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

 Page 1


DESPITE all the government schemes and policies,
and the efforts of non-government and
government agencies, the condition of crafts in
India is far from desirable. From the swift
diminishing of raw materials or the natural
resources that the craftsperson is dependent on
to practise his/her craft to the limited capital
available to him/her to invest in the expansion
or even just the maintenance of his business; to
the shrinking marketplace—increasingly flooded
with inexpensive factory-made fabric, Chinese
toys, plastic mats or stainless steel ghadas, the
craftsman’s economic situation has become
increasingly precarious over the past 100 years.
This chapter analyses the reasons why the
condition and the status of the crafts community
today is so poor.
ATTITUDES THAT COLOUR OUR PERCEPTION
OF THE CRAFTSPERSON
The first reason for the poor status of the crafts
community lies in our understanding of crafts
and the role of crafts in our society. How do people
view the craftsperson: Is he an artist or merely a
labourer?  Was the Taj Mahal built by an artist
or by the crafts community? Is craft mainly
manual work or is it a skill-based activity that
brings together the hand, the head and the heart?
The attitude today towards crafts and the crafts
community is the first stumbling block hindering
the progress of crafts in India.
THE CRAFTS COMMUNITY TODAY 5
Page 2


DESPITE all the government schemes and policies,
and the efforts of non-government and
government agencies, the condition of crafts in
India is far from desirable. From the swift
diminishing of raw materials or the natural
resources that the craftsperson is dependent on
to practise his/her craft to the limited capital
available to him/her to invest in the expansion
or even just the maintenance of his business; to
the shrinking marketplace—increasingly flooded
with inexpensive factory-made fabric, Chinese
toys, plastic mats or stainless steel ghadas, the
craftsman’s economic situation has become
increasingly precarious over the past 100 years.
This chapter analyses the reasons why the
condition and the status of the crafts community
today is so poor.
ATTITUDES THAT COLOUR OUR PERCEPTION
OF THE CRAFTSPERSON
The first reason for the poor status of the crafts
community lies in our understanding of crafts
and the role of crafts in our society. How do people
view the craftsperson: Is he an artist or merely a
labourer?  Was the Taj Mahal built by an artist
or by the crafts community? Is craft mainly
manual work or is it a skill-based activity that
brings together the hand, the head and the heart?
The attitude today towards crafts and the crafts
community is the first stumbling block hindering
the progress of crafts in India.
THE CRAFTS COMMUNITY TODAY 5
CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 56
Where women have chosen to embroider for a living, they make
a clear bifurcation between commercial and traditional
handwork. The two are different entities, and do not directly
overlap. Rules and standards for each are distinct. Yet, working
with the market does affect how a woman feels about herself
as an artisan and as a member of her society.
The first and perhaps the biggest impact of commercial work
is the separation of design, or art, and craft, or labour. Artisans
are asked to make what someone else tells them to make,
rather than work from their own sense of aesthetics. When
presented with a set of four alien coloured threads, Rabari
women baulked. If we use these, it won’t be Rabari, they said.
In traditional work, there is no distinct separation of colour,
stitch, pattern and motif; these work together in units. Design
intervention separates these elements and juxtaposes them in
new ways.
When design is reserved for a professional designer and
craft is relegated to the artisan, the artisan is reduced to a
labourer.
– JUDY FRATER
Threads and Voices
For centuries Indian handicrafts have been
distinguished for their great aesthetic and functional
qualities. In ancient times designers in India were
generally the shilpis. Groups of artisans or craftsmen
worked under the guidance of such shilpis, and belonged
to various guilds and regional schools throughout the
country. It was their fine sensibility and extraordinary
skill that invested our handicrafts with remarkable
power, design and beauty.
Those categories of crafts that have their origins in
the Mughal durbar or court also reveal a remarkable
refinement of design. The work of these craftspeople
was patronised by the court and the nobility. In these
crafts the designs were very often influenced by the
court paintings and miniature art derived from Persian
or indigenous sources. Such motifs can be seen in Indian
carpets, brocades, papier-mâché, stone-inlay and so on.
It is a unique quality of Indian handicrafts that, very
often, the separate abilities and skills of several
craftsmen of varying degrees of specialisation and skill
Page 3


DESPITE all the government schemes and policies,
and the efforts of non-government and
government agencies, the condition of crafts in
India is far from desirable. From the swift
diminishing of raw materials or the natural
resources that the craftsperson is dependent on
to practise his/her craft to the limited capital
available to him/her to invest in the expansion
or even just the maintenance of his business; to
the shrinking marketplace—increasingly flooded
with inexpensive factory-made fabric, Chinese
toys, plastic mats or stainless steel ghadas, the
craftsman’s economic situation has become
increasingly precarious over the past 100 years.
