Dastkar

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}

{{Use Indian English|date=September 2015}}

{{Infobox organization

| name =Dastkar

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| formation = 1981

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| type = NGO

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| headquarters =Kisan Haat, Andheria Morh, Mehrauli
Delhi-74 {{cite book|title=Handicrafts India Yearbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QoW6AAAAIAAJ|year=1990|page=355|publisher=Handicrafts India}}

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| services =crafts promotion

| membership =

| leader_title =Chairperson

| leader_name =Laila Tyabji

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| website = {{url|http://www.dastkar.org}}

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Dastkar is an Indian non-government organisation working with craftspeople across India, for promotion and revival of traditional crafts of India.{{cite news| title = Neighbourhood handicrafts at Delhi Dastkar bazaar|work=The Hindu| url = http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/neighbourhood-handicrafts-at-delhi-dastkar-bazaar/article5006169.ece

|date=9 August 2013| accessdate = 2013-10-25| location=Chennai, India| first=Madhur| last=Tankha}} It was founded in 1981 in Delhi, by a group of six women, including Laila Tyabji, its current chairperson.{{cite web| title = Organization| publisher = Dastkar| url = http://www.dastkar.org/organisationalmap.htm| accessdate = 2013-10-25| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131029190436/http://www.dastkar.org/organisationalmap.htm| archive-date = 29 October 2013| url-status = dead}}

File:Nature Bazar presents Dastkar Design Fair 2015.png craftsman Mohammed Bilal Khatri from Bagh, Madhya Pradesh, at Dastkar Design Fair, 2015]]

Today, it is synonymous with the Dasktar Mela, a crafts exhibition it organises every year since 1982.

History

File:A traditional shawl maker from Kutch, Gujarat.JPG, Gujarat, at Dastkar Nature Bazaar, Mehrauli, 2014]]

Dastkar started working started with 15 crafts groups in 1981, and 30 years later it is associated 350 craft groups across India.

Over the years, Dastkar has worked in women empowerment in rural areas, where it has been involved in developing self-reliant artisan groups.{{cite book|author=Ajit Kumar Sinha|title=New Dimensions of Women Empowerment|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XCUzD0UqCgsC&pg=PA529|date=1 January 2008|publisher=Deep & Deep Publications|isbn=978-81-8450-089-9|pages=529–530}}

In 2005, Tyabji became a founder-member of All India Artisans and Craft Workers Welfare Association (AIACA), along with Pritam Singh (Anokhi), Ritu Kumar, Madhukar Khera and Fabindia.Singh, p. 251 She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2012.{{cite web|url= http://www.pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=79881|title= Padma Awards Announced|publisher=Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs|date= 25 January 2012 |accessdate= }}

Dastkar Mela

Dastkar started organising the annual "Dastkar Mela", the crafts fair and exhibition during the autumn, preceding the autumn festive seasons, and Diwali. Held in Delhi, the mela sees craftspeople and artisans from over 22 states selling their works and crafts items. Besides this, it also features workshops and demonstrations by the artisans.{{cite web|title=Delhi gets crafty at the Dastkar mela |newspaper=Hindustan Times |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/art/delhi-gets-crafty-at-the-dastkar-mela/article1-755295.aspx |date=9 October 2011 |accessdate=2013-10-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031153121/http://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/art/delhi-gets-crafty-at-the-dastkar-mela/article1-755295.aspx |archivedate=2013-10-31 }}

Dastkar Nature Bazaar

File:Handicraft shops at Dastkar Nature Bazaar, Mehrauli.JPG

In 1983, it started organising the "Dastkar Nature Bazaar" after environmentalist Valmik Thapar suggested the idea of promoting natural materials and fibres, along with nature-inspired products with nature motifs and images of birds and animals. Over the years, it has been held at various locations in Delhi, including the Dilli Haat, Crafts Museum, Delhi, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and Kisan Haat in Mehrauli.{{cite news| title = Dastkar showcases Indian traditions| url = http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-10-29/delhi/28230034_1_bazaar-showcases-craft-bazaar-colour| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192757/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-10-29/delhi/28230034_1_bazaar-showcases-craft-bazaar-colour| url-status = dead| archive-date = 29 October 2013|date=29 October 2010| work = The Times of India| accessdate = 2013-10-25}}{{cite news| title = New Delhi News : Celebrating nature and craft: 14th Nature Bazaar opens at Dilli Haat| url = http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/21/stories/2007122150490200.htm| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071225075214/http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/21/stories/2007122150490200.htm| url-status = dead| archive-date = 25 December 2007|date=21 Dec 2007|accessdate = 2013-10-25| work = The Hindu|location=Chennai, India}} In 2012, the Kisan Haat in Mehrauli was taken on a 15-year lease from Delhi Tourism to organize where theme-based bazaars, this included South Asian Bazaar, Winter Weaves, and Basant Bazaar. Here regional and speciality cuisines from various parts of India has also been featured{{cite news| title = Just the way it is… |work=The Hindu| url = http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/events/just-the-way-it-is/article5268476.ece|date=24 October 2013| accessdate = 2013-10-25| location=Chennai, India| first=Shailaja| last=Tripathi}}

Similar Dastkar Bazaars are now organized in many parts of the country, where craft groups and different states display and sell the works.{{cite web| title = Dastkar comes calling: Annual exhibition|publisher=Deccan Chronicle| url = http://www.deccanherald.com/content/19076/F|date=25 October 2013|accessdate = 2013-10-25}}

References

{{Reflist}}

Bibliography

  • {{cite book|author=Radhika Singh|title=The Fabric of Our Lives: The Story of Fabindia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ug118gkYq7gC&pg=PA196|year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-670-08434-0|ref=Si}}