NCERT Textbook: Crafts Bazaars (Introduction to Indian Art) | Old & New NCERTs for IAS Preparation (Must Read) - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


IN a rapidly urbanising India, how does one strengthen
the link between the rural crafts community and the
urban consumer? This chapter highlights a few points
for discussion on marketing strategy using a case study
approach.
PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING
Ideally the crafts community should be in control of the
dynamics of production, market, supply and demand.
The key areas are as follows:
Market Survey
= Checking availability of products and designs
= Reviewing customer needs and demands
= Checking availability of raw material
= Researching to find untapped skills
= Providing training and skill improvement facilities
= Identifying buyers
= Financial forecasting
Good Product
The consumer or buyer will not buy a craft product out
of compassion or charity. The product must be
competitive in terms of its cost, utility and aesthetics.
Home-based Industry
Many people think that the handicrafts sector requires
minimum expenditure, infrastructure and training to
set up. However, if the handicrafts sector is to face
competition from within the country and abroad,  then
training and development of expert skills would be
necessary. The finer the workmanship and quality,  the
better the value of the craft item, which would rise above
a market flooded with mediocre products.
CRAFTS BAZAARS 7
Page 2


IN a rapidly urbanising India, how does one strengthen
the link between the rural crafts community and the
urban consumer? This chapter highlights a few points
for discussion on marketing strategy using a case study
approach.
PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING
Ideally the crafts community should be in control of the
dynamics of production, market, supply and demand.
The key areas are as follows:
Market Survey
= Checking availability of products and designs
= Reviewing customer needs and demands
= Checking availability of raw material
= Researching to find untapped skills
= Providing training and skill improvement facilities
= Identifying buyers
= Financial forecasting
Good Product
The consumer or buyer will not buy a craft product out
of compassion or charity. The product must be
competitive in terms of its cost, utility and aesthetics.
Home-based Industry
Many people think that the handicrafts sector requires
minimum expenditure, infrastructure and training to
set up. However, if the handicrafts sector is to face
competition from within the country and abroad,  then
training and development of expert skills would be
necessary. The finer the workmanship and quality,  the
better the value of the craft item, which would rise above
a market flooded with mediocre products.
CRAFTS BAZAARS 7
CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 90
Distinctiveness of Crafts
Every region has its own craft heritage, traditions, needs,
resources and capacities. The development of the crafts
industry has to be based on singular, unique skills
available in the community. Mindless replication,
duplication or copying of ideas would neither serve the
crafts tradition nor the community.
Design and Creation of Products
The crafts sector is already crowded and many groups
are producing the same goods, with the result that the
market has become more competitive. Therefore, design
innovation has to be constantly addressed so that the
product does not become static.
Distribution System
The sale and distribution of the products is critical; the
market must neither be too small nor too large as both
can be harmful to the life and development of the craft
practice.
Expanding the Market
With the overcrowding of the market with similar
products, the handicrafts sector has to constantly
expand and find new avenues—wholesale, export sales
or an all India infrastructure for franchise marketing.
The Tea Cosy
Europeans brew tea in a teapot. To keep the teapot warm a tea
cosy is used. The tea cosy is a cover made to fit the teapot and
is often made of padded quilted cloth that is decorated.
The most popular way of preparing tea in India is by boiling
the tea leaves in milk and water along with sugar, and serving
it ‘ready-made’ in glasses or mugs. In this method there is no
use for the teapot or a tea cosy.
Some years ago, in India, schemes for providing employment
to the poor were created and tailoring units were set up. The
tea cosy was produced in large qualities. The market was glutted with thousands of similar,
useless, badly designed and overpriced tea cosies. Indian families did not buy the tea
cosy as they had no use for it.
The producers had to organise discounts while unemployed craftspeople became
trainers and, in turn, trained more people to make more sales products. Tribals were
encouraged to laboriously embroider tea cosies with flowers, regardless of the fact that
the intended consumer increasingly drank his tea ‘ready-made’ in a mug.
