INTRODUCTION:

India is a country with rich Textile and Craft heritage which is the envy of the whole world which is reflected in the expression of their art. Northern India is a land of great geographical contrasts, Punjab and Haryana to the south east, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh to the north and Uttar Pradesh to the west (1). Due to diversified talents, interests and inspiration, each states and areas are famous for their different traditional Handicrafts, which are a unique expression of art that beautifully keeps the age old culture alive and maintains its exotic legacy and tradition (2). Punjab has the hoary and distinguished tradition which its people have maintained in spite of vicissitudes of time.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

This study is based on secondary data taken from relevant books, journals and articles. The methods used are descriptive and analytical. The prime focus of the present study is to analyze different Phulkari Revival schemes aiming to Promote and Preserve Punjab’s Traditional Handicraft. The materials used have at times been drawn from the website and extreme care has been taken to be objective in approach.

DISCUSSIONS:

Phulkari is the skillful handling of a single stitch, which when positioned in a sequence forms striking designs(3). A reference to phulkari in literature comes from Guru Nanak Dev ji who wrote: "Kadd kasidha paihren choli, tan tu jane nari" (only when you can embroider your own choli with the embroidery stitch, will you be accepted as a woman). It brings to mind several visions of the life of a Punjabi woman of yesteryears: embroidering her phulkari for her wedding and spinning cotton on a painted charkha; the elaborate ceremonies of her marriage with the wedding phulkari draped over her; going out to the fields with a pot of butter-milk and corn-flakes on her head, dressed in a full yellow skirt with a black kurta and richly embroidered phulkari covering her from head to knee; the birth of her sons and daughters and the beginning of embroidering phulkari for the distant but happy occasions of their marriages; and on her death, when she is lifted on a bier by her sons, covered with a red phulkari, the symbol of a happy end, of prosperity, of fulfillment(4).

PHULKARI ARTISANS: Sikhs were the main practitioners and patrons of this art form. The craft remains the mainstay of the Bahawalpur community, which migrated from Pakistan during Partition. Thousands of members of this community were settled in a separate township created for them in Patiala city called Tripuri by the erstwhile ruler of Patiala, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh. At least one woman, if not more, of each household in the mini township of Tripuri is engaged in this work.

IMPORTANT CENTRES:

PATIALA, a city of gardens and palaces, has a rich architectural and cultural heritage. Patiala, the princely city of Punjab, having a rich architectural and cultural heritage has thousands of families who have been engaged in hand embroidery for generations. A business that extends employment to over 2 lakh persons (including traders, artisans, wholesalers and retailers) and registers transactions of over Rs 100 crore per year, has been flourishing on its own, without state government intervention. There are over 300 wholesale and retail shops selling handicrafts (intricately embroidered dress materials, dupattas and furnishings) at two locations, Adalat Bazar and Tripadi in Patiala.

Current scenario:

In Patiala and the surrounding areas, where this craft once flourished, Gradually over a period of time, improvisation and innovation has crept into this traditional craft. The traditional colours used for the embroidery — magenta, orange and red — are no longer thought to be attractive. Khaddar has been replaced by fine quality fabrics like terri voils, crapes, chiffons, lizzy bizzy cotton, stain cloth, silk cloth etc., and embroidery is also done from the front/ right side and after printing of designs on different fabrics and by using ring frames to hold the same. Since it is a painstaking and time consuming art, it is worked on curtains, bedspreads, cushion covers, wall hangings, chiffon saris, kurtas or shirts and dupattas or shawls. Embroidering a phulkari had taken a backseat as neither there is an inclination nor the patience (5). The interest being taken by government craft centres, non-government organisations (NGOs) and heritage preservation societies is seeing the revival of the embroidery. Tripri, in Patiala district, is a place where large-scale work is being done. Due to such efforts over the past few years, the demand for phulkari sees a major upswing during the wedding season when orders pour in from the non-resident Indian (NRI) population as well as from around North-India. NGOs and other semi-government bodies working on orders are confident of phulkari touching the global scene and constantly innovate, crafting new products and motifs, all within the parameters of tradition.

Dying art of phulkari:

In India, craft is a cultural and creative manifestation; it is also a mainstream commercial product. This duality is a source of strength, a reason craft and over 10 million craftspeople has survived into the millennium. It has also caused confusion and conflict. Government policies and public attitudes to craft have often found it difficult to decide which side of the mirror is the true image that should be fostered and nurtured. To add to the confusion, craftspeople themselves – despite there being over 14 million of them – are not active players, either in policy-making or marketing craft. India’s huge craft sector is a dead weight that has to be subsidized and supported till its workforce can be amalgamated into the organized, industrial sector.

