Radha is a ten-year-old curious girl who loves to search for random things in each and every corner of the house. Once, she found an old box. As soon as she opened it, she was surprised to find toys made of clay, dolls, puppets, clothes with beautiful embroidery, etc.
She asked her mother to whom these things belonged. Her mother replied it was hers. She used to play with those in her childhood. Radha asked why she did not have toys like her mother did. Her mother again replied that she did not find such toys in the market anymore.
This got Radha’s mother thinking that are our traditional handicrafts dying a slow death?
This essay would try to answer the above question in detail. Starting from the historical aspect of handicrafts, the essay would answer how and why they started declining. Finally, we would discuss steps to not just prevent the handicrafts from dying but to revive and rejuvenate them.
The start of creation
The earliest recorded handicrafts date back to the Indus Valley civilization. During excavations at sites like Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, Chanhu-daro, etc., toys made of terracotta, seals made of steatite [soapstone], Black and Red ware pottery made of clay, etc., were excavated. Terracotta sculptures of Bearded priest and bronze statues of dancing girls are still considered marvels of Indian handicrafts.
Indian traditional handicrafts got further enriched after contact with Greek and Roman rulers like Kushans, Indo-Greeks, and Parthians.
Furthermore, with the advent of Mughals, Delhi Sultanate rulers introduced Persian art in Indian handicrafts, particularly the chikankari style of Lucknow Nawab and the carpet-making style of Mughal rulers.
Another facet of handicraft is puppetry. It owes its origin to the Sangam Age of South India and is now broadly classified into different categories like thread puppetry, shadow puppetry, rod puppetry, etc.
The most astonishing part of Indian handicrafts is painting. It evolved from the Stone Ages to ancient to medieval to modern times with different branches like Madhubani art, Kangra school of painting, Kishangarh school Warli paintings, Malwa paintings, etc.
These examples are concrete proof of the richness and magnanimity of Indian traditional art and handicrafts. But all the richness started to fade with the arrival of the British.
Beginning of the end
To promote their own homegrown handicrafts, the British discouraged Indian artisans. This was done through preferential import of British handicrafts and restricted export of Indian handicrafts. Furthermore, the greatest blow to Indian handicrafts came from the Industrial Revolution in Europe.
The start of machine making of toys, pots, carpets, etc., made these goods competitive in the market that eventually drove out Indian handicrafts. The artists left the art and became agricultural laborers.
The second blow to Indian handicrafts came in the wake of Indian Independence. Due to widespread poverty, our five-year plans initially focused on heavy industries [Mahalanobis plan], building dams, infrastructure, etc. Hence handicrafts were reduced to the fringe of economic activity.
The final blow came after LPG reforms of 1991. Once our Indian markets were opened to the world, they were flooded with foreign-made toys, crafts, cutlery, etc. MNCs like Funskool, The Barbie Company, Hamleys dominated the Indian market and still continue to do so.
This trend has further accentuated due to the culture of westernization, wherein Indian handicrafts are looked upon as old, obsolete, and out of trend, whereas foreign-made products are looked upon as symbols of upper class and elitism. This has been taken cognizance by the government who is now trying to revive our cultural heritage associated with Indian handicrafts.
The era of revival: Government efforts
Our artisans face the biggest hurdle in the form of credit. For this, the government has encouraged microfinance institutions to lend to our artisans. To improve loan recovery capacity and achieve economies of scale for domestic and international markets, the government is encouraging Self Help Groups (SHGs) of artisans.
Through schemes like SFURTI, SATH, the government is focusing on skill enhancement of our artisans.
To bring India’s traditional handicrafts to the world, these are displayed at various India International Centers and Indian embassies in foreign countries.
The government has encouraged e-commerce giants like Amazon, Flipkart to sell traditional handicrafts in the Indian market and abroad.
Through the government’s own Government e-Marketplace [GeM] portal, government offices place bulk orders to Indian artisans for small products in offices.
Light at the end of tunnel
Through the above-mentioned steps, there appears a ray of hope for the revival of Indian handicrafts. But government efforts have to be supplemented with Indian efforts of citizens.
We should encourage our youth to attend festivals like Hunar Haats to see and internalize how rich Indian traditional handicraft is.
Our homes must be decorated and adorned with traditional crafts. Our children must enjoy playing with Indian-made crafts and toys.
In conclusion, the essay has taken the reader from the start to the present-day journey of Indian handicrafts dealing with aspects like causes for decline and steps for revival.
This revival has found a new lease of life in the form of Atmanirbhar Bharat. We must go “vocal for local.”
With the hope that like her mother, Radha too gets an opportunity to discover traditional handicrafts, play with them and learn from them; this essay concludes that hope is a good thing. And no good thing ever dies.