storytelling but it is rare to find a wholesaler or retailer bothering when he has tight deadlines and profits on which to focus. The Hast Kala Akademi could support many exciting activities like a) resurrecting dying crafts, b) encouraging skills that could come under UNESCO's list of intangible heritage, c) encouraging research into processes, skills and traditional technologies, d) commissioning studies linking objects to rituals, myths, legends and ceremonies, e) commissioning academic and informative publications to include documentation of rare crafts, f) commissioning documentaries of craftspeople in their own cultural habitat and, g) organizing high quality exhibitions abroad in places like the Asia Society or the Smithsonian in the USA, or Museums of Folk Art and Ethnology around the world, bringing out the relationship between India's crafts and its performing arts and literature. There are endless creative possibilities that will energize this sector. While the Lalit Kala Akademi has 4200 books published with its support, there would be hardly half a dozen supported by the State for the crafts sector. Dependence rests on private publishers who prefer 'coffee table' publications. Cultural projects have lost their earlier support ever since markets and exports were given priority. While we see that it is important to compile India's major cultural heritage and creativity related to arts, there is no august body of the kind set up for crafts. This is despite the fact that this area comprises a wider range of creativity emerging from our traditional cultures than those `fine arts' promoted under the Lalit Kala Akademi. It should be possible for the Government of India to set up a body constituted on the same - or even slightly altered lines - as the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sahitya Akademi and Lalit Kala Akademi to bring crafts onto a higher platform. If there were a Hast Kala Akademi it would add just that missing component that leaves crafts behind in national and international minds. Before going further it may be useful to take a glance at the existing bodies.The Sahitya Akademi has a very interesting history. The thought process of the erudite Maulana Azad is worth recounting verbatim from its website: "The proposal to establish a National Academy of Letters in India had been under the consideration of the British Government of the country long before independence. In 1944, the Government of India accepted in principle a proposal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal that a National Cultural trust should be set up to encourage cultural activities in all fields. The trust was to consist of three Academies, including the Academy of letters. After freedom, the proposal was pursued by the Government of India, which convened a series of conferences to work out the details. Consensus emerged in favour of establishing three National Academies one of Letters, another of visual arts and the third of Dance, Drama and Music. But deference of opinion persisted whether the Government should take the initiative and establish the academies or whether it should wait for the advent of individuals who had the necessary moral authority to establish the academies. Abul Kalam Azad, the Union Minister of Education, was of the opinion that "if we had waited for the Academy to grow up from below, we might have had to wait till the Greek Kalends." The Lalit Kala Akademi or National Academy of Arts was established at New Delhi in 1954 by the Government of India to promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, both within and outside the country. It does so through providing scholarships, a fellow program, and sponsoring and organizing numerous exhibitions in India and overseas. It is funded by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, and is also an autonomous organization. The Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship, also Lalit Kala Akademi Ratna (Sanskrit ratna, "gem") is an honour for the fine arts in India, given to eminent artists for their lifetime achievements in the field of visual arts. The first elected fellow, in 1955, was the artist Jamini Roy. At the inauguration of the Sangeet Natak Akademi on 28 January 1953, Maulana Azad said, "India's precious heritage of music, drama and dance is one which we must cherish and develop. We must do so not only for our own sake but also as our contribution to the cultural heritage of mankind. Nowhere is it truer than in the field of art that to sustain means to create. Traditions cannot be preserved but can only be created afresh. It will be the aim of this Akademi to preserve our traditions by offering them an institutional form...". The Akademi honours all who have contributed in their fields. The nation gives many awards that are officially listed, from international ones like the Gandhi Peace Prize to national ones like the Padma awards. There are civilian awards in the field of science, the arts and sports, apart from war and peacetime awards for the military. The official list of awards does not even mention the national crafts persons' awards perhaps because, in handicrafts and handlooms, the national award is only for a particular piece of work submitted by a craftsperson and not for lifetime achievement. Unfortunately, over the years the process of selection has been spoiled. On one occasion, two different people submitted the same piece of textile in two consecutive years and both received an award! Many who do not practice a skill have taken the product of an unknowing craftsperson and submitted it as their own. Crafts persons report lobbying and bribing (even such exercises of their own!), whereas a meticulous process of scrutiny by a prestigious Akademi would improve the present situation which scrapes away the dignity of the person and the work.

