The Hindu : New Delhi News : A new lease of life for dying Nagina craft

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

A new lease of life for dying Nagina craft

NEW DELHI, APRIL 12 . A nondescript village in Uttar Pradesh patronising a dying Mughal era craft has received a fresh lease of life from the government to script a success story of exports worth Rs 30 crores.

Nagina craft which involves embellishing wooden knick knacks with brass inlay has now captured the western market particularly the US, Spain, Italy and Germany with its intricate work and the growing demand for the products has led to a turnover of Rs 30 crores.

But the picture was not so rosy for Nagina some years back with hardly any orders and artisans switching to other professions.

``There were hardly any takers for the craft after partition and with just a handful of craftsmen working on it. There was no export and the art had a very local market,'' says Zulfikar Alam, a Nagina craftsman.

However, the intervention of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) led to the setting up of training facilities for craftsmen besides giving them financial assistance to take the work forward.

With the incentives offered by the government, the Nagina artisan community which was around 8-10 families in 1970 has now grown to a strong 10,000 artisans and has also evolved new designs to capture the international market.

The craft which started with embellishing wooden handles, wooden sticks and butts of guns has now an array of products like wooden jewellery, ash trays, pen stands, door handles, bangle box, book ends, wheel, stationary articles and wooden combs and partitions.

The demand of the international market always keeps the pressure on us to make new products, he says.

``International buyers also give us the designs for new products and sometimes our craftspersons are also innovating which keeps the client's interest alive,'' says Alam.

Nagina craftsmen have also invited designers from the National Institute of Design (NID) to develop new prototypes for them.

But while the crafts has added many new features on the path of its developments, the craftspersons demand more facilities in their village Nagina so that their fame spreads.

``There has been no development in the village from many years in terms of infrastructure. If a client wants to visit our village he would not know how to as their is no rail connectivity and the condition of the roads is very bad,'' says another craftsperson Irshaad.

Artisans also want a raw material depot to be set up in the village as their work is heavily dependent on wood. Moreover, Alam says the absence of continuous electricity in the village dampens the worker's spirits and leads to wastage of resources.

``Most of the artisans are living in cramped up areas where their health suffers and we want the government to improve the quality of life in the area,'' Irshaad says.

Several steps have already been taken by the government like setting up a common facility centre where many workers can work and insurance scheme for artisans and their dependents.

Irshaad says the Development Commissioner could also help create avenues for artisans to travel abroad to exhibit their works. ``If we have to improve our scope, people outside the country should know about our wares,'' he says. -- PTI

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi

News Update

Stories in this Section