No raw material, no work, no help: Artisans struggle as lockdown continues

Weaving the gossamer fine fabric which made his hometown Chanderi famous the world over, Mohammed Dilshad says his life is in tatters with no money, no food and no work.

Till a little before the lockdown started on March 25, he would be out for days at a stretch, participating in craft fairs like the Dastkar bazaar in big cities and coming back to his Madhya Pradesh home only to produce the rolls of 'chanderi' fashioned into saris, dupattas and dresses.

Life had settled into a routine not an affluent existence but a comfortable one -- but that all seems in the distant past.

Help has been negligible in these difficult times and even managing two meals a day is becoming a challenge, said the fourth generation Chanderi craftsperson based out of the small town, famous for its light and comfortable weaves in silk and cotton.

We didn't understand the lockdown would mean no movement, no work and no money. The MP government gave rations but only rice. How can one just have rice? Dilshad told PTI over the phone.

Dilshad, a National Award winning weaver, is one of the 68 lakh artisans employed by the textile handicrafts sector, bringing in Rs.36,798.20 crore through exports, according to the Ministry of Textiles' annual report for 2018-19.

His crisis finds resonance in distant corners of India.

Buying a curio, a sari or a folk painting has slipped right down in the list of priorities, leaving artisans like him counting each rupee and scrambling to feed their families.

Part of an over Rs 24,000 crore industry, the weavers, potters, block printers, painters and a host of others represent the best of traditional craft from the length and breadth of India.

Many of them, working from their villages, would sell their craft at the various bazaars and fairs in cities and to big time retailers.

But the coronavirus forced lockdown, which entered its fourth phase on Monday, has ended it all