There are no awards for lifetime achievements for consistent high quality or regular innovation, or awards for dedicated individuals who worked hard to propagate processes in natural dyes like a Toofan Rafai of Gujarat or a K. Chandramouli of Karnataka, even though they were not crafts persons themselves. Scholars of crafts traditions have written excellent books but only when rare publishers have taken the initiative. Others have dedicated their lives to ensuring that crafts skills in India do not die as they have elsewhere in the world. The lack of recognition or reward for their work de-motivates the younger generation who then concentrate on monetary benefits alone. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was the de facto patron-in-chief of all creative cultural activity at the time when other Akademis were set up. It is curious that she did not press for the creation of one to serve crafts despite her being a close colleague of many leaders on the post Independence stage. However, by now establishing a Hast Kala Akademi for India's craft traditions to raise their stature and bring them on par with other cultural fields, we could make up for lost opportunities. If the Ministry of Textiles and the Planning Commission, apart from all those concerned with the development and dignity of handwork, saw this to fruition it would be a major contribution to the 12th Five Year Plan and a fresh way of honouring crafts persons. First published in "The Hindu" on October 1, 2011.

The stereotypical representatives of India, one interaction with the snake charmers is enough to know why they fascinate and capture every imagination. A people immersed in tradition and colour and opium, they captivate attention easily especially once they begin to play. Their music leaves as much to the imagination as it reveals and today, when they are no longer allowed to play with their snakes, nostalgia lingers within these parameters. My aim was to capture the silence into which the Jogi Naths are being pushed. The juxtaposition of the colour and the sound and the thrill of the concert and the stillness of black-white photographs is reflective of the juxtaposition of the magnificence that they once had and the abyss into which they are fast fading. In attempting to create a mysterious element through the photographs, the idea is to invite the viewer to participate in the process of finding and searching, not only in the photograph, but also, in the effort to search for alternatives and choices that can be made available to this community.

The concert was attended by over 600 people including Ms Sheila Dikshit Chief Minister of Delhi, who was the Chief Guest, and was a huge success giving some reprieve to a community that is facing a ban on their occupation. Friends of Snakes is a project of the Jeevika Foundation that has been working closely with the snake charmers for the last 6 years. They aim to assist them in finding livelihoods which are close to their culture but not in violation of wildlife laws. Over 70 "Joginaths", or snake charmers clad in colourful turbans and bright orange attires, performed with their Beens, Thumbas and Khanjaris (all musical instruments). "We have come here from four States. The ban on keeping snakes has stopped us from staging shows. Because of the ban, we are jobless, and it is difficult to earn our living. We want that our traditional snake shows should not vanish. We request the Government to give us licenses to perform"- was the lament of the snake charmers. The hallmark of the concert was the playing of 'Amazing Grace', the Scottish tune. The concert was directed by Roysten Abel. "We get to know about the problem and I know that the tradition is slowly vanishing day by day. And it is the duty of the society and the Government also to look out for the snake charmers," said Dikshit. "It is our responsibility - both the Government's and the society's - to sustain their music. We will not let their art become history," she added. Dikshit also announced that the newly constructed Central Park in Connaught Place would be inaugurated by the snake charmers. In fact following the concert, the snake charmers have been flooded with offers to play at musical concerts, events and festivals which will give them a reasonable livelihood. They have also been approached by a leading music company for recording an album with them. The concert thus has been a successful first step towards reviving the much forgotten musical talents of the snake charmer community. Also see Meha Desai's Photo Essay on A Hundred Charmers in Concert.

Recognizing the role traditional handlooms and designs play in contemporary fashion, we have over the past months initiated a series of interviews with fashion designers. In this interview we do away with the question and answer format to allow two designers to answer our concerns by weaving the story of their interaction and collaboration with the traditional crafts.

