The Dastkari Haat Samiti’s (DHS) upcoming bazaar in Pune will feature a wide range of crafts and textiles from across the country. There is linen handloom and Jamdani saris from West Bengal; small brooms from Madhya Pradesh that are perfect to clean out a keyboard; Gamcha and Patteda Anchu saris; textiles in Indigo; Kalamkari and woven durries from Andhra Pradesh; burnt wood crafts from Chattisgarh; carpets from Kashmir; and brass vessels from Odisha.
The Dastkari Haat Crafts Bazaar is an annual activity spread across several Indian cities. It endeavours to widen the reach of crafts and handlooms, and also locate them in contemporary marketplace beyond inertia-ridden State emporia.
The DHS was founded by a long-time crusader for Indian crafts and handlooms, and author, Jaya Jaitly in 1986. The association aims to raise the social and economic status of crafts persons by infusing innovation and introducing new modes of creativity.
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The bazaar has come to become a fertile cultural space, fostering interaction between creators and the consumers. But how did Indian handlooms and crafts fall off the map and attain a class character? “It is a myth that all handloom saris and crafts are expensive and therefore attractive only to the elite,” reasons Jaitly, adding that plenty of young women have their own ways of making handloom contemporary. She cites many reasons that are pushing down handloom sales; cultural effects, fashion trends, films, cheap imitations of western styling and even convenience.
The real loss has been in rural areas where synthetics, screen prints, machine embroidery and powerlooms are much cheaper and have been promoted by big producers for the past three decades. Wherever there are well-designed handlooms on sale, in any form, including in smaller cities, the figures aren’t disheartening. “Men's kurtas and jackets in handloom and khadi still sell well,” says Jaitly. “These get left off the radar because of the dominance of the woman's voice in this sector.
And of course, don’t forget my favourite ubiquitous gamcha [cotton towel] for non-elitist working-class men.”
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Jaitly finds representation of slot weavers and craftspeople as ‘artisans’, derogatory and restrictive. According her, an 'artisan' is perceived as an unskilled, poor person sitting inside a little hut in India. On the other hand, a 'craftsperson' is shown respect, but is considered lower than the English-speaking, sophisticated and urbane ‘contemporary artiste’. The disparity results in a difference in economic values attributed to their work. “We have not effectively negotiated the bridge between community work and individual work for traditional art, no matter how skilled and fine it may be,” says Jaitly. “Perhaps individualism separates the artiste from the craftsperson, but that should not be detrimental to craftspersons with high talent.”
Take, for instance, Jaitly’s experience with craftspeople from Kashmir, who are likely to be present at the Pune bazaar. She recalls her long association with them with an anecdote where they painted stones she picked from streams in the State. Presented to the then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, they were proof of intelligent design intervention.
The craftspeople in the State were disappointed with the political turmoil there. “It kept them restricted at home, unable to access raw materials, customers or contact anyone on the Internet,” says Jaitly. “The entire tourist season was ruined for them. They were caught between State power and militants' violence.”
The situation in Kashmir is an example of how politics, too, can affect the growth of handloom. However, Jaitly feels campaigns like #MakeInIndia and #IWearHandloom can help.
The author teaches English Literature at Flame University, Pune and occasionally writes on art and culture.
Dastkari Haat Samiti’s Pune bazaar will take place at Monalisa Kalagram, Koregaon Park from February 3 to February 12 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.