End term 2021 - Craft Cluster (Major) - Abhimanyu,Aditi,Ahana,Anushka,Snighdha,Shreya,Harshita

दो- ख़ा टाँका

चंबा माल का लेखन

Copyright© National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi, 2021 All Rights Reserved No parts of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by means of electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, except by a review/reader who wishes to quote a brief passage in connection with paper review/essay written for inclusion in a periodical, newspaper or broadcast.

रा ीय वेशभूषा ौ ो गक सं

ान

National Institute of Fashion Technology

Craft Research Documentation: Chamba Rumal Department of Master of Design Batch 2020-2022 Abhimanyu Arya Aditi Sharma Ahana Sen Anushka Pandey Harshita Chavda Shreya Marwale Snigdha Kathait

माये ना म रये, शमले दी राह चंबा कतनी दूर

शमला नी बसना, कसौली नी बसना चंबा जाना ज़ र

Preface The emergence of civilized society started with its embracement of the textile. This development gave them a new medium to translate their vivid imagination. Humans are by nature artistic and we witness their imagination, visions, and innovative skills in different forms and mediums; textile are one of them. Textile art is originally a common man’s passion with its roots in the general household. Its speculated journey of more than forty thousand years makes it a powerful medium to understand and explore the culture of any society and the stages of its development. One can understand the rituals, traditions, conventions, way of living, or to say, every aspect & dimension of that group or society through this in detail. The needle is the most effective tool in textile art; it has embroidered dreams, inspirations, imaginations, visions, and feelings of countless people. This embroidery tool has invented many fabulous art techniques in India.

Originally it was a passion of the household, where the womenfolk used it to pass the leisurely time, but with time it gained popularity and many mastered it to impress the royals, elites, and the buyers.

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Acknowledgment Craft is the richest expression in Indian culture. Each state has countless such expressions of human creativity emanating in the form of different ways.

Our endeavour of seeping through the finaries of Chamba and understanding the cluster involved in making majestic "Chamba Rumal", has been an experience of infinite enrichment and fulfilment.

We take this opportunity to thank our Institute, the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi, for incorporating such profound activities in mainstream academia. Such modules not only enrich the students with knowledge about the product of that cluster but also helps in developing an understanding of all the aspects involved in it, holistically.

We are deeply grateful to our teachers who their guidance and support, in the absence of which, we would all have ended up as aimless wanderers.

And, lastly, but most intently, We express our gratitude towards Ms. Indu Sharma, the Master Craftsperson, who helped us steer through this project, unflinchingly. In these difficult times of pandemic, she extended her support to us through online mode. She shared her insight and gave her valuable input about the craft, cluster, system dynamics, and other aspects, time-to-time, over online meetings. We are indebted to her for all the support and assistance.

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Contents 07

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About Chamba

Origin

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Introduction

History

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Traditions

Themes

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Motifs

Material

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Craft Production Process

Stitches

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Market

Goverrnment Initatives

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Future Prospects

Value Chain

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Analysis

System Identification

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SWOT

Causal Loop

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Strategies

Conclusion

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Bibliography

Annexure

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Chamba Chamba is dotted with historical and architecturally significant landmarks.

The town, its temples, landmarks, and crafts boast of its rich medieval past. Chamba is bounded by Jammu and Kashmir on the north-west, on the north-east and east by Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir state and Lahaul and Bara-Bangal area of Himachal Pradesh, on the south-east and south by the District Kangra of Himachal Pradesh and Gurdaspur District of Punjab.

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Origin

The 'Chamba Rumal' implies a visual art form that represents unique embroidery done on a handspun cloth with an untwisted silken thread, which is greatly inspired by Pahari painting.

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Introduction

This pictorial embroidery was known and practised in some areas of Himachal Pradesh which remained once important centres of Pahari painting. The Chamba region has two embroidery streams.

The first reflects folk style, has small subjects, vivid colours, and uneven stitching. The embroiderer draws the design. The designs in this style are plain and primitive.

The other is a modern style with a balanced composition, attractive and subtle colours. The fine lines of intricate double-running stitches or 'Dorukha Tanka' make a mirror. The spacing of the scene, proportions of the figures, and arrangement of elements are admirably worked out. The motifs are finely manifested with the brilliant composition of colours. It is said that a 'rumal', was embroidered by Bebe Nanki, sister of Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539), and presented to him during his wedding in the late fifteenth century which has been still preserved as documentation in Gurudwara of Gurdaspur.

