TÊTE-À-TÊTE

Jaya Jaitly: The annual bazaar is in Delhi every year-whilst we simultaneously go to 3 or 4 different cities as well. So, by that count, we’ve organised well over 200 bazaars. But honestly, that’s not all we do. We give training in design development to local craftsmen. We also do a lot of workshops wherein we call crafts people from abroad to interact, work with and learn from their counterparts here. In those two weeks they spend together, they learn a lot-friendship, diplomacy, goodwill all in one stroke! We also bring out publications: maps and booklets, fun note books, diaries etc.

Of course, the much-loved Delhi Haat is an enduring symbol of the work that we do, bringing artists and artisans from different parts of the country-not just so that they get fair price sans middlemen-but also to keep age old traditions of art, textile and craftsmanship alive and vibrant.

CC: What motivated you to bring all this to life and what keeps you going?

Well, I have always had a sense of arts and aesthetics and culture. To my parents, I owe my strong belief in social work and the strength of Indian culture, its endless beauty and diversity. So, a platform like the one provided by the Dastkari Haat not only gives me the satisfaction of improving someone’ life, it does so by keeping me involved with art and aesthetics I so enjoy. (smiles.)

CC: Four decades are a massive learning curve...

Over 45 years actually-that’s how long I have been working. As the initiator of Delhi Haat, we have watched these crafts people grow, evolve and go from strength to strength.

CC: These cloth maps right here look gorgeous-and so different.

They are indeed. Over the years, we have researched and painted so many of these maps talking about what craft can be found in which part of the country-The Craft Atlas of India, so to speak. We also do a lot of projects wherein we acquaint craftspeople with their regional script and calligraphy-so they can perpetuate the words through design. We also did these 52 stories online on arts and culture-wherein we narrated the stories of 52 assorted textiles and crafts. We also come up with innovatively themed exhibitions that give each one a chance to think out of the box-like the one we dedicated to recreating the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi. It was amazing to note the sheer diversity and ingenuity of the beauty on display: from handmade paper to depicting Gandhi on bamboo and bandhni, the variations were endless. Apart from this, we also introduce these crafts people to interior decorators and artists, so they can also use their services in a way that is beautiful and enduring.

CC: So what is your agenda over the next 5 years?

Every year something new comes up. Besides, our goals are not for ourselves but our craftspeople. When they achieve something, they are not only able to put food on the table but also educate their families and uplift their communities. Well, we simply want to reach out to more and more people.

CC: How many artists are participating in Dastakari Haat’s projects including the bazaar?

Well, we have 300 or 400 active members and an outreach of 30 to 40,000 artists. The idea is to bring in as many as we can so they can benefit from their association with us.

CC: It must feel so rewarding-can you share some specific anecdotes with us?

Oh, there are so many. But one instantly comes to mind: once as I was walking around the bazaar at Delhi Haat, I noticed a stall selling some beautiful baskets woven out of coloured grass. They were from Orissa. When I introduced myself and told them they were doing beautiful work-they responded with a simple reply: “Thanks to Delhi Haat, over 800 families in our village get two meals a day.” That was a powerful and moving moment indeed.

Then there is this artist from Kashmir who makes papier mache boxes and knick knacks. Due to the militancy over the last 20 years, there was no way that tourists could buy from him or other craftsmen and artists-so we made it a point to call him to Delhi Haat every year. Now I get to know his daughter is pursuing her post-graduation in bioscience. When you hear stories like these, it keeps you going. We focus on marketing and outreach. That’s the only way to get money into deserving pockets-sans middlemen. That’s the only way to sustain their livelihood-and in turn, our artistic traditions and culture.

CC: What is the secret of this initiative’s enduring success?

The secret is building their confidence and developing their product. Showing them how to market themselves, cater to customers and consistently innovate. They are quick learners. It’s amazing to see how beautifully some of them transform themselves: some of them literally blossom in front of your eyes! Like this shy young boy from Benaras-confidently modelling a saree for a group of wondering women, telling them why his wares are worth their money and trust.

CC: Is there something specific you would want the government to do to empower our artists?

Well, the government already has several schemes and grants for artists-in order to initiate exchange programs. Those interested can look them up online. In the initial years, we did make use of these grants but for several years now, the bazaars and other projects have been self-sustaining.

CC: There’s this perception that other countries are far more serious about preserving and promoting their crafts as opposed to India. How correct is it?

We shouldn’t compare ourselves to other countries. For one, they are heavily industrialized-so if there’s a little island of art and craft somewhere, they can afford to pay attention. On the other hand, India is still agriculture based, so the farmer, craftsman, weaver and artisans are part of a live ecosystem. With India getting more and more industrialized though, there was a need to tweak the stuff for the urban markets, and that was how the concept of bazaars came about. Governments, banks and NGOs fund these bazaars. They attract a lot of attention and goodwill.

Increasingly, I find that for the young generation, love these funky earrings and scarves and so on. So, we tweak the existing designs to suit the urban audience’s tastes. That gives impetus to the arts and crafts.