Page 3


IN a rapidly urbanising India, how does one strengthen
the link between the rural crafts community and the
urban consumer? This chapter highlights a few points
for discussion on marketing strategy using a case study
approach.
PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING
Ideally the crafts community should be in control of the
dynamics of production, market, supply and demand.
The key areas are as follows:
Market Survey
= Checking availability of products and designs
= Reviewing customer needs and demands
= Checking availability of raw material
= Researching to find untapped skills
= Providing training and skill improvement facilities
= Identifying buyers
= Financial forecasting
Good Product
The consumer or buyer will not buy a craft product out
of compassion or charity. The product must be
competitive in terms of its cost, utility and aesthetics.
Home-based Industry
Many people think that the handicrafts sector requires
minimum expenditure, infrastructure and training to
set up. However, if the handicrafts sector is to face
competition from within the country and abroad,  then
training and development of expert skills would be
necessary. The finer the workmanship and quality,  the
better the value of the craft item, which would rise above
a market flooded with mediocre products.
CRAFTS BAZAARS 7
CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 90
Distinctiveness of Crafts
Every region has its own craft heritage, traditions, needs,
resources and capacities. The development of the crafts
industry has to be based on singular, unique skills
available in the community. Mindless replication,
duplication or copying of ideas would neither serve the
crafts tradition nor the community.
Design and Creation of Products
The crafts sector is already crowded and many groups
are producing the same goods, with the result that the
market has become more competitive. Therefore, design
innovation has to be constantly addressed so that the
product does not become static.
Distribution System
The sale and distribution of the products is critical; the
market must neither be too small nor too large as both
can be harmful to the life and development of the craft
practice.
Expanding the Market
With the overcrowding of the market with similar
products, the handicrafts sector has to constantly
expand and find new avenues—wholesale, export sales
or an all India infrastructure for franchise marketing.
The Tea Cosy
Europeans brew tea in a teapot. To keep the teapot warm a tea
cosy is used. The tea cosy is a cover made to fit the teapot and
is often made of padded quilted cloth that is decorated.
The most popular way of preparing tea in India is by boiling
the tea leaves in milk and water along with sugar, and serving
it ‘ready-made’ in glasses or mugs. In this method there is no
use for the teapot or a tea cosy.
Some years ago, in India, schemes for providing employment
to the poor were created and tailoring units were set up. The
tea cosy was produced in large qualities. The market was glutted with thousands of similar,
useless, badly designed and overpriced tea cosies. Indian families did not buy the tea
cosy as they had no use for it.
The producers had to organise discounts while unemployed craftspeople became
trainers and, in turn, trained more people to make more sales products. Tribals were
encouraged to laboriously embroider tea cosies with flowers, regardless of the fact that
the intended consumer increasingly drank his tea ‘ready-made’ in a mug.
 91
CRAFTS BAZAARS
Well-being of the Crafts Community
Ultimately the benefit of the marketing strategy should
improve the quality of life of the crafts community.
Income generation should lead to development of the
community at large. The investment of the income
should go into providing health and safety norms in the
workplace and homes, education of family members,
research and development to improve skills and tools,
and to find greener and more environmentally safe
solutions for the procurement of raw materials and
alternatives, disposal of waste, packaging, and sale.
URBAN CRAFTS BAZAAR
Crafts bazaars have been organised for several decades.
Agencies like the Tourism Development Corporation,
Handicraft and Handloom Boards and NGOs have
organised crafts bazaars in urban centres. Over the
years such crafts bazaars and craft promotion efforts
have taught crafts communities how to test new
products, developed confidence in them to work and
organise bazaars and melas on their own, evaluate the
outcome, and obtain feedback from customers.
Dastkar has organised such events
as the Nature Bazaar with a diverse
range of products made of natural
materials like bamboo, jute, cotton,
wood and clay. They have worked
with craftspeople to design new
products for the ever-demanding
urban customers. The figures from
these nature bazaars do not reflect
the common perception that the
crafts market is shrinking. Sales at
the annual Nature Bazaar have
steadily risen—from 10 lakh in
1995 to 2.5 crore in 2004.  Sadly, it
is the number of craftspeople that
is shrinking—10 per cent a decade.