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History Rumal is a Persian word that means a 'kerchief', a square piece of cloth worn on the head or around the neck. Chamba Rumal has a peculiar style, where patterns are made on a square or rectangular unbleached hand-woven cloth (muslin) with the use of untwisted silk threads and needles; the thread is popularly known as 'Patt'. Chamba rumal needlework was developed by combining Pahadi miniature art with embroidery. The paintings emerged around the third quarter of the 16th century.

Rumals of this style were made in the last of this century in Basohli, but the trend of Pahadi paintings based on Rumals was developed during 1782-1828 A.D. in Chamba. This specialty called ‘dorukha’ embroidery (double-faced), came from Kashmir to take root in Basohli and Chamba, but the inspiration was taken from the fabled miniature paintings of the region. Trained miniature artists drew the outlines in charcoal and suggested color schemes.

Chamba Rumal embroidery is also mentioned in Jataka tales.

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These were originally handkerchiefs created by royal and elite women who had access to the professional services of trained miniature artists.

These miniature artists not only drew the theme to be embroidered on the rumal in charcoal but also provided the women who would be embroidering the rumal with a sophisticated colour palette, thus ensuring that the finished piece of embroidery was aesthetic, delicate and stylized, an 'image of a miniature painting on fabric'. The folk version of the rumal which actually preceded the elite one - was characterized by primitive figures and a bold colour palette. In this, the drawing and embroidery were both done by the peasant women themselves. Unlike the elite version of the Chamba rumal, which later became synonymous with the term 'Chamba Rumal', and is now categorized as a 'languishing' craft, the folk version continues to be embroidered in the area even today, used often for the same purposes that it was used for over a century ago: mainly for household and everyday use such as to cover gifts and offerings to the gods, and being exchanged at the time of marriage between families of the bride and groom.

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The history of the Chamba Rumal is linked also with that of the rulers of Chamba. After the death of the Mughal Emperor Aurungzeb in 1707, the Mughal court went into decline. The Chamba king Raja Umed Singh (1748-68) then offered patronage to miniature artists from the Mughal courts. This patronage continued under Umed Singh's successors Raj Singh (1764-94) and Charat Singh (17941808). Even before the exodus of the artists from the Mughal court, Chamba was not unfamiliar with miniature painting. The sensibility of the Pahari miniature is considered the inspiration for art, design, and the aesthetic expression of the Chamba Rumal.

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Traditions It was customary to gift embroidered rumals in a girl’s marriage. Hence, Subjects like wedding scenes were popular and were repeatedly embroidered. The rumal was considered one of the essential items of the dowry of the bride who learned this craft at a very young age. Being an important item of the dowry, this handicraft was dependent for its existence almost on the social custom, i.e. wedding. No marriage ceremony would be considered complete without the gift of Chamba rumal by the relatives of the brides. It was considered additional merit if the brides were well versed in the craft of embroidery. On weddings or other important occasions, these rumals were worn both by men and women who hung them proudly on their shoulders. People of every class, rich or poor, high or low produced these rumals in some form or another, whereas the elite class preferred more beautiful and intricate designs.

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Themes Before the advent of miniature style kasidakari, the Chamba rumal woven by women of the hills had themes from the daily life of Chamba, its landscapes, and themes related to its faith, which included drawings of Shiva, Krishna, and Rama. Their embroidery was distinct in the manner in which the motifs were drawn. Since these embroiderers were not miniature artists, their drawing technique was without the distinctive details that typify the works of the miniaturists; for example, there are Chamba rumals with parrot beak-like shapes for a human mouth and small round faces without prominent features. The color palette of the hill women was vibrant and bold.

The miniature style brought a naturalistic technique with precise outlining using the square-layer brush, and the color palette was softened using muted shades of the bright colors.

A great influence of mythology is also seen in the themes of paintings and embroidery. Along with the themes of mythology, it is observed that Raga Ragini and Baramasa are also used abundantly. The Rumals display other folk styles like the marriage of Krishna and Rukmini, Vishnu in a lotus, Ganesha, Vishnu- Laxmi, Pahari women playing music instruments, men smoking hukka.

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Raasmandal: Centre of the theme depicts Lord Vishnu sitting in the Padma, the lotus has four arms, each holding a Padma (lotus bud), a gadaa, shank (conch shell), and his weapon, the Sudarshan chakra.

Kaliya Daman: Krishna killing the kaliya kalinga sarpa (serpent), who lived in the Jamuna river.

