Handicraft Tourism of Madhya Pradesh: A Revival of MP’s Lost Art

The tourism industry is one of the most rapidly expanding sectors in India and is expected to contribute about Four trillion rupees to the Indian economy by 2024 (Chauhan, 2016). Due to this reason the tourism industry is developing new alternative forms of tourism around the world. As well as today’s generation needs and wants are changing. They want to experience, exploring and enjoying their tour. Nowadays traveller desires to learn new-new things and doing some unusual kind of activities so that they can experience some out of the box kind of new stuff.

The main reason behind merging up the Handicraft industry into the tourism industry by coming up with the name “Handicraft Tourism” is that the Tourism industry has multidimensional, social, cultural, economic and political characteristics. It is not only a growth engine but also an employment generator. As per the UN’s world tourism organization, tourism provides around 6-7% of the world’s total jobs directly and millions more indirectly in the world.

Basic Concept of Handicraft Tourism:

“India is an ocean of talent when it comes to the artisans” but the current scenario is that the Indian Handicraft industry is resulting in the lost craft because of not getting financially vigorous due to a different kinds of reasons. Like people start utilizing machinery products, not buying the handicraft as they are too extravagant and if the handicrafts are exported out of the nation but still the artisans are not getting the ample payout of their work which is resulting in transmuting in their profession. As they are not working on their craft customarily so they are not able to transfer the way of making the handicrafts or handlooms to their next-generation which is resulting in the lost art form and the art which is in its imperilled condition.
Handicraft tourism includes homestay with the family of artisans, local aliment experience, learning experience (Handicraft), interacting with locales, and by keeping engage the tourist into their different activities. So somehow this will result in a good and positive attitude of artisan towards their art as well as they will get financially strong, this can withal avail into the promotion to lesser-known art forms.
Mr Rajeev Sharma, Madhya Pradesh Handicraft and Handloom commissioner verbally expressed ‘ The Gond paintings are globally famous, Besides being sold within the country, this Gond art of Madhya Pradesh are sold in Japan, China, Germany, England, etc which gives result in crores of business every year, but now along with Gond paintings, the MP regime wants to showcase the other tribal paintings to the world. He also mentioned that there is a wide scope to the market of tribal paintings. Along with the Gond tribe, Bhil tribal people are excellent painters, people from Saharia and Kol tribes are proficient in wall painting and he withal mentioned that we aim to grow the tribal painting market to Rs.100 crores.’ (mentioned in the Times of India, on 22 October 2019).

But somehow if we engage these tribal people into the handicraft tourism form then by some means, they can showcase their other craftwork to the world like the bow & arrows, Cocoon mala, terracotta jewellery, footwear composed of jute, beads jewellery, etc along with their painting craft and can get enough amount of money for fulfilling their needs and that may result in keeping them following their culture because of which they get their own identity since generations. being it is quite possible withal because of Mp regime, MP state tourism development corporation verbally expressed: "It is in the process of establishing handicraft villages in national parks of the state, including Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Pench, to target peregrine tourists in particular" (mentioned in times of India on Oct 16, 2019).

MP tourism mentioned on their Instagram page that “Baiga tribe who lives in the forest of Kanha in eastern Madhya Pradesh, known as the forest dweller because of their unique artistic skills but apart from the dwelling they are additionally kenned for making classy and colourful bead jewellery and getting money out of making jewellery with the full support and avail of the NGO, 'last wilderness foundation'".

 -Shikha Dhakad

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contact me on dhakadshikha@gmail.com