This chapter analyses the reasons why the
condition and the status of the crafts community
today is so poor.
ATTITUDES THAT COLOUR OUR PERCEPTION
OF THE CRAFTSPERSON
The first reason for the poor status of the crafts
community lies in our understanding of crafts
and the role of crafts in our society. How do people
view the craftsperson: Is he an artist or merely a
labourer?  Was the Taj Mahal built by an artist
or by the crafts community? Is craft mainly
manual work or is it a skill-based activity that
brings together the hand, the head and the heart?
The attitude today towards crafts and the crafts
community is the first stumbling block hindering
the progress of crafts in India.
THE CRAFTS COMMUNITY TODAY 5
CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 56
Where women have chosen to embroider for a living, they make
a clear bifurcation between commercial and traditional
handwork. The two are different entities, and do not directly
overlap. Rules and standards for each are distinct. Yet, working
with the market does affect how a woman feels about herself
as an artisan and as a member of her society.
The first and perhaps the biggest impact of commercial work
is the separation of design, or art, and craft, or labour. Artisans
are asked to make what someone else tells them to make,
rather than work from their own sense of aesthetics. When
presented with a set of four alien coloured threads, Rabari
women baulked. If we use these, it won’t be Rabari, they said.
In traditional work, there is no distinct separation of colour,
stitch, pattern and motif; these work together in units. Design
intervention separates these elements and juxtaposes them in
new ways.
When design is reserved for a professional designer and
craft is relegated to the artisan, the artisan is reduced to a
labourer.
– JUDY FRATER
Threads and Voices
For centuries Indian handicrafts have been
distinguished for their great aesthetic and functional
qualities. In ancient times designers in India were
generally the shilpis. Groups of artisans or craftsmen
worked under the guidance of such shilpis, and belonged
to various guilds and regional schools throughout the
country. It was their fine sensibility and extraordinary
skill that invested our handicrafts with remarkable
power, design and beauty.
Those categories of crafts that have their origins in
the Mughal durbar or court also reveal a remarkable
refinement of design. The work of these craftspeople
was patronised by the court and the nobility. In these
crafts the designs were very often influenced by the
court paintings and miniature art derived from Persian
or indigenous sources. Such motifs can be seen in Indian
carpets, brocades, papier-mâché, stone-inlay and so on.
It is a unique quality of Indian handicrafts that, very
often, the separate abilities and skills of several
craftsmen of varying degrees of specialisation and skill
 57 THE CRAFTS COMMUNITY TODAY
are involved in the designing and making of an
object. Thus the designer or master craftsman
visualised the complete design—solving problems
by developing innovative new ideas of form,
proportion and colour.
There are, however, many crafts where the
craftsman both designs and executes the product
himself, particularly in the area of pottery, wall
decoration, embroidery of certain types, toys, and
basketry. There are many other crafts where the
entire family or karkhana or artisans’ workshop
are involved. In each case the central idea is that
the master craftsperson is designer, creator and
producer in India.
The Indian words for handicrafts are hastakala, hastashilpa, dastkari or
karigari, all of which mean handiwork, but they refer to objects made with
craftsmanship, ie., specialised skills of the hands which are also artistic.
The aesthetic content is an intrinsic part of such objects and means the
object of utility has a value that goes beyond mere usage and is also pleasing
to the eye. A handcrafted object is seldom merely decorative, and whether
it has no embellishment or is highly decorative, its true purpose is served
only when it is both useful and has a fine form.
– from Living Craft Traditions of India,
Textbook in Heritage Crafts for Class XI, NCERT
CRAFT AND THE MACHINE
The term for art and craft were synonymous in India
before the colonial period. In India the crafts community
was recognised as a crucial and important part of society
on whom the development and enhancement of life
depended. In Europe, with the introduction of machines,
the role of the crafts community dwindled and crafts
completely disappeared. Household utility items that had
once been made by the crafts community are now mass
produced by machines. Work done by the hand was
considered inferior to intellectual work. Machines
replaced handiwork that was seen to be both demeaning
and backward.
