India's disappearing crafts that are finding a new life in modern homes

A craft can disappear quietly. The person who knows how to prepare a particular fibre retires. The market for handwoven cloth becomes too small to support a family. Plastic replaces a basket that once took several days to make. A younger generation moves to a city and finds that weaving, carving or pottery cannot compete with a regular salary.

The crafts India nearly lost, now finding their way back

The bamboo basket from Assam, the brass vessel from Kerala or the hand-printed textile from Kutch was never designed with a modern apartment in mind. These objects belonged to particular places and particular routines. They were made for carrying, cooking, storing, wearing or decorating a home.

Then, occasionally, someone finds another use for it.

In Assam, sitalpati is made from the stems of murta, a reed-like plant that grows in the wetland areas of the region. The stems are split into narrow strips, softened and woven into mats. Traditionally, these were everyday household objects. Designers now use the same weaving technique for baskets, trays, lampshades and furniture.

Assam and the wider Northeast have an equally deep relationship with bamboo and cane. Bamboo is split, shaved and bent into different forms depending on what is being made, while cane is used for finer weaving and furniture. Contemporary interiors have found plenty of uses for both, from pendant lights and screens to chairs and storage baskets. For craftspeople, that means a material already growing around them can enter a much larger market.

In Kutch, ajrakh printing takes considerably longer than the finished fabric might suggest. The cloth is washed and treated before being printed repeatedly with carved wooden blocks. Different parts of the design require different blocks, dyes and stages of printing. Indigo, madder and other natural dyes have traditionally been used. The finished textiles are now being made into cushions, quilts, curtains and table linen as well as clothing.

Kalamkari follows a similarly labour-intensive route. The designs are drawn onto cotton using a pen made from bamboo or date-palm, then coloured and treated through several stages. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, traditional Kalamkari has often featured scenes from Hindu epics and other religious imagery. Contemporary makers have taken the technique into home furnishings, wall panels and upholstery, where the unevenness of a hand-drawn line remains visible.

In Channapatna, Karnataka, the familiar bright wooden toys have been made for generations. Wood is shaped on a lathe and finished with lacquer, producing the smooth, saturated surfaces associated with the town. Alongside the traditional dolls, animals and spinning tops, workshops now produce bowls, candle holders, lamps and other objects for the home.

The shift has also reached Rajasthan's kathputli tradition. The painted wooden puppets, with their exaggerated faces and colourful costumes, were made for travelling performances and storytelling. As demand for puppet shows has changed, artisans and designers have experimented with decorative pieces, installations and other objects based on the traditional forms.

In Kerala, large uruli vessels have moved well beyond their original domestic and ceremonial uses. Traditionally made from bell metal, these wide, heavy vessels were used for cooking and other household purposes. Today they are often placed in entrances and courtyards, sometimes filled with water and flowers, or used as planters.

At Bidar in Karnataka, the old technique of Bidriware is finding smaller and more contemporary applications. Craftspeople engrave designs into a dark metal surface and inlay it with silver before treating the object to produce its characteristic black finish. Trays, boxes and decorative vessels were among the traditional forms. Newer pieces include smaller home accessories and tableware.

The change in demand can be useful, but it comes with its own problems. A craftsperson may gain a new customer while losing control over the price, design or scale of production. Cheap imitations can also make it difficult for handmade work to compete. And if young people do not learn the techniques, a larger market will not necessarily keep the knowledge alive.

For the crafts that do survive, the object sitting in a home carries a surprisingly long chain of work behind it. A reed has been cut and split. A block has been carved. A thread has passed through a loom. Metal has been heated, beaten, engraved or polished.

The new life of these crafts may simply be another chapter in their much longer working history.

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