Page 4


IN a rapidly urbanising India, how does one strengthen
the link between the rural crafts community and the
urban consumer? This chapter highlights a few points
for discussion on marketing strategy using a case study
approach.
PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING
Ideally the crafts community should be in control of the
dynamics of production, market, supply and demand.
The key areas are as follows:
Market Survey
= Checking availability of products and designs
= Reviewing customer needs and demands
= Checking availability of raw material
= Researching to find untapped skills
= Providing training and skill improvement facilities
= Identifying buyers
= Financial forecasting
Good Product
The consumer or buyer will not buy a craft product out
of compassion or charity. The product must be
competitive in terms of its cost, utility and aesthetics.
Home-based Industry
Many people think that the handicrafts sector requires
minimum expenditure, infrastructure and training to
set up. However, if the handicrafts sector is to face
competition from within the country and abroad,  then
training and development of expert skills would be
necessary. The finer the workmanship and quality,  the
better the value of the craft item, which would rise above
a market flooded with mediocre products.
CRAFTS BAZAARS 7
CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 90
Distinctiveness of Crafts
Every region has its own craft heritage, traditions, needs,
resources and capacities. The development of the crafts
industry has to be based on singular, unique skills
available in the community. Mindless replication,
duplication or copying of ideas would neither serve the
crafts tradition nor the community.
Design and Creation of Products
The crafts sector is already crowded and many groups
are producing the same goods, with the result that the
market has become more competitive. Therefore, design
innovation has to be constantly addressed so that the
product does not become static.
Distribution System
The sale and distribution of the products is critical; the
market must neither be too small nor too large as both
can be harmful to the life and development of the craft
practice.
Expanding the Market
With the overcrowding of the market with similar
products, the handicrafts sector has to constantly
expand and find new avenues—wholesale, export sales
or an all India infrastructure for franchise marketing.
The Tea Cosy
Europeans brew tea in a teapot. To keep the teapot warm a tea
cosy is used. The tea cosy is a cover made to fit the teapot and
is often made of padded quilted cloth that is decorated.
The most popular way of preparing tea in India is by boiling
the tea leaves in milk and water along with sugar, and serving
it ‘ready-made’ in glasses or mugs. In this method there is no
use for the teapot or a tea cosy.
Some years ago, in India, schemes for providing employment
to the poor were created and tailoring units were set up. The
tea cosy was produced in large qualities. The market was glutted with thousands of similar,
useless, badly designed and overpriced tea cosies. Indian families did not buy the tea
cosy as they had no use for it.
The producers had to organise discounts while unemployed craftspeople became
trainers and, in turn, trained more people to make more sales products. Tribals were
encouraged to laboriously embroider tea cosies with flowers, regardless of the fact that
the intended consumer increasingly drank his tea ‘ready-made’ in a mug.
 91
CRAFTS BAZAARS
Well-being of the Crafts Community
Ultimately the benefit of the marketing strategy should
improve the quality of life of the crafts community.
Income generation should lead to development of the
community at large. The investment of the income
should go into providing health and safety norms in the
workplace and homes, education of family members,
research and development to improve skills and tools,
and to find greener and more environmentally safe
solutions for the procurement of raw materials and
alternatives, disposal of waste, packaging, and sale.
URBAN CRAFTS BAZAAR
Crafts bazaars have been organised for several decades.
Agencies like the Tourism Development Corporation,
Handicraft and Handloom Boards and NGOs have
organised crafts bazaars in urban centres. Over the
years such crafts bazaars and craft promotion efforts
have taught crafts communities how to test new
products, developed confidence in them to work and
organise bazaars and melas on their own, evaluate the
outcome, and obtain feedback from customers.