1. Unorganized craft: Hundreds of women, mainly in the semi-urban and rural areas of Punjab, are involved in weaving colourful dreams on coarse cloth. It is another matter that the women who make these phulkari duppatas and ‘baghs’ that are a part of each Punjabi girl’s trousseau, are perhaps the most poorly paid artisans. The near absence of government support and initiative to promote this craft has ensured that these artisans remain unorganised and are prone to exploitation by middlemen, who make a neat profit earns just Rs 25-30, while the same duppatta sells for Rs 700 in the market.

2. Lack of fashion designer’s support: Fashion designers are coming into the limelight but they are not utilizing our embroidered textiles to the maximum and bringing forth responsible fashion that would help the dying phulkari’s community in the punjab as well as the fashion business which is constantly looking for something different and unique.

3. Punjabi poor remunerations and high cost of labour are now weaning away a lot of crafts persons from phulkari-making to the more economically viable and less labour intensive machine embroidery. Though the young girls have perfected the art of embroidery, they do not want to take it up as a means of livelihood. On an average, each artisan earns Rs 1,200- Rs 1,500 a month, while those involved in machine embroidery work earn almost Rs 3,000 a month.

4. Women are facing a stiff competition from the migrant labourers who are settled here from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, have perfected the art of making these floral motifs. These women are willing to work at much lesser price and Punjabi women won’t organize themselves into a group to pressurize the agents or shopkeepers for higher remunerations.

5. Government have done precious little for these women’s empowerment. Though Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) had helped set up self-help groups of these artisans. But these are not functional anymore and middlemen thrive between artisans and the corporation.

6. The state government has always been lukewarm to various phulkari revival proposals submitted by different phulkari societies.

7. The artisans are paid a pittance.

8. Mai-baap syndrome- Govt. agencies gives training the women to do phulkari but Nobody asks the already embattled traditional craftspersons, who are increasingly finding it difficult to find buyers for their existing pieces, whether there is a potential market for all these new, not so highly skilled products. Stockpiles of unsold goods made in good faith lead to disillusionment and further hardship, while subsidizing the unsaleable alienates the consumer.

9. NGOs supposedly sensitized to the importance of crafts and craftspeople, generally still work for craftspeople, rather than with them. Craftspeople have been brainwashed into believing that educated English speaking city graduates have solutions and insights to which skilled traditional craftspeople cannot contribute. The NGO becomes guru, father figure, patron, and source of income. Even when they perceive our feet of clay, a combination of traditional politeness and fear that our patronage may vanish prevents them from disagreement.

10. Crafts organizations, (both government and non-government) make numerous rationalizations for not including craftspeople as part of their decision-making and implementation citing confusion’ and misunderstandings as the main reason for doing so. Govt. treats craftspeople as products rather than persons.

11. Various financial incentives, benefits, and relief package are extended to encourage the organized sector to set up industries. In comparison, very little is available to the artisanal sector.

12. The preoccupation with the small but lucrative urban and export markets has diverted energies and resources that could other-wise have been invested in building up local and sustainable markets for artisanal product.

13. There is a lack of understanding of subtle differences in colours, motifs and proportions as demanded by urban and export markets.

INSTITUTIONS/NGO’s INVOLVED IN REVIVAL OF PHULKARI

1. IICD Institute of Crafts and Design is the technical agency for clusters under the Khadi and Village Industries Commission SFURTI project working in phulkari cluster at Patiala.

· With indigenous knowledge and traditional skills.

· Help generate livelihood.

· Increase visibility of craft persons by linking them with buyers who have access to new and quite frequently larger markets.

2. Fashion Technology Park is fashion hub in sector 90, Mohali is an industrial, commercial and intellectual development with an investment of around Rs.260 crores is spread over 14 acres with a total construction of 11.5 lac sq.ft approved by the Government of Punjab under the mega project scheme.

· To empower rural women.

· Preserving and enhancing local traditional skills by causing an easy marriage between the past, present and the future and giving it a fillip on the global stage.

· Created a special cell called ‘WEe’(Women Empowerment Enterprise) is the heart and soul of Fashion Technology Park. It aims to raise skill levels all around us, beginning at the grassroots level by nurturing and refining the traditional skills of rural women craft persons thereby giving them a global platform. It has registered over 2000 crafts persons on its data bank and runs a full-fledged training and production center at Bassi pathana with collaboration of MBCT where designers work with rural craftsperson to give the traditional crafts of phulkari a whole new dimension that fits in neatly with global design trends and specifications.