SPOTLIGHT ON SIRALI IMPEX "Sirali", or the plume on a peacocks head, holds more than its meaning in the ancient text of Sanskrit, it is an epitome of attraction, a thing of beauty, an expression of the inner self.A brain child of Rahul Jain and Gunjan Arora,"Sirali" stands for their creative capabilities. With Rahul's inclination to the art forms of Cinema , classical Dance along side his MBA Degree and Gunjan's background of Fashion studies from NIFT , Delhi and years of experience of developing innovative styles , the focus has always been to create a spectacular and a well priced design.The philosophy goes hand in hand with the bent of specialization of its creators. With extensive understanding and use of innovative tie-dyes layered with textures and relief embroideries, the design stands out as a collective statement of ideas and yet saying the same prose. Color is used as an underplay to enhance the techniques.

Sirali became a fashion label in 1998, following the attention it got over the outfit made for Caroline Douglas, the chief co-ordinater of the British Museum, worn for the launch of the Museums exhibition in India. The label is now available at outlets like Ogaan, The NIFT Shop in Delhi, Saga, Pantaloon "Spring board"," Buzz" shoppers stop in Mumbai, Amethyst, Collage and Studio Saks in Chennai, Ebony's "Studio Ivory" and a noted few stores like Sanskrit in Hong Kong and Tara Blanca in Tokyo. "Sirali" boasts of clients like Caroline Douglas, Naomi Campbell, Mallaika Arora etc. Sirali has held independent exhibitions propagating its signature style. As a brand Sirali has made its presence felt for its creative impression and effective pricing. They have designed for the entertainment industry making costumes for plays, musicals and award ceremonies. Sirali creates six collections each year - Pre-summer, Summer, High summer, Festive, Pre-fall and Party essentials. Each selection includes co-ordinates and individual ensembles both for Men and Women.

Gunjan Arora Traditional craft has been and shall be a reflection of the cultural, socio-economic, climatic and historic state of the society at all times. So saying that it has to be "preserved" has two connotations, the first being the preservation from exploitation and commercialization and the other being from the change that the craft is going through with the influences of the current market environment. The latter is inevitable. The former is where we can exercise some degree of control. A craft is bound to absorb and reflect what it breathes and we can only filter some of what it breathes, which is motive enough for pondering, looking out and taking action.We at Sirali, that is my partner, Rahul and I have been associated with traditional crafts since childhood. However the 'feeling' for it came during our design trips to Bhuj, Bagru and Barmer in the formative years of our work. When we first met, Rahul, who comes from Rajasthan, was already breathing textiles and I had been freshly bitten by the Bhuj bug .The synergies instantly sparked the common interests and a journey began.

Since then we have researched block printing practices in and around Delhi, in Jaipur, more specifically Ajrakh printing in Dhamadka village in Kutch, Suf and other embroideries in Sumraser sheikh-Bhuj and Jaisalmer, Sindhi embroidery in Bajju, Rajasthan and Chikan in and around Lucknow, Bandhini in Bhuj and Mandvi in Kutch, as well as experimented with the Japanese 'Shibori'. Our collections, aimed at the urban market incorporate chikan, block prints, bandhini and shibori.

Our trip to Kutch opened our eyes to the fact that so many craft skills: printing, weaving, embroideries, tie dye coexist in a single area, each craft form having a different root but in the same surroundings. There still are places and unexplored domains within our own country that could make us feel like tourists in our own land. Our work with Urmul Seemant Samiti took us to the depths of Bikaner and Jaisalmer. That so many influences have traveled through the North Western Frontier Provinces, through Pakistan and have become our own is fascinating. We conducted design workshops for the artisans focusing on the technical and the quality angle i.e. introducing them to new fabrics, teaching better stitching techniques, new embroidery placements but conveying all the time that it is important to stay close to the roots. One such discovery was with Chikankari:

CHIKAN: OUR JOURNEY WITH A CRAFT The first trip to the town of Lucknow had more meanings than one. It was about discovering the roots of chikankari as well as the commercial aspect of it. At the root depth of the art there was so much to accept, learn and take forward.