Samudra Manthan: the ocean was churned by Devas(gods) and Asuras(demons) using a serpent, Vasuki as rope, and mountain Meru as the churning rod. Both nectar and poison were the products of Samudra Manthan.

Rukmini Haran: The elopement of Rukmini and her marriage is the zest of the theme. It is an elaborate theme, embroidered on Rumal depicting the various ceremonial activities performed on one part and preparation of the Rukmani wedding on the other.

Battle of Kurukshetra: Mahabharat is one of the great epics of India and many themes of this epic are chosen for Embroidery. However, the most commonly found ones are the Battle of Kurukshetra and the exile of Pandavas.

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Raagmala: Based on Hindustani classical music, this theme has been widely used in Pahari paintings; in it, we find a melange of poetry, music, and painting creating new intertextual dimensions where poets composed verses for artists. An illustration of Chamba rumal based on the ragas can be found in the Bharat Kala Bhavan, Banaras Hindu University, where a preserved rumal shows Todi, Gauri, Madhumadhavi, Gaur Malhar, Patmanjari, Malkauns, and various other ragas through various scenes and tales involving deities, Nayak-nayika (hero-heroine) set against different seasons, places and times to bring out the rasa (essence) unique to each raga.

Local Stories: The rumals also carry themes from local stories and customs like the Minjar Mela Jalus (monsoon festival of Chamba where people throw minjar [tassels] in river Ravi to ward off the evil and pray for prosperity), Gaddi Gaddan Manimahesh Yatra (an annual pilgrimage undertaken by worshippers of Lord Shiva in Chamba), Ved Vedi (wedding pavilion/mandap), Til Chauli (a traditional ceremony at Chamba weddings where women dance and sing; black sesame seeds [til] and rice [chaul] form an integral part of it), folk tales like the love story of Sassi Punnu, and so on. Dynamic scenes from the court and daily lives of the people are also embroidered, like the themes of shikargah (hunting), godhuli (sunset), and chaupar.

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Motifs There is a strong link between Pahari paintings and the embroidery on the rumals. The subject of the embroideries ranged from religious themes, embodying the strong Vaishnava fervor in the Pahari regions, to themes from the great epics, the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata. Krishna is surrounded by his gopis godhuli (the hour of cow dust, with Krishna and his cow-herd friends bringing home the cows); the RadhaKrishna alliance is among the popular themes. A range of everyday scenes, from court scenes and royal hunts to depictions of the popular dice game of chaupad, can be found on the rumals. Wedding processions are also depicted. The figures are made with painstaking care and the costumes and ornaments are decorated minutely in the style of classical miniature paintings. Colourful floral and animal motifs - peacocks, snakes, horses, and elephants among others - are often interspersed among the main pictorial elements. The borders of the rumals are almost always a combination of floral and geometrical, usually depicting floral patterns within geometrical settings like parallel lines and squares. The borders are created as a frame for the central picture and serve to enhance it.

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Material

Sourcing Mrs.Indu Sharma mentioned that they source their threads and fabrics from a store in Delhi and that they visit the city every month or so to purchase “Anchor” brand threads and other necessary items.

Fabric The fabric used as a carrier in Chamba rumal is hand-spun & hand-woven cotton(khaddar) or fine muslin (mal-mal) of an off-white colour. The offwhite base of the fabric highlights the vibrant silken threads employed for filling up the drawing, or the embroidery work is done on choli, caps, or coverlets; the coarse khaddar; red or blue colour is used for the rumals. The most popular fabric, employed in Chamba rumals, was khaddar because of its availability, low cost, and durability. The figures, as well as the floral patterns drawn on the Chamba rumals, are filled in with the untwisted silk floss also known as pat.

Sometimes, the women used to get the silk threads dyed, selecting the tones and hues according to their fancy.

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The colours noticed in the Chamba embroidery are purple, brilliant pink, orange, carmine, deep redbrown, lemon and deep yellow dark green, parrot green and green, ultramarine and Persian blue, black and white.

Three different types of fabrics, i.e., muslin, khaddar (in the plain weave), and silk, were used earlier for embroidery.

Earlier, fabric selection was based on cloth availability and social standing. Currently, tussar and artificial silk, chanderi, and cotton blends are also made of rumal. The introduction of the various types of fabric is due to the aesthetic demand and appeal of the type of product being manufactured. Nonetheless, bleached/unbleached muslin is still mostly used.

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Craft Production Process The process of creating a Chamba Rumal involves the following steps: The visualization of the theme to be embroidered.