· Setting up capacity building and market accessibility centers for the rural women.

· Training center where 6 months Certificate course in “PHULKARI CRAFT is carried out with 200 girls/ women trained in fashion and craft developments to make fusion of contemporary fashion and traditional Motifs.

· Trained Women craftsperson are employed with exporters, manufacturers and boutiques.

3. NGO: Supporting the Centre and the State Governments and strengthening their hands in helping to reach larger number of crafts persons are the NGOs who have involved themselves in promoting the handicrafts on the one hand and protecting the rights of artisans on the other. Most outstanding among the NGOs are the Craft Council of India and it various regional centers rendering yoeman service to crafts persons and the handicrafts.

· Aims at increasing their production capacity, technical efficiency and above all improving their living standards by training the crafts persons in the Centre.

· Technical staff is sent to craft pockets to study local conditions, tools and equipments used in the production of handicrafts.

· Make buying of these tools and equipment affordable by devising, modifying and testing tools with a view to enhance precision and speed up the process of production.

· Provide crafts persons with project details, data on resource personnel and technical guidance.

· Assist them in production and marketing of their crafts i.e. In procuring the raw materials and making them avail design and technical expertise. In availing different facilities provided by government and banks, Marketing and transportation.

· Making them aware about different environmental and health issues and can encourage crafts persons to participate in workshops, seminars and such other activities.

4. Patiala Handicraft Workshop Cooperative Industrial Society Ltd.- This NGO works with the motto of "society for rural women empowerment" and has not only reinvented the dying craft but has also helped rural women make a living out of the craft. The NGO works on the ideology of "earn while you learn". There are about 6,000 artisans registered with the NGO and about 880 families are associated with it.

· Registered society with the Punjab Government and is a major supplier to the state government-run emporia in Patiala, Chandigarh and Delhi.

· Most favored one with the Central Government due to the research done on Phulkari and the expertise of the artisans in handling Phulkari.

· "Saphurti Phulkari Project", the biggest Phulkari cluster project with the sanction of around Rs 80 lakh from the Centre has been awarded to this NGO and around Rs 8.5 lakh have been contributed by the society. ".

· Common facility centre for research in Phulkari in1,000 sq.yd plot in Rajpura.

5. Banthanwala Women Coop. I.C.S. Ltd in Behrampur, Distt.- Gurdaspur and Mahila Vikas Society in Quadian in Punjab are also involved in various schemes and projects for Phulkari revival.

6. Urbo Rural Integrated Development Association(URIDA) a national level NGO creating awareness in the areas of Health, education and women empowerment to the artisans and NGOs in handicraft sector.

7. National Institute of Fashion Technology and Apparel Training and Design Centre in collaboration with The National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC) are making efforts to for up gradation of traditional skills of the artisans.

8. Patiala handicraft welfare society under State Institute of rural development (sird) provide skill training in phulkari work to rural women and artisans.

9.       Mahila Kalayan Samiti in Sardulgarh, Distt.Mansa,Gramin Vikas Kalayan Society, Abohar, Distt.Ferozpur and Punjab Khadi Board aims to promote the state's traditional crafts in a big way by  having five to six exclusive clusters of villages to promote typical rural skills. For example, in Patiala five to six villages has formed a cluster to promote phulkari.

10. National Handicrafts and HandloomsMuseum (NHHM): also known as Crafts Museum is located at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. It is a sub-ordinate office under the office of Development Commissioner for Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles.

· To increase public awareness about India’s ancient traditions of handicrafts and handlooms.

· Provide an interactive forum for the crafts persons, designers, exporters, scholars and public.

· Help crafts persons experience a direct marketing interaction with customers without middlemen, and to serve as a resource center for the Indian handicraft and handloom traditions.

· Collection, conservation and preservation of crafts, revival, reproduction and development of Art and Craft constitute the basic activities of the Museum. The Textile section of Chandigarh Government Museum has some representative examples of this art.

· Craft demonstration programme: The Museum has strengthened the weakening links of traditional handicrafts and handlooms through its regular monthly craft demonstration programmes organized round the year except during the monsoon season where 50 Craftsmen are invited to demonstrate their skills in the respective crafts and also sell their products.

· Library: Museum has a specialized reference Library having more than 20,000 reference books on traditional Indian Arts, crafts, textiles etc.

· Exhibitions: The Museum has a Special Exhibition Gallery in which thematic exhibitions are held. Month-long special phulkari exhibitions was also organised in Chandigarh and Delhi Craft Museum which features selected pieces of phulkari pieces dating back to mid 20th century, belonging to both East and West Punjab along with live demonstrations by women artisans from Punjab.

