Rafiquddin sat cross-legged on the red-carpeted floor inside Frankfurt’s Festhalle Messe, far away from his home and workshop in Agra where he’s a star craftsman. His tools were laid out in front of him: small slabs of marble, a polishing machine and a few marble boxes with intricately patterned motifs in coloured stone. At the Messe Ambiente Fair, Mr. Rafiquddin and four others, all recipients of the national award for craftsmen, were seated under the banner “India — Magic of Gifted Hands”, an Export Promotion Council of Handicrafts (EPCH) stall.
However, in an exhibition space of over 3,08,000 sq. m (imagine 245 Olympic-sized swimming pools), they were barely noticed as visitors from over 168 countries and exhibitors from over 89 countries, including 435 companies from India, passed by. They were neither exporters nor buyers, and weren’t within the main exhibition halls. They were representing India, from the margins, at a demonstration stall along the lobby.
Since Mr. Rafiquddin won the ‘Shilp Guru’, India’s highest award for arts and crafts, in 2013 for his intricate marble inlay work, the EPCH has sponsored him to several International fairs for ‘demonstration’ purposes.
Over the last three years, many craftsmen have travelled abroad through this initiative, said Rakesh Kumar, executive director, EPCH. “Over seven million Indians are in the handicrafts industry. It’s India’s USP: handmade goods, and at such demonstrations, we showcase their craftsmanship and skills,” he explained.
Such stalls are not aimed at bagging big shipment orders. They act as a branding tool for Indian handicraft exports. And Mr. Rafiquddin has become an unlikely poster boy for such campaigns.
Data from research organisation CMIE show that handicrafts exports from India in 2016-17 totalled $1,926 million, merely 0.7% of the total exports. Of this, exports to Europe accounted for $553 million, about 28.7%.
At fairs such as the Ambiente, nearly 75% of Indian products are handicrafts. According to Nicolette Naumann, vice-president, Ambiente, “In Europe, customers are attaching greater value to individual, high-grade products or products that look as if they have been hand-made.” India will be the partner country for the fair’s next edition, which will have a special handicrafts gallery, she adds.
Narrating his story of learning this medieval-era technique when he was 17, Mr. Rafiquddin says many of his relatives are craftspersons, and so is his son. However, the father-son duo have been unable to crack the mechanics of the European market. “The demonstrations are a great opportunity, but we want some clients in the West,” he said.
Not able to scale up production
There are several policies to promote handicrafts exports, and EPCH too has worked on creating schemes and projects. In recent years, innovative initiatives (like Gaatha Project and Gramin Vikas Sansthan) have provided craftspersons with direct access to the global market. But can an individual artisan, even if he a national award winner, make it big at a global level?
“These are B2B shows, individuals cannot meet the demand and volume that export requires,” explained Mr. Kumar. Mr. Rafiquddin admitted that he needs months to craft large objects and days for smaller ones.
Between the promise of a growing market and the drawbacks of the handicrafts industry are many Rafiquddins, whose magic hands can’t fathom the demands of consumerism.
Mahima A. Jain is a London-based freelance journalist