The trip was about feeling the feelings of the craftspeople and the journey the art form had traveled. The heat wave in the midst of the dust sent us the first feeler of what was to be the physical path of the trip. A shared auto rickshaw, two hand drawn cycle rickshaws and an hour and half later we reached a village called Khadra on the banks of the river Gomti, where the craft has been practiced ever since its being. A small group of women from all walks of life, religions and levels of learning were seen working in collectives called "centers". The chance to be with national & state awardees, who have been commissioned by the government to propagate and shoulder the craft, was like an oasis in the desert.

THE PROCEDURE Unlike the transfer of design on fabric as we did at our end, the traditional way of printing the design with hand blocks is still prevalent. Gum from the babool tree is blended with indigo to transfer the design onto the fabric and to allow it to stay on for a prolonged period of time.
	The work is divided between the groups as per their specialization with the stitches and the skill levels. The job is issued out to women who cannot venture out of their houses after marking of the pattern on the fabric length. Post embroidery, the fabric barely looks recognizable and hardly like a piece of art but it carries the story of the lives of the people who decorate it, either for the need of a livelihood or for the sake of the art.
It goes through its final cleansing at the banks of the river Gomti where all the dirt, all its traces and all the stories with it are washed off in soda and soap. It's only now that the images of the art begin to be seen. Methodology We work directly with artisans as we get to trace the lineage and the history of the craft form, which generally throws up a plethora of possibilities, to be worked and experimented with, always retaining the original flavor. A craft form can never get better than from where it comes. We can get the work done in Delhi at a fraction of the original cost but then the original character is lost. Working With Crafts There are problems when working with the crafts especially those of price and time deadlines, which must be adhered to in today's retail and export scenario. Yet we have managed to work around these and marketed our chikan ranges to acclaimed international labels like 'East'. We are currently working with a chikan group of 26 women who generate an output of 300 plus pieces a month, each of superb quality. As for the future of the craft, it is as bright as its past if we accept the fact that like us craft too has to make a journey and live and grow within the environment. The responsibility is that of all the stakeholders : designers, retailers, exporters and consumers to keep alive the soul of the craft.

Issue #007, Winter, 2021 ISSN: 2581- 9410

The production of Ajrakh cloth in Kutch presents an exceptional story of the determination of the artisans to keep the craft alive and contemporary for markets and people in varied cultures across the world. Traditionally printed on both sides in dominant shades of indigo and madder, and characterized by their use of mordanting and multiple dyeing techniques, the ajrakh textiles derive their name from the Arabic word azrak, meaning blue. The rich patterned surface of ajrakh fabrics is achieved through a highly evolved and sequential process of scouring, mordanting, printing, lime resist printing, multiple dyeing in Indigo (blue), Manjistha (red)and distinctive washing. Dyed and printed with vegetable and mineral colours, the properties of this cloth exceed the merely aesthetic. The colours of ajrakh are believed to be in harmony with nature such that they are cooling in the heat and warming in the cold. The Khatris came to Kachchh from Sindh about four hundred years ago at the invitation of Rao Bharmalji the first who ruled the district from 1586 to 1631. The Rao gave them gifts of land and they were free to choose where they wanted to build their homes. Their family belongs to the Dhada subcaste and their ancestor, Jindha Jiva, chose the site of Dhamadka because the River Saran ran through it. A good supply of running water is necessary for different stages of dyeing and washing of ajrakh cloth. This foresight is what runs in the genes of the Khatris. The torchbearers of ajrakh, the family of late Khatri Mohammad Siddik of Dhamadka village in Kutch, proudly hold credits of the global fame of ajrakh textiles. Bringing ajrakh in limelight was an effort of years and generations put together, initiated by late Khatri Mohammad Siddik. Post-Independent India went through an industrial revolution in the early 1950’s . The result was fast paced production of cheaper costing goods across all walks of life, which also hampered the authenticity of ajrakh. Ajrakh which was made using natural dyestuffs started to be made by using chemical dyes. Khatri Mohammad Siddik also altered his practice in order to survive. However, it was difficult for him to detach himself for long from his roots of natural dyes. Hence, in the early 1970’s while his sons were growing up, he decided to revive the naturally dyed ajrakh by teaching his sons the process. This complex and detailed process was passed on to his next generation by oral and hands-on practice. He not only revived the natural dyeing but also established a clientele forA Legacy of Ajrakh- Abdul this prized craft. His love for natural dyeing, belief in his roots, patience and sincere teaching was planted years ago and has beautifully blossomed today. It can be said that he lived his life by the quote, “The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you don’t expect to sit.” This legacy has been followed by the youngest son of late Khatri Mohammad Siddik, Abdul Jabbar Mohammad Khatri (B. 1967) who belongs to the ninth generation of Khatri printers and dyers at Dhamadka. Abdul Jabbar Khatri, started learning his hereditary craft at the young age of 8 from his father. He has been working since he was 15 years old; has been practicing this labour of love for 45 years and has gained mastery over it.A Legacy of Ajrakh- Abdul