11. The Rural Environmental enterprises Development Society (REEDS) Under the KVIC-SFURTI scheme, it had formed the artisans and their families in SHGs in the States of Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh.

12. The craft revival trust The Craft Revival Trust (CRT), established in 1999 is a registered non-profit organization which works with craft and craftspersons.

• To research and document knowledge and skills of oral craft traditions and craft Communities that have been transmitted from generation to generation

• To safeguard by creating a knowledge bank

• To create a network of crafts and craftspersons

• To promote respect for craft creativity, craft communities and the hand skills.

• To create a rights based platform for advocacy for the craftspersons.

• To create programs those facilitates and generate interest in the crafts by the next generation.

CONTRIBUTIONS BY WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS, DESIGNERS AND RESEARCHERS:

1. Mrs. Kamla Devi Chattopadhyay: helped in movement to revive and reinstate handicrafts to its original glory by establishing not only Crafts council of India after India’s independence but also establishing awards scheme and Design Development Centers in different crafts pockets for the traditional craftsperson. As the first chairperson of the All India Handicrafts Board, she set up a series of outlets, created posts of Development Commissioners specially to promote handlooms and handicrafts.

2. Puneet Madan: love for tradition fires her passion for the traditional art of phulkari and effort to restore the lost glory of phulkari and to give it its due status, making artisans financially independent. She improvised traditional designs in a way that they gel with the modern look and experimenting with fabric, colours and textures. She has been certified by the Ministry of Textiles and Punjab Small Scale Industries Department to impart training to girls in this traditional art.

3. Paramjit Kaur Kang, a young artiste, masters in Fine Arts from Punjabi University, Patiala, has devoted herself in making innovative and new patterns in phulkari, making use of human figures and animals as well as abstract motifs which is translated on the khaddar cloth with silk thread by her.

4. Rekha Mann, a Delhite has set up a “Patiala Handicraft Workshop Cooperative Industrial Society” registered in 1995, where in women get trained in the craft to establish their own units producing bedcovers, curtains, sarees, table linen, file covers, caps, jackets, purses, pankhis and other articles of domestic use in non-conventional pastel colours in her craft instead of the strong hues. She has been on government-sponsored international trips to hold exhibition of a mélange of Phulkari products.

5. Darshana Taneja belonging to the Bhawalpur community, is one of the largest suppliers of embroidered suits and dupattas in the region with clients as far based as in Bombay, Pune and Bangalore by innovative use of hues and motifs traditionally used in the craft. With almost 500 women working for her, she has set up the Darshana Women Cooperative Phulkari and Handicrafts Society.

6. Sunaina Suneja designer is working to modernize and revive the age-old craft of phulkari in Punjab and give it some contemporary styling by using khadi as the canvas and and dyeing the loose silk threads in bright original colours hence producing small items like bags, jutties, uppers and decorative pieces creating jobs for women in the state.

7. Michelle Maskiell associate professor from the department of History and Philosophy in Montana state university in 1998 has done research analysing of the production, exchange, and consumption of phulkaris (embroidered textiles) in colonial and postcolonial Punjab within the context of the global economy and current methodological debates about the utility of cultural studies versus political economy approaches. She showed how the increasing commercialization of the regional economy influenced material culture and the gendered division of labor as well as how it impinged on issues of women's agency and the production and marketing of phulkaris in postindependence India and Pakistan.

8. Simran harika- a designer who thought of putting her flair to revive and preserve the traditional art refuses to open a commercial outlet and prefers instead an elite clientele (Gursharan Kaur, the better half of the Indian Prime Minister, and Camilla Parker Bowles, wife of London’s Prince Charles) which values her home-embroidered Phulkaris for their original craftsmanship. She adds embellishments of Zardozi and Mukaish on Phulkari to craft an elegant range of suits, saris and dupattas.

9. Mugdha Dongare, a Mumbai-based fashion designer gives a unique twist to her designs, by mixing and matching and hence creating a combination of embroidery and painting on clothes and artifacts .

10. Pranavi Kapur ,a designer who specialises in this form of craft for her kurtas using vibrant colours of the silk thread.

11. Ritu Beri ,a well known Designer uses phulkari work on her garments giving Phulkari a modern look with pastel colours instead of the traditional red, orange and yellow.

