Arts & Crafts of India
The first thing that startles most visitors to India is the sheer
abundance of color. Just look around you – the many idols of gods
and goddesses, the clothes, the trucks and all the knick-knacks in the
dozens of shops you see at Delhi’s Janpath are a riot of color.
¤ Skilled Artisans
All this is the work of thousands of unsung, unappreciated artisans
and crafts persons who make magic with their very hands. They are the
ones who make those fabulous tie-and-dye skirts, those fantastically
embroidered Gujarati cholis, that lacquered furniture and that
beautifully studded silver jewellery. India may be a land of farmers
but it is equally a land of artisans.
Unfortunately, Indian arts and crafts have been teetering on the edge
of extinction for a long time. Demand for indigenous arts and crafts
nose-dived with the setting up of large-scale industry in India. After
all, in a poor country like India, machine-made saris – to give
you but one example – are cheaper and therefore more affordable
than handloom saris. The list is endless. This has left artisans with
little choice but to abandon their age-old professions and become
common laborers, factory workers or government clerks. In either case,
the loss has been of ours.
Thankfully, efforts have been made by both government and
non-government agencies to keep our art and craft tradition alive and
kicking. Here then is an overview of the major arts and crafts of
India.
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