Innovations in this traditional craft has been one of the reasons for its continued relevance in people’s homes and wardrobes. Since the 1990’s he has been working on expanding his traditional learning to accommodate a modern and contemporary aesthetic. Though traditional ajrakh has indigo, madder and pomegranate colors, over the years with several collaborations he has developed a palette of 32 new color shades, all derived from natural ingredients like sapan wood, lac, ubitorium, rubaarb, henna, ratanjot, walnut skin etc. He has explored the concept of scale variation and introduced a miniature version of ajrakh patterns. An exploratory design approach and a futuristic vision keeps him busy with innovations, thereby opening new opportunities for his future generations.

Like his father, Abdul Jabbar Khatri believes in sharing knowledge. He is a keen teacher and shares his knowledge with students. All round the year one will find students making notes at his workshop while he is dictating traditional names of ajrakh patterns. He is a craft educator associated with design institutes in India and around the world; National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad and Maiwa School of Textiles, Vancouver to name a few.

In recognition of his prowess as a block printer specialising in the use of natural dyes, Abdul Jabbar was conferred with a National Craft Award by the Government of India in 2003. He has also achieved international recognition - receiving a UNESCO Seal of Excellence in 2008, an award for ‘Innovation and Creativity in Craft ‘ from the Government of Oman in 2011, an ‘Award for Excellence in Handicrafts’ from the World Crafts Council in 2014 and 2018. His textiles are held in museum collections around the world, including the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London, the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and the Textile Museum, Washington D.C. He has travelled the globe to demonstrate his craft to a wider audience, and held exhibitions and cultural events worldwide notably at the V&A (2007), Oman (2012), Japan (2018), Iran (2018), Canada (2018). Apart from numerous accolades, the regard for his textiles has been consolidated by long-term collaborations with brands and designers in India and around the world. He runs his printing workshop in Dhamadka along with his elder son Adam and younger son Nauman.