GOVERNMENT EFFORTS AND REVIVAL SCHEMES:

Migration of Phulkari artisans to the urban centre gave them an opportunity to learn new techniques, enhance the quality of their work leading to significant improvement not only in their economic condition, greater degree of social acceptance and above all recognition of their skills and talents taking advantage of the marketing facilities available. This has been made possible mainly due to the combined efforts of Government agencies (The Planning Commission, SIDBI, NABARD, KVIC, the AIHB, UNDP, the World Bank, the Export Promotion Councils, the Directorate of Tourism) and the NGOs seriously working for the revival of the handicrafts and the economic resurgence of the artists and the artisans recognizing the importance and potential of this vital part of the rural and non-formal sector. Ministry of Textiles under the direction of office of the Development Commissioner Handicrafts has set up Regional Design &Technical Development Centers in various states to seek new directions for Indian crafts and craftspeople. Handicrafts being a State subject, its development and promotion are the primary responsibility of every State Government. However, the Central Government is supplementing their efforts by implementing various developmental schemes.

1. Heritage Festival organized every year at Patiala, Kapurthala and Amritsar to promote the Punjabi Culture where embroidery artisans form a self-help group to market their craft in coordination with non-government agencies and two-day skill upgradation workshops organized at Quila Mubarak, Patiala.

2. Punjab Small Industries & Export Corporation Ltd (PSIEC) is an autonomous body of the State Government of Punjab and duly incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 for the purpose of promotion of business and service to industry.

· Emporia Wing

The Corporation is running a chain of Emporiums under the name of Phulkari at Delhi, Chandigarh, Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Kolkata with the objective to promote the interests of Small Scale Units and Craftsmen by selling their products through this network. It has set up a Crafts Development Centre at Hoshiarpur for procurement, development and marketing of lacquer and inlaid crafts.

· Marketing Division

Marketing Section is engaged in rendering promotional assistance by organizing exhibitions, crafts bazaars and fairs in different parts of India for the upliftment and popularity of small and cottage industries in Punjab. Under the Marketing Assistance Scheme and through its Phulkari Punjab Govt. Emporiums net in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala, Chandigarh, Delhi and Kolkata, it has been rendering assistance to the small and tiny sectors by marketing their Phulkari products for supply to various Central and State Government undertakings.

· Export Promotion Division

It is a pathfinder and facilitator for new entrepreneurs providing line information on the credit worthiness of partners to whom exports have to be made. It coordinates participation in international fairs and arranges business meetings with delegates of various partner countries. It also sends delegates to various countries to explore and identify potential markets.

· Training Section

It aims at providing vocational training to the women folk preferentially in the rural area/weaker Section of the society under various schemes. The Schemes are run with 100% grant-in-aid from the various Deptt. / agencies of Punjab Government to generate self/employment/appointment for the trainees. The corporation has also set up a multi trade integrated training-cum-production center at Kheowali in Mukatsar district on industrial plots. Crafts Development Centre is at Hoshiarpur and Phulkari Production Centres at Patiala and Amritsar which has been instrumental in training over 4000 women since inception and in the process made them self-sufficient. The Government helps the creative and skilful artists in Punjab by selling their handicrafts in the SARAS melas at various places in India.

3. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Cluster development programme (MSE-CDP) Under this Program me, 56 clusters under participatory approach and 5 clusters under intensive approach, covering 22 States has been formed. In Phulkari cluster, artisans at Dera Bassi are trained to use new tools and develop new designs so as to cater to the urban tastes and above all enable them to market their goods profitably.

4. Rural Entrepreneurship Development Programme (REDP) Maximum financial support to any entrepreneur will be Rs 1.75 lakh with training component at Rs 1.0 lakh and incentive component at Rs 75000/-. However, RO has discretion to change the proportion for justifiable reasons.

5. Skill Development Programme (SDP) The financial support for Skill Development Programme for a minimum of 25 trainees:

Up to 2 week’s duration: Rs 35,000/-
2-3 weeks’ duration: Rs 45,000/-
4-5 weeks’ duration: Rs 85,000/-
6 weeks and above: Rs 1.20 lakh

6. Rural Mart Scheme:A pilot scheme for setting-up of retail market outlets to facilitate marketing linkages for the handicraft and agro-based products.