The outlining of the initial drawing in charcoal by a trained miniature artist.

The predetermination of a color palette to be used while embroidering the rumal.

The actual embroidering of the rumal by the women along the designs sketched in charcoal by miniature artists.

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Stitches

Dandi Tanka the stem stitch The outline in a black thread is a marked characteristic, which is a conspicuous characteristic of the Chamba rumal. After filling the colourful threads in the figures and floral designs, these are finally enclosed with a fine line worked out in the black thread, which apparently lends the powerful effect as seen in Pahari miniature painting. After the figures are filled up with silken threads of different hues, the magical effect is achieved through fine outlines done in a black thread in dandi tanka the stem stitch, which is also its most conspicuous feature.

Criss-Cross stitch The use of criss-cross stitches, which comprise a simple technique of crossing two stitches of equal size in the shape of a cross (X) can be discerned in several rumals. This stitch as a unit comprises a running band mostly in red color, arrayed usually in straight or circular lines identically visible on both sides of the fabric. This criss-cross stitch is no longer practiced by many contemporary embroideries in Chamba.

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Market Although the Chamba Rumal, with its artistic and aesthetic value, has great potential for the niche market, the present scenario is pretty dismal. The market channels available to the craftspeople involved in the craft are very limited and thus discouraging them to choose this as their main source of livelihood. The markets for Chamba Rumal can be categorized as:

Local markets With little or no access to bigger markets, most of the individual artisans are supplying to local traders in the area who then supply outside Chamba. The prominent names are Lalitha Vakil, Kamala Nayyar, and Siraj Begum. Most of them are artisans themselves, with good knowledge of the craft and are renowned in the area for it and thus entertain inquiries and orders. To meet the demand, they have set up small workshops and centres where they teach the craft, providing the raw material, and manage the inventory. Each artisan is paid a stipend during training and later on a piece-rate basis. However, the production is still very small and limited. Some miniature artists like Hans Raj Dhiman, who is an established name for providing the design, have also started retailing the finished products locally. As the product has much demand during wedding ceremonies and religious rituals; there is constant local demand which is catered to by the shops in the local markets in Chamba. The product range, quality, and pricing vary greatly in accordance with the buying capacity of the customers. The local merchants procure their products from individual artisans paying them according to the quality of the embroidery.

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Institutional markets To provide livelihoods and encourage the languishing craft, the Central and state government has also initiated training workshops cum production centers in Chamba, where 8-12 month training is held. The H.P State Handicrafts and Handloom Corporation, District Industries Centre (DIC), and the Ministry of DRDA have established centres, where women learn the craft. Along with providing the raw material, a stipend is paid to the artisans while in training and are later either paid per piece or according to the amount of embroidery. The finished goods are sold at their outlets (Rang Mahal), catering to local demand and the higher quality ones are sent to state emporiums.

Another example of an institutional buyer is that of the Delhi Craft Council- DCC. DCC started a training cum production centre in 2002 to revive the craft in the area.

Efforts have been made by them to revive the craft and upgrade the skill and technique of the artisans. Skilled artisans are given orders and paid per piece for them. DCC has a buy-back arrangement and pays the job work to the artisans.

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Exhibitions & fairs Some of the prominent craftspeople participate in government and private exhibitions in metropolitan cities where they can sell directly to the users.

Order-based buyers As the Rumal is unique to Chamba and closely so closely linked with the miniature painting art form, many national and international connoisseurs of the arts & collectors place individual orders. Unfortunately, the real artisans are normally unable to get direct linkages with them and the middlemen reap the benefit.

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Government Initiatives After Independence when the princely states were integrated with the state of India, the Chamba rumal craft tradition went through a major crisis due to loss of patronage. Art faced a decline in the last century and the rumals became inferior in design and artistic skill; many practitioners also started finding it difficult to continue as rumal makers.

The efforts of Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay, the driving force behind the revival of Indian handicrafts and theatre post-Independence, facilitated the revival of the Chamba rumal, and the first centre dedicated to Chamba rumal making was set up in Chamba, with Maheshi Devi as its head. The centre trained women and even provided them with a stipend; famous Chamba rumal artists like Rajinder Nayyar, Lalita Vakil, Suraj Begum were all associated with it.