CC: How useful are the Corporate Social Responsibility programs of companies in keeping handicrafts alive?

Well, many of these CSR plans are well-intentioned and sincere. If only they were planned a little better. The average corporate professional lives such a disciplined life with goals from time to time. Why not adopt the same approach towards the artists you hope to encourage? Please don’t give them an order last minute-say a 1000 mugs or hand-painted trays-and expect them to fulfill them. For one, they won’t have the resources to buy the raw material or the time to plan out the allocation of tasks. So, when you tell them six months prior to an important festival or inhouse celebratory event/conference, they get a fair shot at success.

CC: Changing tracks a bit, let’s talk about you. You’ve been the very face of the liberalized Indian woman leader-long before the word ‘woke’ entered the dictionary. There’s this perception that women of this generation have it better.

Yes, they do have it better. For one, they have access to a lot of knowledge and technology at their fingertips. Secondly, society has become a lot more affluent; youngsters barely into their first jobs can buy their first car or apartments. We couldn’t dream of it even after working hard for a long time-and then had to take a loan. Today, everything is also so much more aspirational thanks to social media. Thanks to assorted facilities, they are accessible as well.

Foreign trips, fancy gadgets and pizza takeaways are the order of the day-but increasingly people are waking up to the fact that good old dal subzi is much healthier (smiles.) Gyms are a way of life, we never heard of any of this in yesteryears. So yes, people do have it better; but somebody like me would ask: do they really have it better?

CC: What would you say about the changing face of female leadership?

When we say women leaders, several types come to mind. First are the corporate leaders-who mind you, have to be really capable-the percentage of women leaders is still so small and there is that invisible but strong glass ceiling. Bureaucracy has a lot more women, sports today has a lot more; people like us come under the gamut of social work with its largely Gandhian approach of voluntary service. The idea is to forge ahead with whatever tools you might have: a loud voice to state a case, organizing people and camps; for me, my inclination towards arts and crafts was the motivator. So yes, female leadership is out there, doing its thing. It’s evolving by the minute.

CC: Speaking of the glass ceiling, what is the one thing that women need to break through it?

"Systems have to evolve in keeping with the times. You can’t run off the planet after all. Everything is getting corporatized these days. I don’t agree with this, but there are ways of organizing yourselves-such as India’s cooperative system"

Indigenous crafts, from clothing and jewelry to footwear, are being tweaked to the palate of urban audiences

CC: A large part of that self-confidence is speaking up. But young women are taught to be soft and polite. Isn’t that contradictory in a way?

No, not at all. Being polite is a good quality. It can get things done-you can speak softly and stand your ground. Take for instance, this recent episode. There is this person who is very upset with us because he feels his wife, a designer, has been treated badly by one of our crafts people. He was raving and shouting at all of us, demanding we take action and so on. I said what I had to softly and politely. He wanted me to stand up and speak to him; I replied I am eighty, so it’s a bit tiring (smiles.) He then shot back: In that case why are you organizing all this…my people kept telling me I didn’t have to take the treatment he was meting out. But I faced up to him, put forth my my case, politely and firmly, and kept my cool all through. In a nutshell, keeping cool is what leadership is in many situations. The basics of human culture ask for you to have dignity and grace-and when you offer it to someone else, it eases up problems. The chances of you reaching a tangible solution are that much more.

Take the example of activist Ila Bhat. She did not shout in the streets or get locked up in jail and all the rest of it. Instead, she put up a sturdy but peaceful fight. That’s my nature also. Point I am making is that women’s leadership does not need you to have a loud voice.

CC: But a lot of young women feel the space they need-metaphorically, of course, to grow and surge ahead isn’t there. So one way to do so is to raise one’s voice.

Perhaps. But a raised voice won’t get you respect. A soft voice, talking sense will eventually get better results. Shouting merely aggravates the other person, makes things worse. Be polite, be firm and stand up and take things head on.

CC: Apart from work, what is it that moves you?

The plight of people who suffer injustice and who do not the deserve the treatment or obstacles that come their way. If I can do something for them, at the grassroots level, without running an andolan (smiles) or generating violence, getting them to work here and earn and turn their lives around-well, that is my way of empowering them.

CC: But sometime ago, andolans were the way to get grass roots work done.

That was a long time ago. The world has changed since then; we are in the era of contract labour, it’s no more about the unions. So, systems have to evolve in keeping with the times. You can’t run off the planet after all. Everything is getting corporatized these days. I don’t agree with this, but there are ways of organizing yourselves-such as India’s cooperative system. But the need is to keep things honest and transparent.

CC: Do share with us the philosophy you live and work by.

I believe the basis of any kind of work in life is moral and intellectual integrity.

Sustain craftsmanship to sustain culture

"The secret is building their confidence and developing their product. Showing them how to market themselves, cater to customers and consistently innovate. They are quick learners. It’s amazing to see how beautifully some of them transform themselves"

Corporate Citizen: You founded the Dastkari Haat in 1986. This seems to be the 36th edition of the bazaar-and very well received in the aftermath of the Pandemic.