7. Baba saheb ambedkar hastshilp vikas yojana scheme (ahvy)This scheme aims at promoting Indian handicrafts by developing artisans’ clusters into professionally managed and self-reliant community enterprise on the principles of effective member participation and mutual cooperation. The thrust of the scheme is on need based integrated approach for sustainable handicrafts development through participation of craftsperson leading to their empowerment. The package of support under AHVY can be clubbed under the following components:

I	*Social interventions*
i.	Diagnostic Survey and formulation of Project Plan.
ii.	Community empowerment for mobilization of artisans into Self Help Groups.
iii.	Issuance of Identity cards to the artisans (Departmental activity)
II	*Technological interventions*
i.	Development and supply of improved modern tools.
ii.	Design and Technical Development Workshops
iii.	Integrated Design and Technical Development project.
iv.	Training of artisans.
v.	Organizing Seminar & Symposium
vi.	Technological status and need based study and research provision.
*III*	*Marketing interventions*
i.	Organizing Exhibitions.
ii.	Publicity through printing and electronic mode and brand building campaign.
iii.	Setting up of Handicrafts emporia in own/rented/outright purchase of building and renovation.
iv.	Market assessment, product assessment study and Study cum exposure tours for artisans and other stake holders tour.
v.	Establishment of warehousing cum Common work shed.
vi.	Entrepreneurship Development Programme.
IV	*Financial interventions*
i.	Margin money support.
ii.	Wage compensation to cluster manager.
iii.	Service charges for Implementing Agencies.
iv.	Engagement of expert/ consultants/ institutions, etc., for providing need based assistance including guiding and monitoring.
v.	Credit Guarantee (Departmental activity)
V	*Cluster specific interventions related interventions*
i.	Establishment of Resource Centre for major crafts.
ii.	Establishment of E-kiosks.
iii.	Creation of Raw Material Banks.
iv.	Setting up of Common Facility Centre.
v.	Technological assistance by setting up of Facility Centres by Exporters/ Entrepreneurs, etc.

The Block Mukerian cluster (Hosiyarpur) district has 120 plus Artisans &10SHGs,Rangilpur cluster (Gurdaspur)has 500 plus Artisans & 50 SHGs ,Dara baba Nanak cluster(Gurdaspur) has 400 plus Artisans & 12 SHGs supporting the strong work force.

8. Handicrafts artisans’ comprehensive welfare scheme.

The scheme has been included in the 11th Five Year Plan as one of the major schemes with the following two main components, aimed at Insurance Cover and Health Care of Handicrafts Artisan and his family between the age group of 18-60 years.

a. Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana. It aims at financially enabling the artisans

Community along with any three members out of spouse, dependent parents

and childrens to access to the best of healthcare facilities in the country.

b. Bima Yojana for Handicrafts Artisans- It is to provide life insurance protection to the Handicrafts Artisans, whether male or female, between the age group of 18-60 years.

9. Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)

It is a self-employment programme of the Ministry of Rural Development which aims at providing assistance to the rural poor living Below the Poverty Line (BPL) for establishing micro-enterprises with the help of bank credit and Government subsidy.

10. Centrally-sponsored Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP): The scheme is implemented by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Punjab Khadi and Village Industries Board and the district industries centres to give financial aid and also offer skill development to these workers by starting cluster development programmes for these small cottage industries.

11. "Mai Bhago Istri Shakti Scheme: The objectives of the scheme are to train at convenient places, provide hassle free credit and assistance and strengthening of different income generating activities at the village level. Marketing of Phulkari products prepared by the societies is done through the network of PACS, showrooms/ sale outlets of WEAVCO, MILKFED and MARKFED Committee at Division level. Designers are engaged by WEAVCO, who will help in preparing new designs, new colour schemes and good packaging of these products. The committee will also coordinate with other departments like Phulkari, NIIFT Mohali, Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Khadi & Village Industries Board (KVIB), Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Knit Wear Clubs Ludhiana, Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), Women Welfare Department, Social Security Department etc. to give a fresh lease of life to the dying art of ‘phulkari’.

12. Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) Under this scheme, phulkari cluster in Thuha village has come up with Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and implemented by The Patiala Handicraft Workshop Cooperative Industrial Society.

The objectives of the Scheme are:

(i) To develop clusters of traditional industries in various parts of the country over a period of five years.

(ii) To make traditional industries more competitive with more market-driven, productive, profitable and sustained employment for traditional industry artisans and rural entrepreneurs;

(iii) To strengthen the local governance systems of industry clusters, with the active participation of the local stakeholders, so that they are enabled to undertake development initiatives by themselves; and

(iv) To build up innovated and traditional skills, improved technologies, advanced processes, market intelligence and new models of public-private partnerships, so as to gradually replicate similar models of cluster-based regenerated traditional industries.