However, in the 1980s–90s, the art of rumal making in Chamba faced another stumbling block as Chattopadhyay’s government-run center closed. There were next to no similar avenues, and with the last of them a centre set up by artist Kamala Nayyar, which lasted just a year. This time, the revival was ushered in by Delhi Crafts Council in 1996 through initiatives for conservation of Chamba rumals, and studies on the art form from available artefacts at museums and private collections. With the help of the surviving artists from Chamba, the initiative brought a new generation of artists together. A training center, CHARU (abbreviation of Chamba rumal) was opened on April 3, 2002, at Chamba, coinciding with Kamaladeviji’s birthday. The center also carried out new experiments concerning fabrics and new ways to naturally dye threads. Award-winning senior artists like Masto Devi train students today at the CHARU center. This initiative encouraged the art further and, today, several young artists in Chamba are starting to pursue Chamba embroidery professionally.

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Future Prospects for the Craft

This product has been registered for protection under the Geographical indication of the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement. On 22 January 2007, it was listed as “Chamba Rumal” under the GI Act 1999 of the Government of India with registration confirmed by the Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks under Classes 24 as Textile and Textile Goods, vide application number 79. However, if the generations today don’t adopt it quickly and effectively, days are not far that it may be just history. An urgent sense of revival is needed for this craft.

The Artisans during the Craft awareness workshop 2021, shared their challenges and how the next generation is being forced to choose alternate methods of employment. Due to a lack of research and technology-driven initiatives, the craft is lagging behind.

Ms. Indu Sharma also shared during the online interactions that there are only very few artisans left in the Chamba valley who are keen to continue or want their next generation to immerse themselves in the craft. However, the intrinsic characteristics of Chamba Ruma make it a delightful and sustainable craft. Chamba Rumaal can be a truly sustainable fabric as its double-sided character will prolong its use and will reduce wash & care. Since most of the domestic and international brands are promoting sustainability through energy saving, less use of detergents or water to reduce water pollution, and handmade to avoid further carbon footprints and emission, this embroidery form has all the potential to become the most vividly used embroidery form in the world subject to people adopting and evolving it further based on its intrinsic quality.

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Value Chain The value chain of Chamba Rumal starts with the procurement of raw materials that include malmal. cotton and silk and threads. The raw materials used are procured locally or from Ludhiana or Delhi. Delhi Crafts Council (DCC) helps in supplying the raw materials to the artisans. The artisans are also trained by them for value addition.

The other channel is through master crafts persons who are enterprise owners.

The third supply chain is the local traders who largely cater to the tourists of Chamba, which is limited. The local traders provide the fabric (with designs and color scheme) to the individual artisan who has to invest in threads. The local traders realize the costs through local sales or through assorted bulk buyers with whom they have created linkages.

The cost of raw material varies from Rs. 200 to Rs. 500 depending on the size and quality of the raw material used.

The next level of value addition happens at the levels of master craftsperson where he or any expert miniature painter draws the sign on the fabric and elucidates the colour scheme. The designer is paid for his inputs based on the details of the design. The whole process takes a few hours to design. The artisans are paid based on the pieces they make. The whole process requires extensive training and skilled artisans.

Later these art pieces are sold to cities to retailers to sell in cities.

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Inputs as raw material Cotton- Rs.200/- per meter Threads- Rs. 150/- for a rumal of size (3X3ft) Mostly sourced from local markets and also from Ludhiana and Delhi if orders are large.

Drafting of Designs on Fabric Drafting cost for one standard size (36"X36") Rumal Rs. 150/-

Needle Work(Job work) Drafting cost for one standard size 36"X36" Rumal Rs. 1000/-

Group Enterprise controlled by master craftsmen/ master artisans.

Finishing and Quality Check Finishing and Quality Check Done by Master craftsmen Done by Master craftsmen If the designs have quality issues, If the designs have quality issues, they are sent back to job-worker for they are sent back to job-worker for necessary changes. necessary changes.

Exhibitions

Local Retail

Buyer based orders

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Institutional Orders

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Analysis of Chamba Rumal Value Chain The issues in the Chamba Rumal value chain have been analysed from two perspectives – one: the issues that act as entry barriers for new artisans and enterprises and the other on what restricts the growth of the existing units.

Issues at the levels of primary artisans.

