Tribal artistes performing dance during the National Tribal Festival at Kalagarm in Manimajra on Friday. (Express Photo/Kamleshwar Singh)
To celebrate tribal culture, cuisine and commerce, a 10-day National Tribal Festival, Aadi Mohatsav, kicked off at Kalagram in Manimajra, Chandigarh, on Friday. The festival was inaugurated by Haryana Governor, Kaptan Singh Solanki. The event was a collaboration between the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and North Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala.
Pravir Krishan, Managing Director, Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), in his opening address, said, “This is an initiative for the betterment of tribal artisans. Over 150 artisans from almost 25 states have come here to showcase the art and culture of their land which is thousands of years old.”
He further said that the artisans were highly trained and uniquely gifted craftsman but due to the lack of market access, they have failed to reap the full benefits of their craft. “It takes an artisan three months to make a sari. All this energy and work to create one product. But this effort is not fully rewarded because the middle man takes away a huge slice of the profit. By taking such initiatives, we remove the middle man and connect the artisan with the bigger market,” Krishan added.
The event sprang to life with music and dance performance by artistes, who had come from states such as Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh (J&K) and Haryana to showcase the music and dance forms of their states.
Layul Sur Sangam, a Himachal-based musical group, gave the first performance of the festival. Satinder, the lead dancer of the group, said, “We have been performing at the tribal festivals for a while now. We also took part in the festival recently held in Delhi. It is a great platform to showcase the music and dance forms of our region.”
The artistes will be showcasing their music and dance from 6 pm to 8 pm every evening. The festival has set up over 70 stalls for the exhibition-cum-sale of various artworks from the tribal regions of the state. “The event is a platform for more than 150 tribal artisans to showcase their talent and craft,” said an organiser.
The artisans have been provided free lodging, transport and food. “We are very happy with the arrangements here. It is always a pleasure to attend these festivals because we make a lot of sales,” said Wajahat Rasool, an artisan from Jammu & Kashmir, who has set up a stall of shawls. “I have been participating in such festivals. I recently participated in the Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan, Delhi.” Rasool added that he had an array of shawls on display such as Pashmina, Sozni and Aari.
Another shawl artisan, Muhammad Fayaz from Kargil, said, “There is a lot of demand for shawls in India and oversees. I sell Pashmina mostly. It has the biggest demand.” He himself weaves shawls on handloom and travels throughout the country to sell them.
Baburam Negi, another artisan, makes ornaments out of glass beads, stones, metal and silver. “All my ornaments are handmade and the materials used are mostly from India,” he said. “I only come to events that promote tribal art and culture. These events not only help us make money but also promote the unique culture of each state,” Negi added.
The tribal artisans have started incorporating technology to enhance their commerce. In line with the national programme of digital India, TRIFED has adopted digital financial transactions. “We encourage the artisans to open bank accounts and make payments to them through e-commerce. It is for the first time that the artisans will be accepting payment through credit and debit cards for which point of sale (POS) machines have been provided to every stall,” said Krishan. He further stated that TRIFED has made arrangements with online marketing giants, Amazon, Flipkart and Paytm, for the benefit of artisans. “We have made these tie-ups so that the products of the artisans can be sold digitally. This gives the artisans a lot of advantage and widens their possibilities of generating more revenue.”