13. Export promotion scheme for handicrafts :

The objectives of the scheme are

a. Identification of suitable handicrafts concentration area for development of exportable products.

b. Identification of markets for export of handicrafts, research & survey of markets abroad, identify prevailing designs, competitors taste and fashion prevailing and suggest measures.

c. Introduction of design technology innovation by sending craftsperson/ designers/ Technologists abroad & inviting crafts persons/Designers/Technologist from Abroad for study/development of new/innovative designs etc.

d. Twinning arrangements with Institutions within the country and abroad for input on designing and technology market intelligence/output and tie-up with foreign professional Institutes.

e. Convening Workshops/Seminars in India & Abroad followed by exhibition/Live demonstration for exploring international market.

f. Publicity through media abroad to generate export.

g. Marketing through participation in International exhibition abroad, Buyer-seller meets in

India & Abroad and other events sponsored by EPCH, CEPC, COHANDS or agencies approved by office of the DC(H) to eligible agencies involved in development & marketing of Handicrafts.

h. Deputation of Craft persons abroad under agreed Cultural Exchange Programme between two countries to create awareness about Indian tradition & heritage abroad to explore export possibilities and vice-versa.

i. Improve quality through design innovations and innovation in product and process technology, improved packaging & export awareness of procedure to young entrepreneurs/crafts clusters.(6)

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS INVOLVED IN PROVIDING CREDIT FACILITY FOR REVIVAL OF PHULKARI:

1. The Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC)

2. The Bosco Institute of Rural Development at village Kauli in district Patiala.

3. Punjab State Cooperative Bank Ltd, Chandigarh

4. Punjab State Cooperative Agri Development Bank Ltd., Chandigarh

5. Nawanshahr Central Cooperative Bank Ltd.

6. Patiala Central Cooperative Bank Ltd.

7. Sangrur Dist Central cooperative Bank Ltd

8. Jalandhar Dist Central Cooperative Bank Ltd

9. Amritsar Dist Central Cooperative Bank, Ltd

10. Ludhiana Dist Central Coop Bank Ltd

11. Ghannaur PCARDB Ltd.

12. Malwa Gramin Bank

13. Punjab Gramin Bank (by amalgamation of Gurdaspur Amritsar Kshetriya Gramin Bank, Shivalik Kshetriya Gramin Bank and Kapurthala-Ferozepur Kshetriya Gramin Bank)

SUGGESTIONS FOR RESURRECTING AND RESTORING THE LOST GLORY OF THE DYING ART OF ‘PHULKARI:

To revive this craft, the appropriateness of the existing production and marketing settings should be checked to match the quality and quantity demand. We need to create a common base for our strategies and speculations as every ten years, we lose 10% of our craftspeople. This new value tool should be based on extensive use of new methodologies for the promotion of Phulkari craft and will resolve the following weaknesses in the present system.

1. Help from Fashion Councils: Fashion associations like the Fashion Design Council of India, the Lakme Fashion Week and the newly formed Fashion Foundation of India that organizes Fashion shows should make it mandatory for all designers to have a small collection of garments made from traditional textiles, embroideries and khadi at every Fashion Week. Designers should nurture weavers with new ideas and embroidery designs and use the same for their collections so as to put this art on the contemporary fashion scene.

2. Focus on getting the Phulkari practitioners to understand its traditions will lead to the up gradation of skills, introduction of made-up products of everyday use and recreation of traditional phulkari pieces.

3. Empowering the rural and poor women is the ideal solution.

4. Artisans should discover their self worth, seeing themselves as active participants in the community rather than passive recipients of welfare. Craft traditions are a unique mechanism for rural artisans entering the economic mainstream for the first time as they carry the stigma of inferiority and backwardness. Craft and the ancillary aspects of design and tradition are considered by activists and economists, bureaucrats and business strategists as decorative, peripheral and elitist – rather retrograde ways of earning a living. Craftspeople are always seen as picturesque exhibits of our past, rather than dynamic entrepreneurs of our present and future. Social prejudices and taboos are thrown away when women discover their own power. It’s extraordinarily exciting and moving to see the traditional hand skills of women, used to craft products for themselves and their families, gradually changing into a contemporary, urban, market-led product, but still strongly reflecting the cultural identity and individual skills of the makers.

5. The combination of men and women is a creative and essential part of the craft process, as it is in the fields and the village and in the life of the family. The shift in the balance of power within the family and the changing perceptions of the community to women as they become earners mirrors the transitions in the craft as it reaches out to wider, new markets. As women find new strengths and freedoms, men too find their minds and horizons expanding. The process is not without conflict, but it is invariably catalytic.

6. Marketing- If traditional craft techniques and their producers are to survive, they cannot remain static – locked in mind-sets, production systems and marketing strategies that are now outdated. Finding new opportunities to suit the taste of the contemporary market without compromising traditional aesthetics, while leaving space for individual creativity and cultural meaning, is the test of a successful craft intervention. Strategies need to be long term, with marketing infrastructures to support them. Strategies need to be long term, with marketing infrastructures to support them. Marketing of the finished product / process must be arranged in a packaged form.