The ‘best dressed woman in the world’ on the occasion of ‘the grandest spectacle in history, ’ bedazzled kings and princes alike in a fabulous gown of gold that in peacock patterning, each feather illuminated with an iridescent emerald-green jewel-beetle wing casing. The occasion – the Delhi Durbar held to commemorate the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria as Emperor and Empress of India; the invitees – Rajas and Maharajas; the event - the coronation ball; the host – Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India; the hostess – Baroness Curzon, Vicereine, who glittered in what came to be known as the peacock gown; and the date – a little more than a century ago. The legend of the extravagant Peacock gown spread far, the blue-green Jewel beetle wing casings reflecting light like faceted gems having been mistaken for emeralds. Justly renowned as an opulent accoutrement used to embellish luxury textiles, the elytra (the hard casing covering the wings and not the wings themselves) of the jewel beetles or buprestidae were valued as one of the important commercial and economic products of India. Lightweight, surprisingly tough and hard-wearing, they retained their luminous colour for over a century. This is apparent from museum pieces in India and the famed ‘Peacock gown ‘now on permanent display at the National Trust in the UK - they were the ultimate in luxury embroidery. An 1888 publication, on the ‘Art Manufactures of India’ written by T. N. Mukerji gives us information on this ‘costly style’ and ‘expensive article’. Stating that this embroidery, much in demand for ball dresses was especially effective in lamp-light as the ‘glint of the pieces added to the richness’ as the wing casing replicated the jewel like brilliance of emeralds and sapphires. Embroidery using jewel beetle casing was famed from Mughal times as evidenced from museum pieces of sumptuous court-garments, turbans, wedding outfits and waist-sashes. Embroidered on to fine muslins, satins, brocades, velvet and other luxury textiles the jewel beetle casings were couched with silk threads, gilt silver and gold wire. Embroidered not only on valuable textiles the Jewel beetle casing were used to embellish to ornate hand fans, theatrical costumes, paintings, book-covers, jewellery and other decorative items The casings were available in colors of emerald green that reflected luminous layers of sapphire, amethyst and copper shades. Relatively small in size, extending from lengths of 3 to 80 mm, their shapes from cylindrical to oval was sewn down on the base textile either with a mirror stitch that encased it overlapping stitches or through stitching it down through the minute holes punctured either on its two ends or in the center, depending on the demands of the patterning. The beetles wing casings were in the past collected from forests int Burma (Myanmar) which was their known habitat. Distributed through Kolkata (Calcutta) to embroiderers across India this supply route has long fallen into disuse. With the jewel beetles short life span of 3 to 4 weeks in their adult stage the wing casing are now farmed in accordance with the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and can now be easily accessed on-line or from Thailand. The recently concluded major exhibition on the ‘Fabric of India’ held in London at the Victoria and Albert Museums featured many never before seen historic textiles. Included amongst the 200 pieces showcased from its collection was a muslin border for a women’s dress dated to the 19^th century that was embroidered with beetle wing casings couched with silver wire. More recently, examples from other parts of the world show a revival of the embroideries. In the movie Snow White and the Huntsman nominated for best costume in the Oscars the glamorous gown worn by Charlize Theron in her role as the evil queen was embroidered with the casings of jewel beetles. The embroidery and its art have been almost completely lost in India. Though there are some recent glimmerings of revival by Asif Sheikh, an embroidery designer based in Ahmadabad whose experiments hold out hope that techniques of the past can be recreated however long and painstaking the process. Given the huge market in India for bejeweled textiles there is the promise that the magnificence of the jewel beetle casing if revived will have a splendid future. [gallery ids="165465,165466,165467,165468"] First published in the Sunday Herald.