Skill required Chamba Rumal is a craft that needs three different kinds of skills. One is the skill to convert various themes into designs; the other skill is to paint the designs on the fabric and the third is to skill to fill up the designs with very fine needlework. The first two skills are very specialized and hence restricted to only a few well-trained and experienced artisans in Chamba. Also learning and honing up these skills is very time-consuming and only comes with gradual practice and experience. The third set of skills i.e. needlework is comparatively easy to learn as the rudimentary levels of skills exist among the women in the villages. Thus, making it a suitable skill set that could be developed and transferred to poor women. For effective and productive engagement of poor women in the Chamba Rumal value chain, these skills are essential. With gradual practice and work, these skills can be upgraded from low levels to high levels of skills. Chamba Rumal is a traditional craft and the skill has been passed on from generations. The potential of this craft to augment the income of poor households was realized by various development agencies and they initiated the process of facilitating the transfer of skill and knowledge to the poor women and girls, especially needlework. Many training batches were promoted and initiated by the State Government, the DRDA, Dept. of Industries, DCC, and others. The traditional and recognized artists (state and national awardees) in Chamba Rumal were identified as trainers to impart training. As per various records of the NGOs and government departments over 1000 women have been trained on needlework through these training batches. The skilled artisans all fall under the control of 4 master craftspeople in the cluster.

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Lack of adequate finances The diagnostics of the Chamba Rumal value chain elucidates that most of the poor women are engaged in needlework and are working on a job rate. The income levels also vary depending on the skills of the artisan. However, over the years few women in the villages have honed up their skills and often delivered as a master craftsperson in their respective villages or groups. These leaders or master crafts persons have the potential to upgrade themselves into the next level of the value chain i.e. as an entrepreneur. However, one of the constraints these women face is that of inadequate availability of finances both as fixed capital as well as working capital. As discussed most of the work in the value chain are job-works and there is no change of hands till the product is finished. This means that the capital invested in raw material and other costs like the designer's fee, job-work, etc. are locked till the product is sold. The small and poor women artisans in the villages do not have the needed capacities to manage this locked capital and further mobilize the needed working capital to continue the processes.

Poor wage rates As discussed most of the poor artisans are working as job-workers with the master crafts persons.

Even the artisans engaged as regular job-workers have poor wage rates (the wage rate is below the average minimum wage rate in the State). Skilled artisan, engaged as a regular job-worker get paid at a wage rate of around Rs. 90/- per day; whereas semi-skilled artisan work at a job rate of around Rs. 40/-. In the absence of any other income augmentation alternatives for women, the poor artisans are working and willing to work at these job rates. Also, the work is intricately linked to the daily chores of the women artisans in villages and as and when they find time from their daily chores they engage in the job work.

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Centralized production centers Most of the production centres are located in Chamba town and are mostly managed and run by distinguished crafts persons. There is no existing institutional system for decentralized collection and quality control at the village levels, thus the artisans have to travel and bring their job works to Chamba.

The production systems are monopolized and besides the member of SHG promoted by DCC, wherein they get regular job-works through buy-back arrangements with DCC still restricted to recognized master craftsperson or artists who are located in Chamba town. The job work is paid only when the finished product is accepted for its quality. In case the quality is not good, the artisan has to take back the work, redo it, and again travel to Chamba to get paid for her job work.

In the case of local traders, they give the job work to the artisans and the artisan has to deliver the product to the trader sitting in Chamba. This relation is informal and is only activated when there is an order with the trader or the need to replenish the stocks at his showroom.

High dependency on master craftsperson for markets One of the major constraints that limit the participation of poor artisans in the value chain is their very limited knowledge of existing markets as well as potential markets. Most of the information on markets and market linkages is restricted to the master craftsperson or the enterprise owners. The only knowledge and access the poor artisans have is local markets. They are unaware as well as have no access to the next levels of markets. This limits them from realizing higher returns that are offered at higher levels of markets. The additional value or margins are distributed among the middlemen and traders, without any distribution share to the primary artisan. The enterprise owner finances the entire value chain and hence is inclined to maximize their returns on investment.

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Issues that limit the growth of the enterprises The culture of stipend The training programs promoted and supported by various government departments had very right intentions to create and develop skills among the rural women to help them augment their household incomes. Through various training batches, over 1000 women and young girls have been trained on Kantha or needlework needed for the Chamba Rumal. To encourage the participation of these women from villages and to compensate for their opportunity cost, this training provided a monthly stipend. Each such training program ranges between three to six months (during which the stipend is paid). These efforts and inputs of various government and other agencies on training have not been optimized to create employment (out of over 1000 who have received training only around 100 are actively engaged and around 500 engaged as parttime). This has led to a non-serious approach by the trainees. Most of these trainees attend the training for a monthly stipend thus making it supply-driven training rather than need-based i.e. demand-driven training.

