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Home , Deccan Plateau, Vidarbha

INTRODUCTION

1. INDIAN HANDICRAFTS INDUSTRY “Handicraft is the second largest source of employment in the country, after agriculture. Yet ’s hand industries are in a crisis of misunderstanding.” Crafts council of India-2011

“According to the United Nations, over the past 30 years, the number of Indian artisans has decreased by 30%, indicating the need to re-invest in artisans to safeguard history, culture and an important source of livelihood.” William Bissel, MD, Fabindia

India is one of the important suppliers of handicrafts to the world market. The Indian handicrafts industry is highly labour intensive cottage based industry and decentralized, being spread all over the country in rural and urban areas. Numerous artisans are engaged in crafts work on part-time basis. The industry provides employment to over six million artisans (including those in carpet trade), which include a large number of women and people belonging to the weaker sections of the society.In addition to the high potential for employment, the sector is economically important from the point of low capital investment, high ratio of value addition, and high potential for export and foreign exchange earnings for the country. As per the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) report the export from Indian handicrafts industry during 2015-16 amounted to US$ 1.9 billion, which increased by 13.5 % year-on-year during April-September 2016. The major countries to which handicrafts are exported are United States, United Kingdom, Germany, , , Italy, Netherlands, Canada and .According to the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (2016) India exported handicrafts worth Rs. 21,457.91 Crores in 2015-16.

2. HANDICRAFTS IN As per MSSIDC report 2015 the population of Maharashtra is the second highest (after Uttar Pradesh) in the nation, the diversity in the state and its affairs of cuisines, customs traditions and handicrafts is natural. The state of Maharashtra has a huge and rich culture of Handicrafts. Apart from that, the state beholds an array of visual and audio delight for the tourists to cherish. MTDC reports (2015) has indicated , Nasik, , , Ajanta Ellora, and as the major tourist districts in Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, sub boasts it’s own art & craft heritage making it distinct from other parts of India. These crafts traditions have evolved with time and deeply rooted in the societal engagements and beliefs from generation to generation and the craftsmen have retained the regional crafts in a time, which is seeing socio-economic, technological and environmental conditions. Maharashtra is a industrial and prosperous state in the west of India which has evolved with the vibrant culture. For centuries the crafts of Maharashtra has lived with the people of the and survived in the today’s industrial world. Maharashtra is categorized into five sub-regions namely , , Desh (), and on basis of topography, economy and cultures. These sub-regions have supported various crafts such as boat making craft, bamboo craft, coir craft, textiles, paithanisarees, wooden toys, warli painting, copperware, stringed musical instruments, pottery, lac bangles, leather craft, idol making, flower stringing and many more.

3. MAJOR CATEGORIES HANDICRAFT PRODUCTS in MAHARASHTRA Directorate of Industries, Maharashtra under the Micro and Small Enterprises-Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP) has taken steps to explore the implementation of the said scheme. For Design Intervention and overall Cluster development Directorate of Industries undertakes clusters comprising minimum of 75 micro units. The following are the craft clusters are identified under the scheme: WOODEN TOYS OF SAWANTWADI Sawantwadi is famous for its arts and culture. The city is known for its wooden toys and models, which is accredited to an active woodcraft industry in History. Lacquer ware and Wooden toys – Sawantwadi is well known for its lacquer ware, an art form that was brought to the attention the public by Queen Satwasheela Devi. Local artisans employed in the palace have proved instrumental in the production of lacquer-ware furniture, chess sets, board games, candlesticks, fruits, vegetables, and dolls. The quality of the articles render the items extremely expensive STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS CLUSTER OF MIRAJ The City of Miraj is famous for its string musical instruments and music. The goddess of music has spread her blessings over this town. Miraj has been a birthplace of many famous singers and musicians for centuries. Pundit Digambar who’s great Guru, Pundit Balkrishnabuva was a musician of the Miraj Royal court. In 1850, the first string musical instrument of Maharashtra came to existance after many difficulties faced by its makers. The father of this first Maharashtrian musical instrument was Shri. FaridsahebShilklgar and his brother ShriMohinuddinSahib Shikalgar. The Shikalgar brothers faced a lot of difficulties and tensions while making the instrument. Before the production of musical instruments in Miraj; the Maharashtrian musicians used the instruments like- Tambora, Sitar, Been, Dilruba, Taus; which were made in North Indian cities like Jaipur, Banaras and Lukhknow. SILVER JEWELRY OF HUPARI Hupari is a census town in in the Indianstate of Maharashtra. Hupari comes under Hatkanangletaluka.Hupari is famous for the production of silver ornaments. Most of the families in this village have ancestral skill for developing artistic ornaments from silver. LEATHER CHAPPALS OF KOHLAPUR Hand-made leather chappals and sandals of Kolhapur district of Maharashtra are world famous. These are popularly known as the Kolhapurichappals, and known for its simple styles, quality of leather and design. Different artisans all over the district make these chappals. Bhausinji Road of Kolhapur is known for its good variety of Kolhapurichappals and other leather goods. Mahadwar and roads are good places to shop. One can also buy around the bus station in the Rajarampuri area. Shetkaari Bazaar is the cheapest place to shop, and is popular amongst the villagers of the surrounding villagers. COPPERWARE OF PUNE Copper artisans in a tiny little alleyway (Tambat Ali) tucked away in Pune’s by lanes, produce works of art that transcend borders andembody how art can be a unifying factor the world over. Copper smiths (tambats in Marathi) were brought to Pune during the reign of the Peshwas in the 18th century to make copper coins. Initially four or five families moved to Pune but their numbers grew and eventually the tambats made this particular patch of Pune their own. The tambats of Pune specialize in matharkaam, which is the art of beating copper to make it strong. The coppersmiths of Tambat Ali are an intrinsic part of KasbaPeth and a significant feature of Pune’s heritage tapestry.Copper craft relies on a number of factors. The principal raw materials include copper and an alloy of copper. The traditional craft process uses shaping and beating, all manually. Each step has to be done by hand and it takes a long time. The beauty of the art of beating is that it can vary from piece to piece and artisan to artisan. Skill comes into play to achieve the required density of indentations as well as the size and orientation.

4. ASSISTANCE & PROMOTION OF HANDICRAFTS BY GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRA Maharashtra Small Scale Industries Development Corporation (MSSIDC) in close partnership with Directorate of Industries, Government of Maharashtra is a Nodal agency for implementation of various schemes for development of handicrafts and to preserve the languishing arts of handicrafts in the State of Maharashtra. MSSIDC implements the schemes for development of handicrafts of State Government as well as Government of India.Handicraft Artisans can register themselves with MSSIDC. MSSIDC also undertakes periodic surveys to register artisans. In addition to giving prime display space for selling at MSSIDC’s Trimourti Emporia and annual exhibitions, MSSIDC provides training to next generation of younger artisans and supports artisans through assistance.

5. DESIGN CLINIC SCHEME BY MINISTRY OF MSMEs To promote the value creation- a Strategic framework of Design intervention program is run by Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and it’s main objective is to provide expertise to the to the units in the MSMEs units with real time design solutions, expert advice resulting into sustainable design and business results for the units. This scheme is run in association with design institutes, design experts, government bodies and MSMEs units.