India. Bharat. Devbhumi. The woman, with a body that smells of the chandan, the vibhuti, the mango, the smell of the dust and the sweat exuding the dusky sensuousness, big black eyes that refuse to let you pay attention to any other part of her being, to take all of you within for a spiral spin, impossible to escape after just one hard look. Its hold, somehow, whether through one's eyes, through the nose, through the throat or directly through the chest, the rib cage, is unbreakable, for it constantly and continuously insists on destroying or just displacing the foundation of every intelligent word, theory ,mind construct. Other civilizations might be like rivers which tend towards gradual senility or mutual destruction but this one is the wild woman, the pure woman, the sensible woman, the queen and the sakhis, the goris and the sawlis dancing their garbha or leela within from which humans take the Rasa, living with the illusion that he is playing the flute, instead his tune, his breath is decided by the rhythm, the beauty and madness of the swirl around him. In the emotional torrents of so called blind faith fated irrationality, blood has mixed in the river but never touched the banks, the body-whether call it helpless acceptance or stupidity, awareness of death as a blasé reality. An ability of losing oneself in colorful respite, of Holi rang and bhang, of the melas, the conspicuous dressing up of stone gods and goddesses-our children and parents, our lovers and soul mates, we can all spoil together, cry to, hold close to our heart, hit our head against but try and make come alive, talk to us, tell us how fragile we are, how mortal we are and we leave, each one of us, a part of our piety, our traditionalized bhakti faith, sometimes the pain of the pure soul, in that 'idol', sometimes to snatch a pinch of that collectivized, eons old-feeling of "moksha"-taking leave of a sickening body. The moment later-the swaying hips of the village woman, barefoot with anklets, or leaning against her mud hut doorway entices the man into an earthy sensuality, providing frequent release but irresponsible breeding! It is said Kamasutra was written by Vatsyana in an age when due to strict moral control by Brahmins, population had in fact started decreasing. So who would follow Dharma if there was no manushya and so came the vision of unbridled sexual frission! Irrepressible, the sadhu,the Sufi, in all the wanderer which kept bubbling time and time again reforming,preserving,destroying.Creating dreams of divine love and sacrifice from perception of a Bulle Shah, or renunciatory ordeals of-sick of materiality, regal sons like Buddha or Mahavir,or ordered, codified fully meaningfulised existences propounded by Shankracharyas,Madhavacharayas or math-rebels like Ramanujas. This des learnt ishq, mohabbat and hyper-sentimentalized it so much that shers were written in medieval times like the 1950's and 60's melodramatic love songs of Hindi cinema becoming more and more beautiful in words but through which less and less real flowing emotion came through. With Islam came another tehzeeb and adab, the Mughals took to the paan and Hindus took to the hookah. They showed confidence then decadence with style, red stoned forts and marbleized makbaras, shabab, sharab, shaiyri and the heart lifting innocent mists of muslin behind which hid sharam. The north was never spared the frequent visitations of tribes from Central Asia, which kept it boiling, the ethnic cauldron, oscillating between spice and gur, the chutney and the kheer - Sakas, Huns, Kushans, and many others became Rajputs, Jats , Meos, everyone changed someone somewhere and got changed on this mad lands spirit to make it a madder land. Who was left but the cool Anglo-Saxon and his renaissance of objectivity, rationality and civilizing humanism clothed with Christianity, modernism, evolutionary progress to social and economic utopias guided by the free hand of enlightened selfishness or revolutionary pogroms- to give this woman, who used much less of her buddhi and too much of her other-worldliness a shock, as if to help the cold Siberian winds cross the mighty Himalayas. They thought it was too much of a complex masala and tried their best to make it as bland as possible. They united us into a country by giving us a new name "United India", gave us a kick from their boots to get on with the work of plantations, laying railway lines and administrating, ruling, organizing us totally chaotic people. Lazy and useless. So we educated ourselves, becoming lawyers,babu-sahibs and worshipping firangi mem-sahibs. Our brahmanical heritage helped, long used to mystification and intricacies of words. Sanskrit, Persian and now English, the elite always spoke another language from the common people, who had their Buddhas, Kabirs, Nanaks and Meeras. We became white-washed, foamed and cleaned. We gained freedom at midnight and took away from the imperial queen her biggest diamond, her largest maid-in-waiting. Now while the vigyan of modernity struggles with paramgyan and parmartha of ancient India and the earth aches to find a solution, not of religious fundamentalism, nor of technology arrogance but one of a sustainable human-nature civilization. In this maddest land amongst all we have myths of heart and now experience across the seven seas to begin creating a synthesis ,to imagine a goddess like Durga to kill Mahishasura,that demon which births a million demons wherever a drop of its blood falls. A Durga that was formed by the energies of all the gods, Shiva became the face, Yama her hair, Vishnu her arms, Chandra her breasts, Indra her midriff, Varuna her thighs, Brahma her feet, Surya her fingers, three eyes from Agni, ears from Vayu and teeth from Prajapati. From every land and every ideology, from every faith and theory we need to create a leap of imagination that creates in all our hearts a new world order based on ecological humanity so that all our emotional and spiritual mad nesses can thrive and be celebrated.