Page 4


DESPITE all the government schemes and policies,
and the efforts of non-government and
government agencies, the condition of crafts in
India is far from desirable. From the swift
diminishing of raw materials or the natural
resources that the craftsperson is dependent on
to practise his/her craft to the limited capital
available to him/her to invest in the expansion
or even just the maintenance of his business; to
the shrinking marketplace—increasingly flooded
with inexpensive factory-made fabric, Chinese
toys, plastic mats or stainless steel ghadas, the
craftsman’s economic situation has become
increasingly precarious over the past 100 years.
This chapter analyses the reasons why the
condition and the status of the crafts community
today is so poor.
ATTITUDES THAT COLOUR OUR PERCEPTION
OF THE CRAFTSPERSON
The first reason for the poor status of the crafts
community lies in our understanding of crafts
and the role of crafts in our society. How do people
view the craftsperson: Is he an artist or merely a
labourer?  Was the Taj Mahal built by an artist
or by the crafts community? Is craft mainly
manual work or is it a skill-based activity that
brings together the hand, the head and the heart?
The attitude today towards crafts and the crafts
community is the first stumbling block hindering
the progress of crafts in India.
THE CRAFTS COMMUNITY TODAY 5
CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 56
Where women have chosen to embroider for a living, they make
a clear bifurcation between commercial and traditional
handwork. The two are different entities, and do not directly
overlap. Rules and standards for each are distinct. Yet, working
with the market does affect how a woman feels about herself
as an artisan and as a member of her society.
The first and perhaps the biggest impact of commercial work
is the separation of design, or art, and craft, or labour. Artisans
are asked to make what someone else tells them to make,
rather than work from their own sense of aesthetics. When
presented with a set of four alien coloured threads, Rabari
women baulked. If we use these, it won’t be Rabari, they said.
In traditional work, there is no distinct separation of colour,
stitch, pattern and motif; these work together in units. Design
intervention separates these elements and juxtaposes them in
new ways.
When design is reserved for a professional designer and
craft is relegated to the artisan, the artisan is reduced to a
labourer.
– JUDY FRATER
Threads and Voices
For centuries Indian handicrafts have been
distinguished for their great aesthetic and functional
qualities. In ancient times designers in India were
generally the shilpis. Groups of artisans or craftsmen
worked under the guidance of such shilpis, and belonged
to various guilds and regional schools throughout the
country. It was their fine sensibility and extraordinary
skill that invested our handicrafts with remarkable
power, design and beauty.
Those categories of crafts that have their origins in
the Mughal durbar or court also reveal a remarkable
refinement of design. The work of these craftspeople
was patronised by the court and the nobility. In these
crafts the designs were very often influenced by the
court paintings and miniature art derived from Persian
or indigenous sources. Such motifs can be seen in Indian
carpets, brocades, papier-mâché, stone-inlay and so on.
It is a unique quality of Indian handicrafts that, very
often, the separate abilities and skills of several
craftsmen of varying degrees of specialisation and skill
 57 THE CRAFTS COMMUNITY TODAY
are involved in the designing and making of an
object. Thus the designer or master craftsman
visualised the complete design—solving problems
by developing innovative new ideas of form,
proportion and colour.
There are, however, many crafts where the
craftsman both designs and executes the product
himself, particularly in the area of pottery, wall
decoration, embroidery of certain types, toys, and
basketry. There are many other crafts where the
entire family or karkhana or artisans’ workshop
are involved. In each case the central idea is that
the master craftsperson is designer, creator and
producer in India.
The Indian words for handicrafts are hastakala, hastashilpa, dastkari or
karigari, all of which mean handiwork, but they refer to objects made with
craftsmanship, ie., specialised skills of the hands which are also artistic.
The aesthetic content is an intrinsic part of such objects and means the
object of utility has a value that goes beyond mere usage and is also pleasing
to the eye. A handcrafted object is seldom merely decorative, and whether
it has no embellishment or is highly decorative, its true purpose is served
only when it is both useful and has a fine form.
– from Living Craft Traditions of India,
Textbook in Heritage Crafts for Class XI, NCERT
CRAFT AND THE MACHINE
The term for art and craft were synonymous in India
before the colonial period. In India the crafts community
was recognised as a crucial and important part of society
on whom the development and enhancement of life
depended. In Europe, with the introduction of machines,
the role of the crafts community dwindled and crafts
completely disappeared. Household utility items that had
once been made by the crafts community are now mass
produced by machines. Work done by the hand was
considered inferior to intellectual work. Machines
replaced handiwork that was seen to be both demeaning
and backward.
CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 58
Two individuals who alerted the world to this tragic
misconception were William Morris and John Ruskin.
Their denunciation of the machine as “destroyer of the
joy of hand-work” in the 1850s led to the commencement
of the Arts and Crafts Movement in England. They wrote
extensively to remind people that human begins are
fundamentally creative and that machines were taking
away the joy of life. Their writing greatly influenced
many thinkers in India thus causing a new interest
and study of craft traditions in India.
TIMELY DOCUMENTATION
Owen Jones’s book, The Grammar of Ornament, 1856,
documented the principles of good design in which there
were examples of Persian, Indian, ‘Hindoo’ ornaments.
Jones was also involved in arranging the great exhibitions
in London in 1851 in which the best and most
extravagant of Indian crafts were displayed to “help
England to improve the poor quality of British
craftsmanship that was suffering the damages of
industrialisation.”
The notion that India was an uncivilised country with
a stagnant economy, with a traditional way of life that
had not changed for centuries was sought to be dispelled
by such exhibitions and exposure of the British public
to great Indian crafts. In turn the exhibitions held in
England led to greater interest in high quality Indian
crafts.
Fortunately, during this period some British officers
undertook the documentation of traditional skills, tools,
workplaces, objects; encyclopaedias were assembled;
census, mapping and surveys were conducted. These
records proved priceless resources for contemporary
Indian designers and for craft revival programmes in
post-industrial India. Despite the detrimental effect of
the colonial economy on Indian crafts, the documentation
of crafts by British officers during this time had
important consequences.
In a book published in 1880, Industrial Arts of India,
George C.M. Birdwood documented the state of the textile
crafts of his time in Bengal. He mentions that cotton
Page 5


DESPITE all the government schemes and policies,
and the efforts of non-government and
government agencies, the condition of crafts in
India is far from desirable. From the swift
diminishing of raw materials or the natural
resources that the craftsperson is dependent on
to practise his/her craft to the limited capital
available to him/her to invest in the expansion
or even just the maintenance of his business; to
the shrinking marketplace—increasingly flooded
with inexpensive factory-made fabric, Chinese
toys, plastic mats or stainless steel ghadas, the
craftsman’s economic situation has become
increasingly precarious over the past 100 years.
This chapter analyses the reasons why the
condition and the status of the crafts community
today is so poor.
ATTITUDES THAT COLOUR OUR PERCEPTION
OF THE CRAFTSPERSON
The first reason for the poor status of the crafts
community lies in our understanding of crafts
and the role of crafts in our society. How do people
view the craftsperson: Is he an artist or merely a
labourer?  Was the Taj Mahal built by an artist
or by the crafts community? Is craft mainly
manual work or is it a skill-based activity that
brings together the hand, the head and the heart?
The attitude today towards crafts and the crafts
community is the first stumbling block hindering
the progress of crafts in India.
THE CRAFTS COMMUNITY TODAY 5
CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 56
Where women have chosen to embroider for a living, they make
a clear bifurcation between commercial and traditional
handwork. The two are different entities, and do not directly
overlap. Rules and standards for each are distinct. Yet, working
with the market does affect how a woman feels about herself
as an artisan and as a member of her society.
The first and perhaps the biggest impact of commercial work
is the separation of design, or art, and craft, or labour. Artisans
are asked to make what someone else tells them to make,
rather than work from their own sense of aesthetics. When
presented with a set of four alien coloured threads, Rabari
women baulked. If we use these, it won’t be Rabari, they said.
In traditional work, there is no distinct separation of colour,
stitch, pattern and motif; these work together in units. Design
intervention separates these elements and juxtaposes them in
new ways.
When design is reserved for a professional designer and
craft is relegated to the artisan, the artisan is reduced to a
labourer.
– JUDY FRATER
Threads and Voices
For centuries Indian handicrafts have been
distinguished for their great aesthetic and functional
qualities. In ancient times designers in India were
generally the shilpis. Groups of artisans or craftsmen
worked under the guidance of such shilpis, and belonged
to various guilds and regional schools throughout the
country. It was their fine sensibility and extraordinary
skill that invested our handicrafts with remarkable
power, design and beauty.
Those categories of crafts that have their origins in
the Mughal durbar or court also reveal a remarkable
refinement of design. The work of these craftspeople
was patronised by the court and the nobility. In these
crafts the designs were very often influenced by the
court paintings and miniature art derived from Persian
or indigenous sources. Such motifs can be seen in Indian
carpets, brocades, papier-mâché, stone-inlay and so on.