7. Identifying and classifying both skill and product. Where change (in material, function, technology, or market) would benefit the craft, and where it would inextricably do damage. Having established the core value system and context of the craft, training and sensitization of NGOs and government staff working in the sector to these issues and the cultural and technical aspects of the crafts with which they work is crucial as it is important not to lump Phulkari artisans together with cobblers and pot makers as it may be demoralizing for them.

8. Craftspeople should be included in mainstream planning and organizational decision-making so as to make them feel confident enough to speak, to suggest, disagreeing, to actually direct directions leading to building on the strengths rather than weaknesses of each craft and craft community, and being sensitive to their different nuances and cultural consciousness. We need to take the craftspeople with us. Learning to listen as well as speak is something we all need to learn. There must be a shift from patronage to partnership.

9. The urban intelligentsia and craftspeople both need to break the caste system of city vs village, literate vs. non-literate, and book learning vs traditional skills.

10. Encourage craftspeople to become designers- There are local museums where artisans could draw inspiration from the best of their own traditions as most crafts collections continue to find urban homes in metro cities. Craftspeople must be integrated into every aspect of the development process.

11. Sensitize the buyer - Crafts are not just part of our aesthetic and culture, they are the bread of life to millions of craftspeople .When buyers wanted products tailored to current trends, or lower prices. Simultaneously, there is need for alleviation of poverty, or the need to create more employment as Artisans want work hence work of Phulkari revivers is to sensitize the buyer.

12. Design and development is important for the survival of the crafts sector design experiments with lines, colors, shapes, motifs and patterns. Experimenting and development in design to bring in these changes according to the demands at all levels so as to keep pace with the changes in market forces is the need of the hour. Develop innovative product ideas involving new fabrics and materials inspired by current themes based on the design forecast.

13. Enhance the quality of the products by experimenting with new materials and techniques and Changes according to the trends, fashions, tastes and lifestyles making Packaging attractive and feasible. From time to time, crafts persons can be given training to enhance their quality of production including materials, design and packaging.

14. The government should provide easy loans, subsidy to buy raw materials, tools, transport, electricity and better health conditions to increase production.

15. Upgrade and diversify the skills of artisans by equipping them with sewing machines and knowledge of constructing simple products.

16. Educational materials like books on traditional embroidery, diaries and embroidery- teaching kits aimed at creating fulfilled learning must be provided to artisans as it increases awareness of the craft's potential and excellence, and reinforced the work spirit amongst the craftswomen.

17. It is important to adapt design elements for new crafts without destroying the cultural core that lies behind the tradition. For example, aspecial feature of Punjab's phulkari embroidery is the use of two or three shades of yellow so initial interventions should be based on it as this is one of the core characteristics of the craft. To work out in association with the indigenous craftsmen and the modern technicians, to evolve a method under which a craftsman can use the modern tools without distorting the originality of arts for better production and huge quantity base.

18. Award for the best performers must be provided at the different levels e.g. districts, state, national and international.

CONCLUSION:

Though this craft is the source of livelihood of thousands in the city, few craftspersons have been able to take full advantage of its popularity oversees. Though striking and opulent, there is robustness in the design that stems from the hardy, joyous nature of the Punjabi people, whose lives revolved around agrarian activities. The richness of a golden harvest meant happiness, which was transferred on to the cloth, interspersed with legends, folk traditions and daily life. Women used to sit together and embroider their pieces. While they worked they sang and songs evolved around the art of phulkari, which as time passed became part of folk singing. Looking at the demand for phulkari, it doesn’t seem a distant dream when the stitch-craft will be singing a new song.

REFERENCES:

1. Gillow J andBernard N. Traditional Indian Textiles.Thames and Hudson Ltd,London.1993. pp.113,116-118

2. Shaik S and Begum S.Traditional Textiles.State institute of Vocation Education,Hyderabad. 2005.pp.34

3. Naik S.Traditional Embroideries of India. A.P.H. Publishing Corporation ,N.Delhi. 1996.pp.103

4. ShriKant U.Ethnic Embroidery of India.Honesty Publishers and Distributers.Mumbai.2005. pp.103

5. Tyabji L.Threads and Voices.Behind the Indian Textile Tradition.Marg Publications, Mumbai.2007.

6. Annual Plan 2009-2010 by Department of planning, Government of Punjab.Vol-1.

Received on 21.01.2011 Accepted on 17.02.2011

Asian J. Management 2(1): Jan. – Mar. 2011 page 28-38