https://youtu.be/2RrqCT0pgvw

An eye for the exquisite: Sonia picks the colours for her saris depending on the season | PTI Sonia carefully picks her saris to showcase her love for the traditional weaves of India Indira and Sonia chose their saris carefully, not just to suit their own tastes, but as an identity appropriate for each occasion. In the 50s and early 60s, Indira Gandhi was her father’s companion and hostess, undreamt of as a future prime minister. She was a close friend of my parents—Surayya and Badruddin Tyabji. As an Indian ambassador’s wife, my mother wore saris to raise a flag for the Indian aesthetics. Indira Gandhi, thanks to her discerning eye and impeccable taste, was often asked to select and send her some saris. By the time Indira Gandhi became prime minister, the roles were reversed and it was my mother, then chairperson of the Andhra Pradesh Handloom Corporation, who was asked by her friend to select saris for her. (I occasionally see Priyanka wearing one.) In the 90s, I inherited the role of choosing saris for another Gandhi—Sonia. Indira Gandhi’s fascination for handlooms was something she and her daughter-in-law Sonia had in common. They bonded over many things, especially Indira Gandhi’s adored grandchildren, but an exquisite textile, a stunning flower arrangement, a deliciously put together meal, a painting or objet d’art, whether contemporary or traditional, drew them together in delighted appreciation. It was India’s arts and crafts that Sonia most responded to, right from the start. It was the beginning of her deep involvement with every aspect of India. I remember, after the post-Emergency elections, when Indira Gandhi was out of power, Sonia coming to Khazana, the Taj Mansingh store where I was then merchandiser/designer, and sitting on my table, looking at a pile of Banarasi textiles a master weaver had brought, and animatedly giving ideas for new colours and designs. I remember, too, in the mid-90s, when both Indira Gandhi and Rajiv were dead, Sonia was struggling with the unfamiliar realities of being the devastated Congress’s last hope. She rang me about a project in the earthquake-struck Latur supported by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. I told her I was in the middle of a workshop with embroidery craftswomen, and she should join us. “Oh, Laila, how I wish I could...,” came the heavily accented, wistful reply. In the early days, she would visit exhibitions, but later security became an issue. I used to put together a pile of my favourite saris from our bazaars, and they would be sent off for her to make a pick. Her only proviso: no flimsy saris that would fly up when she got into helicopters or jeeps. So no chanderis, kotas or maheshwars. And I seem to recall her saying no purples and oranges. For both Indira and Sonia Gandhi, saris were a metaphor and a medium. They chose their saris carefully, not just to suit their own tastes, but as an identity appropriate for each occasion. A Kanjeeveram in Tamil Nadu, a Bodo weave in Assam, a stunning ikat in Andhra Pradesh or Odisha. And in Kashmir they wore the local feran. The crowds loved and responded to it. They seldom wore elaborate zari saris in India, but pulled out all the stops when they represented the country abroad.

Sonia wore thick coarse Korpat tribal saris long before they became a fashion statement. She loves traditional handloom weaves. In 2006, when Vankar Chaman Siju wove the very first sari in Bhujodi, using kutchi shawl motifs as inspiration, I sent her the sari. She bought it immediately, and has worn it often since. I’ve never seen her wear chiffon or Swarovski crystals, even at parties. And her blouses haven’t changed in style. The cut is exactly the same as her mother-in-law’s—staidly conventional. Recently, as Sonia travels less, she buys fewer saris. One sees her repeating old favourites—many now unobtainable. She loves ikat, and often wears Neeru Kumar’s contemporary ikat silks. She is also fond of Dhakai jaamdanis. Funnily, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wear bandini, although when I wore Ali Mohamed Isha’s stunning red and black bandini at my Padma Shri ceremony, she commented on the sari’s intricate beauty. Her colour palette matches the Indian seasons—whites, creams and pale pastels in summer, deeper tones in winter. Jewel shades—ruby red, emerald and jade green, the dark blue of a good sapphire. Earth colours like terracotta, taupe and biscuit are also favourites. Black as an accent, but seldom the base. In the days before electronic media and Page 3 created new fashion icons, daily images of the two Mrs Gandhis on our front pages wearing all manners of weaves did much for Indian saris; creating an awareness of their beauty and range. In turn, this encouraged weavers to excel and innovate. Who knows, we would have otherwise been wearing synthetics. However, if the Gandhi saris served as a metaphor for India’s diversity, possibly Sonia’s blouses carry a message, too. They tell us that the Congress lives too much in the past; they hint it should move on and change.

Introduction

The Problem

FIELD EXPERIENCE

The Potential and The People

Their Awareness and Enthusiasm

Skill Potential

Experiencing The Market for the Available Skill

Availability of Regional Resource

The Idea

Directional Move Towards Intervention

Intervention

Slots and Grouping

In Design

In Technology

Marketing and Organizing skills

Introduction

MYTHOLOGICAL ORIGINS OF THE RABARI CASTE

CHANGING PATTERNS OF PASTORALISM

THE PASSING OF THE CRAFT

Conclusion

Acknowledgements