Haatkargha, Handwoven, Handmade with FICCI at Constitution Club....

Haatkargha, Handwoven, Handmade with FICCI at Constitution Club, Delhi....

"A thing of beauty is joy forever" and when that thing is handmade it brings greater joy. India has always been known as a country housing timeless art, tradition and culture. Handicrafts were an integral part of this legacy. They prospered under the royal patronage from immemorial times. However, the industrial revolution created a dent in that lineage. Within a capitalised economy assembly line clothing became a norm due to its easy availability and lower cost. Indigenous art and crafts dwindled till Mahatma Gandhi gave the call of Swadeshi. Khadi became a part of every home and created a revolution. Despite all the honour attached to it, Khadi or handwoven and hand spun was not considered trendy. It had also not changed with the times. As result it had to bear the brunt of low patronage.
Interest in Khadi was renewed when it was metamorphosed into trendy colours and softer weaves. Similarly handicrafts and handloom as a cult have been preserved by the policy makers and saviours of the cottage industry.
It is therefore encouraging that FICCI has organised the Haatkargha, a B2B conclave where artisans could display their art and also promote their business.
The event was inaugurated by the Hon'ble Minister for Textiles, Ms.Smriti Irani. In her address as the Chief Guest and also during her interaction with Facebook she emphasised on the need for upskiling artisans to keep pace with the times. Recognising an artisan was the first tribute to his art. When we buy a piece of art from him we literally buy from a piece of his legacy. We therefore needed to recognise the craft. Some weaves are languishing despite geographical importance. We needed to nurture and protect them by adding value and also by hand holding such arrists to upgrade their skills.
She emphasised on the need for better packaging, branding while stating that simple products in the international market made a mark due to appropriate presentation, packing and branding. We needed to learn to design, package and present. We also needed to diversify the product range.
Handloom was not necessarily expensive neither had it remained coarse. It had transformed over the years into beautiful colours, shades and weaves. Another advantage is that it also lasted long. Most of handicrafts had stories to tell of the people, the tribes, the villages and their culture. They spoke the local dialect. In fact the essence of a craft was in it's mothertongue. The artists should be free from our conformations. We had to conform to their way of life. It was therefore important for us to speak in the language of the artisans instead of them speaking in English because their art spoke their language. She also suggested propagating handicrafts by attaching it to tourism, homestays, local art and cuisines.
FICCI had to recognise the potential business in handloom and strive towards making it more succesful.
During the last four years the government had exported handicrafts over Rs.1,36,000 crores. Efforts were also being made to educate the weaving community through NIOS and IGNOU. Over 100 Community Service Centres, CSCs were working to make weavers IT enabled. The idea of Direct to weavers would also make the buyer as well as seller happy.
Handloom was all weather and lasted long. Youth should also be attracted to use handlooms by infusing digital design and marketing its uniqueness.
Handmade was therefore something made exclusively with love and care by the artist seller for the buyer.
And in reality, when we buy a hand made product, we are buying more than just an object, we are buying hundreds of hours of failure, experimentation done by the artist, we are buying days, months and weeks of frustration, moments of poor joy, we are not just buying anything, we are buying a piece of the artist's heart, a part of his soul , moments of someone's life, we are buying time for the artist to do something more passionate
It was therefore important to value craftsmanship instead of valuing ruthless efficiency. Mecahnisation has made our lives dreary but we are not machines. Art and crafts are not luxuries. As humans we need them as much as we need to pause and look at handiwork and to see their beauty amidst utility.
The Haatkargaha Exhibition at the Constitution Club in Delhi till tomorrow is one such opportunity. MSRLM Umed through its MILAP programme in collaboration with FICCI has sent 10 different artist.
Please do visit and take home with you a beautiful part of Maharashtra and India....