Limited access and knowledge on markets Not much effort has been made towards proper marketing of Chamba Rumal. One of the reasons that can be attributed to this lack of marketing efforts is restricted and closed knowledge on markets. Owing to high competition among various groups established and managed by master crafts persons, the market links are closely guarded. There is no effort towards synergizing the expertise and abilities of different groups to better address the market demands, orders, etc. Also, the markets determine the designs and quality of the products, which again is very closely protected. The most common marketing forum for all the groups is exhibitions organized by state and central government (besides the group promoted by DCC, whose major sales are through a buy-back arrangement). The potential of skills and craftsmanship of the artisans have not yet been optimized, owing to limited access and knowledge of the market. The crafts are mostly sold for their cultural and traditional value and have not diversified enough to cater to contemporary demands of the mainstream markets (especially the growing middle class in India as well as international markets).

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Poor productivity One of the major challenges Chamba Rumal faces is production efficiency. The job works are given by the entrepreneurs and traders in Chamba town which in turn is taken by the artisans to their respective locations. The women artisan after they have completed their daily chores, spent time to complete this job work. The job work is generally not time-bound and depends largely on the skills and time spent by the artisan. Also, there are inadequate infrastructure facilities like work-sheds, etc. at the village levels, where the artisans can collectively sit and work. Common work-sheds would essentially facilitate in bringing in time discipline and hence production efficiencies. Production efficiency is very critical when dealing with mainstream buyers who have strict timelines and quality standards.

No standardization The mainstream markets are very competitive and sensitive to the quality and pricing of products.

As of now, there is no standard system for the pricing of the products. Besides the costs of raw materials, the decision on job work rates is based purely on the discretion and calculations of the master crafts persons. A similar piece may have different costs assigned to job works based on the perceptions and calculations of the master craftsperson involved. Lack of any standards act as a barrier for developing a good rapport with the buyers interested in Chamba Rumals. Also, the quality parameters differ across various groups and master crafts persons, which again would be detrimental when engaging with large mainstream buyers.

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Lack of Business orientation The major challenge in the Chamba Rumal value chain is that the entire value chain process lacks proper business orientation. Very limited management systems exist for managing the inventory, sales, and other related costs. Most of the groups lack capacities of working as efficient enterprises i.e. profit-making units. This can mostly be attributed to the fact that most of these groups (4 prominent groups exist in Chamba4) are managed by local recognized crafts persons who run these mostly out of self-interests or influenced by any government support. The lack of professional business orientation has been one of the constraints for optimizing the potentials of this repository of skills in Chamba.

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Chamba embroidery paints life through the needle which is why young artists today come up with new stories, ideas, and motifs. Heena, a Chamba rumal artist, strongly advocates the importance of being able to think independently so that newer stories can be incorporated through which artists can voice themselves beyond the previously carried out copy-work of the old rumals.

The changing consumer dynamics bringing middlemen into the scene often lead to artists being underpaid for their works whereas they’re sold at exorbitant prices by designers and organizations that source them from artists. Therefore, many rumal artists today, such as Indu Sharma and Heena, have started using social media to establish direct contact with their customers. They also explore and experiment with not just themes but newer products like bookmarks, jewellery and more, thus expanding the scope of Chamba embroidery.

They work on customized orders, commissioned art as well as independent projects.

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System Identification

Input Raw materials Artisans Capital/Investment Production space Transportation and commute networks Tools & supplies Packaging materials License, permits, and approvals Government schemes Electricity/ Internet Orders and commissions

Throughput Procure raw materials Train artisans Create handcrafted products Coordinate and ideate with clients Understand market needs Deliver products and conduct sales Promote and market their craft

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Output Exquisite handcrafted products Sales and profit Employment generation Making clients happy Keeping alive age-old traditional crafts Uplifting India's position internationally

Environment The economic state of the country The political and social state of the country Client demography Client psychographics Trends and fashion Access to raw materials, traders, and resources availability of an effective transportation system Laws and policies about trade and travel Labour Laws Changing mindsets of people in the craft business

Feedback Client response and reactions Client references and word-of-mouth marketing Sales number The ratio of one-time vs. loyal customers

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SWOT Analysis

Strength "Do-rukha tanka" or double satin stitch creates reversible embroidery patterns.

Promotes two crafts at once- Pahari Miniature painting and the double satin embroidery.

Narrates stories through different frames eg. Raas-Mandal, Manimahesh Yatra.

