India back into action, Crafts have a bright future

India is a country rich in crafts; every part of the country has a different culture and a different craft. Some of the crafts here are as old as 500 years. In spite of the fact that these crafts are very rare, special and are practiced only in India, the awareness about them is very less.
We being design students, have an inclination towards knowing them but people from other profession may not even have knowledge about it. If they see a specific piece and like it then they may buy it but they do not have the willingness to learn about the craft or the history of the craft.
Each craft is unique in its own way. Each has a distinct origin, procedure, motifs and products. The craftsmen continue with the same craft year after year as their tradition and are proud of it even if it does not fetch them a good price. They are happy to get appreciation only. When we went to Kutch to study crafts, the crafts men were so humble to us. They told us the whole procedure without hiding any thing also they demonstrated it to us, wasting their precious time. In that time hey could produce products that help them sustain their lives. But they were happy for the fact that we came all the way from the city to their village to learn the craft. It made them proud of themselves.
They are the masters of their craft. No machine or technology can be compared with them. Their experience surpasses any machine or technology. Their selection of motifs, colour sense, material sense and perfection in work is incomparable. Also the tools that they use are made by them, they are even better than the tools available in the market.

I believe that the designers have an important role to play in the future of the Indian crafts. We are the ones who understand them and have seen them working so we know their strengths, weaknesses, problems and the resources. So using this information, we can help them in designing new & contemporary products, which will appeal more to the masses and thus can sell more and become more popular. Even a little alteration in the motifs can help to generate very new and fresh motifs.
Also as designers we can promote the Indian Crafts by using them ourselves. Thereby providing them with a brand to reach to larger masses. This can promote as well as sell their products more.
This is the right time when even the west has realized the potential of India, may it be in culture or in crafts. Thus we must take an initiative to promote the crafts. I believe that the crafts have a bright future since India is realizing its power and going back to its values. If we spread the awareness about the crafts, they still have a long way to go and to make India proud. The problem that might come in its way is that the rare crafts are being practiced only by a very few families and in some cases by only one family. In this situation the government should take initiative to involve more people in the crafts. Most of the crafts have a long and tedious process so the younger generation is not taking interest in it. This is a threat to the crafts so to control the situation, government should give handsome incentives, recognition and rewards to the craftsmen so that this acts as a driving force and enhance their morale and the new generation also takes interest in their traditional craft. The craftsmen are simple people of the villages. They are poor people but are contended, they are not at all ambitious like us. So only moral and values can explain them and not money. But of course money can be lucrative and might attract them.
Thus work has to be done and in hand by the government, designers, NGO's and the craftsmen.