Giving Artisans What Their Work Deserves

There is a moment in every craft story where the conversation shifts from preservation to participation. Navya Milan sits right at that point.The initiative, led by the Institute for Advanced Studies in Complex Choices in collaboration with Abhihaara Social Enterprise, brings together handloom and handicraft traditions from the regions shaped by the Godavari and Krishna rivers. But this is not positioned as a static showcase. It is an attempt to understand what it takes for craft to remain relevant in today’s lives.For Chitra Sood, the journey began several years ago, during a time of uncertainty. “This journey started around the COVID time,” she recalls. “Sudha had a deep association with weaving and craft communities, and during that period, many artisans were struggling because their livelihoods had completely stopped.”What began as a response to an immediate crisis soon evolved into something more structured. One of the first interventions focused on Kondapalli, a village in Andhra Pradesh synonymous with colourful toys, where the team worked with women artisans. “We said one of the opportunities we could look at was to train women. Traditionally, their work was limited to painting toys, but they started learning how to chisel as well.”The training phase led to the formation of a cooperative, giving the artisans both skill and structure. There was also a conscious move towards natural dyes, addressing both environmental concerns and shifting perceptions around traditional crafts. The results were encouraging. “They found a very good market reception. They started selling to places like Dakshin Chitra and Lepakshi,” she says.This early success shaped the larger approach. “If you support through training, almost like an incubation phase, and help with initial market linkage, they are able to sustain themselves,” Sood notes. It also shifted the way the initiative viewed its role.For years, craft revival has often been framed through philanthropy. Navya Milan moves away from that. “We made a conscious decision that it is not about us trying to help. It is about going back to what was really our roots. Crafts and artisans were always part of our lives. We chose to move away from them.”That idea forms the core of Navya Milan. The name itself reflects this thinking. Navya means new, while Milan suggests coming together. It is about re-engaging with craft in a contemporary context, not as nostalgia, but as part of everyday living.The exhibition reflects this layered approach. Kondapalli toys, Machilipatnam block prints and Venkatagiri sarees form the core. Each comes with its own history and challenges. In Venkatagiri, for instance, the focus has been on reviving fine 120 count cotton sarees, known for their lightness. “That tradition had gone away, so we have revived the loom to work with that kind of cotton again,” explains Chitra.In Gadwal, the effort has been to return to the original format of cotton body with silk borders. The process is far more complex than working with silk alone, and that complexity directly impacts the livelihood of weavers. “For a weaver, if they are not sure about the remuneration, it does not make sense to do that. So, the question of fair value becomes very important.”This is where the research lens of IASCC comes into play. The organisation is looking at how remuneration for artisans can be better understood and structured. “There is time, there is effort, and in unregulated sectors it goes unnoticed,” Sood points out. “We are exploring whether there can be a framework, something like a minimum support, that recognises this work.”At its core, Navya Milan is as much about economics as it is about aesthetics. It is about ensuring that craft can sustain itself without being dependent on external support.For Sudha Rani Mullapudi, the connection is also deeply personal. “In choosing these forms, you are not just supporting a tradition, you are restoring a part of yourself that modern life has quietly set aside,” she says. “It is rediscovering our roots and recreating them. You begin to see that these are not fragments of a disappearing world but pieces of your own.”The exhibition itself is a starting point. “We wanted to test the waters,” Sood says. “If this resonates, we would like to do it at least twice a year and expand the range of crafts and artists.”For now, the focus remains on the Telugu states, shaped by both access and familiarity. But the larger intent is clear. “We hope more organisations start looking at this as an opportunity. What we are doing is hopefully showing a path, but it has to become something much larger,” hopes Chitra.Navya Milan, in that sense, is less about a single event and more about a shift in perspective. It asks a simple question. What happens when craft is not seen as something to preserve, but something to live with?



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