How beneficial is all this progress India trumpets about? Often times, there is no barometer to record how much is, in fact, non-detrimental. An important aspect of India’s economic discussion, in the last decade, has been the state of its cottage industries, a large component of which is village enterprise that unfortunately faces rampant abandon in our changing industrialised environment. So, that brings us back to where we started from—how beneficial is the progress and who is it for? Not, in the least, for Ram Kumar who sits with his beautiful blue pottery at Dastkar’s Nature 2018 crafts fair.
For an industry that is the second-largest employer after agriculture, the appreciation and remuneration are abysmal, resultantly, stultifying his spirit.
“Everybody talks industrialisation. Who talks about indigenous industries,” he questions, adding, “The only people benefiting are big private companies who have the might of machinery. Our positions have deteriorated not progressed since India’s Independence. Shouldn’t progress have been for each one?” he asks.
At the winter carnival, you find several similar voices, some strong, others sceptical. But each year they come to the bazaar to display their makes. What choice do they have, another one asks us. At least, the fair offers them fare prices.
While craftsmen have gained confidence, buyers have gained knowledge about the innumerable craft practices that don’t always get to shine routinely.
Organised by Dastkar, a not-for-profit NGO established in 1981, the theme this year is Lotus. How it grows in mud but still opens itself to the shining sun, draws similarities to the craftsmen of India in the way they rise above financial adversities and social neglect.
The shopkeepers here are happy to take you through their practices, embellishing the conversation with anecdotes of trial and triumphs.
We walk past shops dotted with vibrancy of the weaves. They stand strong in their homogeneous stance of belonging to the oneness of India’s handmade story. Every kiosk, whether it’s the one with block-printed textiles, Dhokra castings or appliqués, boasts the material’s history. “There is an urgent need to involve grassroots into the mainstream for long-term self-reliance. It’s about valuing tradition along with new-age crafts,” says Laila Tyabji, Founder of Dastkar.