ABSTRACT
Craft could be any activity that requires a particular set of skills (usually empirical in nature), celebrates existing knowledge systems passed on generation-to-generation, employs knowledge of materials and mastery of tools and techniques, and aims at a unique and customized end product. In the context of India, “Shilpa Shastra, the ancient Indian Science of Shilpa (art and craft), recognizes sixty-four techniques and thirty-two fields of knowledge for art and craft” (Kramrisch 281). Craft embraces creativity and emphasizes the holistic development of practical, aesthetic, and thinking skills. It encompasses almost everything that surrounds us. This is what makes craft practices sustainable. Owing to these attributes, craft has a global presence, and has been at the center of many socially driven initiatives. Documenting the living craft traditions, developing strategies for their preservation, promotion of Indigenous skills, and their integration into contemporary design education and practice are the focal points of several policies and schemes emerging in the craft sector and being recognized as a priority by many countries.