Dastkar has organised such events
as the Nature Bazaar with a diverse
range of products made of natural
materials like bamboo, jute, cotton,
wood and clay. They have worked
with craftspeople to design new
products for the ever-demanding
urban customers. The figures from
these nature bazaars do not reflect
the common perception that the
crafts market is shrinking. Sales at
the annual Nature Bazaar have
steadily risen—from 10 lakh in
1995 to 2.5 crore in 2004.  Sadly, it
is the number of craftspeople that
is shrinking—10 per cent a decade.
CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 92
MAKING CRAFTSPEOPLE INDEPENDENT
The first crafts bazaars in the 1960s were an innovation
in bringing rural crafts to urban areas and creating new
markets for traditional handmade items. Exhibition of
crafts and handloom fairs in various state capitals and
cities organised by government agencies were soon
accompanied by those organised by agencies like Dastakar
and Shilpagrams in which craftspeople themselves (from
all over India) sold their own products.
To organise such crafts bazaars, organisers had to
take care of all aspects as craftspeople coming from a
rural background were unfamiliar with the urban setting.
They had to pick up the craftspeople from the station,
help to set up their stalls, organise accommodation and
food—on some occasions even bedding and warm clothing.
Today these same craftspeople have become confident
world travellers. This is because crafts bazaars have
made the crafts community more independent in every
aspect of production and marketing of their products in
urban bazaars.
Page 5


IN a rapidly urbanising India, how does one strengthen
the link between the rural crafts community and the
urban consumer? This chapter highlights a few points
for discussion on marketing strategy using a case study
approach.
PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING
Ideally the crafts community should be in control of the
dynamics of production, market, supply and demand.
The key areas are as follows:
Market Survey
= Checking availability of products and designs
= Reviewing customer needs and demands
= Checking availability of raw material
= Researching to find untapped skills
= Providing training and skill improvement facilities
= Identifying buyers
= Financial forecasting
Good Product
The consumer or buyer will not buy a craft product out
of compassion or charity. The product must be
competitive in terms of its cost, utility and aesthetics.
Home-based Industry
Many people think that the handicrafts sector requires
minimum expenditure, infrastructure and training to
set up. However, if the handicrafts sector is to face
competition from within the country and abroad,  then
training and development of expert skills would be
necessary. The finer the workmanship and quality,  the
better the value of the craft item, which would rise above
a market flooded with mediocre products.
CRAFTS BAZAARS 7
CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 90
Distinctiveness of Crafts
Every region has its own craft heritage, traditions, needs,
resources and capacities. The development of the crafts
industry has to be based on singular, unique skills
available in the community. Mindless replication,
duplication or copying of ideas would neither serve the
crafts tradition nor the community.
Design and Creation of Products
The crafts sector is already crowded and many groups
are producing the same goods, with the result that the
market has become more competitive. Therefore, design
innovation has to be constantly addressed so that the
product does not become static.
Distribution System
The sale and distribution of the products is critical; the
market must neither be too small nor too large as both
can be harmful to the life and development of the craft
practice.
Expanding the Market
With the overcrowding of the market with similar
products, the handicrafts sector has to constantly
expand and find new avenues—wholesale, export sales
or an all India infrastructure for franchise marketing.
The Tea Cosy
Europeans brew tea in a teapot. To keep the teapot warm a tea
cosy is used. The tea cosy is a cover made to fit the teapot and
is often made of padded quilted cloth that is decorated.
The most popular way of preparing tea in India is by boiling
the tea leaves in milk and water along with sugar, and serving
it ‘ready-made’ in glasses or mugs. In this method there is no
use for the teapot or a tea cosy.
Some years ago, in India, schemes for providing employment
to the poor were created and tailoring units were set up. The
tea cosy was produced in large qualities. The market was glutted with thousands of similar,
useless, badly designed and overpriced tea cosies. Indian families did not buy the tea
cosy as they had no use for it.
The producers had to organise discounts while unemployed craftspeople became
trainers and, in turn, trained more people to make more sales products. Tribals were
encouraged to laboriously embroider tea cosies with flowers, regardless of the fact that
the intended consumer increasingly drank his tea ‘ready-made’ in a mug.