It is a unique quality of Indian handicrafts that, very
often, the separate abilities and skills of several
craftsmen of varying degrees of specialisation and skill
 57 THE CRAFTS COMMUNITY TODAY
are involved in the designing and making of an
object. Thus the designer or master craftsman
visualised the complete design—solving problems
by developing innovative new ideas of form,
proportion and colour.
There are, however, many crafts where the
craftsman both designs and executes the product
himself, particularly in the area of pottery, wall
decoration, embroidery of certain types, toys, and
basketry. There are many other crafts where the
entire family or karkhana or artisans’ workshop
are involved. In each case the central idea is that
the master craftsperson is designer, creator and
producer in India.
The Indian words for handicrafts are hastakala, hastashilpa, dastkari or
karigari, all of which mean handiwork, but they refer to objects made with
craftsmanship, ie., specialised skills of the hands which are also artistic.
The aesthetic content is an intrinsic part of such objects and means the
object of utility has a value that goes beyond mere usage and is also pleasing
to the eye. A handcrafted object is seldom merely decorative, and whether
it has no embellishment or is highly decorative, its true purpose is served
only when it is both useful and has a fine form.
– from Living Craft Traditions of India,
Textbook in Heritage Crafts for Class XI, NCERT
CRAFT AND THE MACHINE
The term for art and craft were synonymous in India
before the colonial period. In India the crafts community
was recognised as a crucial and important part of society
on whom the development and enhancement of life
depended. In Europe, with the introduction of machines,
the role of the crafts community dwindled and crafts
completely disappeared. Household utility items that had
once been made by the crafts community are now mass
produced by machines. Work done by the hand was
considered inferior to intellectual work. Machines
replaced handiwork that was seen to be both demeaning
and backward.
CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 58
Two individuals who alerted the world to this tragic
misconception were William Morris and John Ruskin.
Their denunciation of the machine as “destroyer of the
joy of hand-work” in the 1850s led to the commencement
of the Arts and Crafts Movement in England. They wrote
extensively to remind people that human begins are
fundamentally creative and that machines were taking
away the joy of life. Their writing greatly influenced
many thinkers in India thus causing a new interest
and study of craft traditions in India.
TIMELY DOCUMENTATION
Owen Jones’s book, The Grammar of Ornament, 1856,
documented the principles of good design in which there
were examples of Persian, Indian, ‘Hindoo’ ornaments.
Jones was also involved in arranging the great exhibitions
in London in 1851 in which the best and most
extravagant of Indian crafts were displayed to “help
England to improve the poor quality of British
craftsmanship that was suffering the damages of
industrialisation.”
The notion that India was an uncivilised country with
a stagnant economy, with a traditional way of life that
had not changed for centuries was sought to be dispelled
by such exhibitions and exposure of the British public
to great Indian crafts. In turn the exhibitions held in
England led to greater interest in high quality Indian
crafts.
Fortunately, during this period some British officers
undertook the documentation of traditional skills, tools,
workplaces, objects; encyclopaedias were assembled;
census, mapping and surveys were conducted. These
records proved priceless resources for contemporary
Indian designers and for craft revival programmes in
post-industrial India. Despite the detrimental effect of
the colonial economy on Indian crafts, the documentation
of crafts by British officers during this time had
important consequences.
In a book published in 1880, Industrial Arts of India,
George C.M. Birdwood documented the state of the textile
crafts of his time in Bengal. He mentions that cotton
 59 THE CRAFTS COMMUNITY TODAY
The Birdwood Journal of Industrial Arts of
India, which was published following a
decision in 1880 by the British Government
to document Indian handicrafts, is also a
valuable source of design and craft material
even today.
Birdwood’s opposition to industrialisation
in India led him to believe that the greatness
of Indian crafts was a result of the “happy
religious organisation of the Hindu village”
where every house of potters, weavers,
coppersmiths and jewellers produced essential
items of “unrivalled excellence”.
A rare muslin was formerly produced in Dacca, which when laid
wet on the grass became invisible; and because it thus became
indistinguishable from the evening dew it was named shabnam,
i.e., ‘the dew of evening’. Another kind was called ab-rawan, or
‘running water’, because it became invisible in water.
and silk cloth were manufactured in Bihar, Bengal,
Orissa and Assam. Dacca (now in Bangladesh) was then
a major textile centre.