The Real Story Behind Making of Handicraft Products

Many people have a misconception about handicraft products in their minds. They consider these artifacts to be the reflection of underdeveloped societies where people have ample time but no ways or means to use it productively. As a result, these primitive people come out with vague things to fulfill their daily needs and to make money, the intermediary try to promote them.

The reality is just the opposite. Humans are unique among all the living beings because of their creativity. However, this quality is inborn and cannot be learnt or taught. One may become a millionaire and buy all the luxuries in this world but cannot become creative. Money is the indicator of richness but there is no way to compare creativity. Who can tell whether Picasso was better than Husain or Mozart was not as good as Beethoven? In other words, creativity cannot be measured. Each art is a masterpiece provided you have the eyes to judge.

One cannot create something new by sitting in office. You need to be in complete peace, free from all worries and distractions to get new ideas. You can get such atmosphere, only when you stay close to nature. That is the reason why we are losing our heritage. Each civilization has been blessed with pool of brains and their cumulative result has been passing from one generation to another in the form of art and craft. The artisans are the people who save our culture. Their job is not something, which can be completed in a day or two. It is a continuous process of giving shape to imagination. 

The handicraft products, we see today, are the outcome of years of hard work, patience, endurance and imagination. In order to understand them, one has to start from the beginning. For example, if you look at pottery closely, you will find every saucer is different because the hands that give it shape are tuned in that way. On the other side a machine made utensil is just a carbon copy of its mould. It is not easy to bring the best handicraft from remote areas of India. There are tribes that live in forests and bringing their tradition to the outer world needs exceptional courage and determination.

 

The range of handicraft products is so wide that it is nearly impossible to display all items at a single shop. Thanks to internet, now you can see their whole range sitting at your home. Although, no amount of money can be enough to compensate the creator of a masterpiece, still a reasonable price is essential to build mutual understanding between the artisans and art lovers. Also proper packing and shipment is essential to ensure safe delivery of handicraft products to their buyers.

About the Writer: Ranjani Ragotham was born on the sixth day of the sixth month, nineteen years ago. When she is not caught between the pages of a book, she either writes poetry or day-dreams. Presently, she is pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Language at Madras Christian College in Chennai.