 91
CRAFTS BAZAARS
Well-being of the Crafts Community
Ultimately the benefit of the marketing strategy should
improve the quality of life of the crafts community.
Income generation should lead to development of the
community at large. The investment of the income
should go into providing health and safety norms in the
workplace and homes, education of family members,
research and development to improve skills and tools,
and to find greener and more environmentally safe
solutions for the procurement of raw materials and
alternatives, disposal of waste, packaging, and sale.
URBAN CRAFTS BAZAAR
Crafts bazaars have been organised for several decades.
Agencies like the Tourism Development Corporation,
Handicraft and Handloom Boards and NGOs have
organised crafts bazaars in urban centres. Over the
years such crafts bazaars and craft promotion efforts
have taught crafts communities how to test new
products, developed confidence in them to work and
organise bazaars and melas on their own, evaluate the
outcome, and obtain feedback from customers.
Dastkar has organised such events
as the Nature Bazaar with a diverse
range of products made of natural
materials like bamboo, jute, cotton,
wood and clay. They have worked
with craftspeople to design new
products for the ever-demanding
urban customers. The figures from
these nature bazaars do not reflect
the common perception that the
crafts market is shrinking. Sales at
the annual Nature Bazaar have
steadily risen—from 10 lakh in
1995 to 2.5 crore in 2004.  Sadly, it
is the number of craftspeople that
is shrinking—10 per cent a decade.
CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 92
MAKING CRAFTSPEOPLE INDEPENDENT
The first crafts bazaars in the 1960s were an innovation
in bringing rural crafts to urban areas and creating new
markets for traditional handmade items. Exhibition of
crafts and handloom fairs in various state capitals and
cities organised by government agencies were soon
accompanied by those organised by agencies like Dastakar
and Shilpagrams in which craftspeople themselves (from
all over India) sold their own products.
To organise such crafts bazaars, organisers had to
take care of all aspects as craftspeople coming from a
rural background were unfamiliar with the urban setting.
They had to pick up the craftspeople from the station,
help to set up their stalls, organise accommodation and
food—on some occasions even bedding and warm clothing.
Today these same craftspeople have become confident
world travellers. This is because crafts bazaars have
made the crafts community more independent in every
aspect of production and marketing of their products in
urban bazaars.
 93
CRAFTS BAZAARS
To develop independence and confidence in this field,
craftspeople must participate in both planning and
helping put up the bazaar. To do this a pre-bazaar
meeting must be organised to set the rules and
guidelines, and to sort out all infrastructural and
managerial issues. Post-bazaar workshops assist crafts
people to evaluate the feedback, share, analyse, and
celebrate sales figures and plan for the future. Such
post-bazaar meetings must also be organised to ensure
that  the lessons learnt are used to improve the next
occasion and to strengthen the community spirit.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF MARKETING
CRAFTS THROUGH BAZAARS?
1. The most important advantage is that it is one occasion
where the craftsperson is the centre of attention—
where the craftsperson gets the kind of exposure,
publicity, visibility, and focus that artisans otherwise
don’t get in urban metros.
2. The bazaar is an opportunity to highlight crafts
products and skills
3. The bazaar experience can also bring to light the
problems and potential of the sector. It is important to
use valuable exhibition space to raise other issues
regarding craft production, and social and
environmental problems.
The attitude of even the persons committed to the development
of crafts is patronising and one questions as to what is meant
by preservation—is it keeping the craft traditioners and their
practitioners frozen in time? Do they still see the craftsmen linked
to them by the age-old jajmani system, or are they seen as
creative persons who pour their creativity into their work and
are not slavishly churning out copies of old patterns, old forms,
which in the act of mechanical reproduction lose the purity of
form, the flow of the line and freshness of expression? Do they
command the same respect and position in society as painters,
sculptors, musicians, dancers and performing artists? Or do we
still think of them as skilled hands seen only as anonymous,
faceless, which have for generations produced crafts to embellish
our persons, our homes, our environment and enrich the
merchants.
– JASLEEN DHAMIJA
India Magazine