Its motifs/stories can accommodate modern-day depictions as well. Therefore customizable.

Gives a royal look as historically it was limited to the elite only.

Low financial investment required.

Internationally acclaimed and admired Has GI tag

Weakness Highly time & labor-consuming Painters mostly trace the initial miniature drawing nowadays Lack of miniature painters in the Chamba region.

Low material versatility Mostly only recognized as a rumal thus not very functional Raw materials are locally unavailable Lack of local client base No finishing treatments (such as anti-shrinkage treatment) are provided to the base material Not suitable for heavy-use products Long time taken to learn the art- 1.5-2 years

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Opportunities International acknowledgment and recognition Government initiatives taken to teach the craft to young women Support for home-grown products, rise in nationalist sentiments Development of social media, the internet & globalization Tourists' quest for trademark souvenirs Annual fairs, exhibitions, craft-meals such as Minjar fair, Red-Cross fair, Sui-Mata fair Increased demand for goods featuring incorporation of Indian art and aesthetics into contemporary product ranges.

Threats Limitations of the Covid-19 pandemic The cheaper, mass-produced machine-embroidery industry Counterfeit products Lack of laws penalizing counterfeiting Lack of mass-production facilities Increase in GST Complicated licensing and taxing policies High commission rates of E-commerce websites The discontinuation of pursuing generational craft as a profession by children of craftsmen.

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Causal Loop of the Solutions proposed

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The above loop suggests strategies for enhancing opportunities for artisans in the Chamba cluster.

Private Sector Initiatives New Business Models converting into Brands Eg Fabindia, Good earth, Grassroots by Anita Dongre.

Removing middlemen but again leading to personal benefits to the brand.

Creating new marketplaces, like Flipkart and Amazon.

Design interventions and product diversification initiatives like Baya Design, Good Earth, Taanko.

Dramatic storytelling through Netflix and YouTube Creative and intriguing documentaries revolving around the life of the artisans and the craft can become a great source of entertainmentinduced awareness amongst viewers. There is a lot of engaging content on OTT platforms regarding global issues and challenges, which not only entertains but creates awareness as well. This model can be used to draw the attention of consumers towards cluster activities and the product.

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Installations and Décor of Public Transport Installations and décor inspired and utilized the craft of the Chamba cluster to imbue the balance with tradition- respect cultural assets, traditional practices, and style.

It will open new avenues of opportunities to the artisans to expand their product creation to varied arenas.

Public art created in heavy traffic environments has a powerful effect to improve the mood of the commuters and increase awareness about the cluster and its product while being on the move.

Craft Resorts/ Tourism Hubs A lot of international and domestic buyers travel across the length and breadth of the country to dive deeper into product and creative avenues for the fashion and lifestyle industry. International buyers travel to India to pick ethnic and indigenous inspirations and products.

Craft and culture-induced resorts and tourism hubs can create a magnanimous expanse of opportunities for the local inhabitants of the cluster and surrounding areas. The indigenous product which is a ‘Rumal’ can be explored and utilized into diversified product categories. There can be the interplay of materials and techniques which still ooze the spirit of the ‘Chamba Rumal’ as well as the modernized approach to using the craft.

Such Craft Tourism Resorts can become the most sought-after travel destinations for International and Domestic tourists who lookout for the local flavors and spirit of the places.

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Conclusion Chamba is a quaint valley in the state of Himachal Pradesh. It is home to many crafts and "Chamba Rumal" is one of the legacies of this place. Though, as per the statistics, the craft sector is one of the major employment generating sectors, the clusters still face a lot of challenges. In spite of countless Government-led initiatives and Schemes, the growth of the clusters is not able to keep up with the pace of modernization elsewhere. Through the interactions with artisans during online sessions and Artisan awareness workshops, we could understand the key- areas where the intervention is required.

Apart from enhancing the skill, which is being done through various artisan training projects, the need of the hour is to expand the purview of craft activities.

Efforts must be made to make these crafts reach every domestic household and intensive export promotion activities. Artisan-friendly tax systems will empower the artisan and the systems in these clusters.

Owning up the craft as dear as we own up technology in today's times, can create many wonderful value-creating avenues in the realm of these craft clusters.

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Bibliography

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Jasminder Kaur. (2017, June). Chamba Rumaal: The Painting by Needle. International Journal of Research - Granthalay https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318360655_Chamba_Rumal_the Painting By Needle Chamba Rumal: Life to a dying art. Delhi Crafts Council. https://www.delhicraftscouncil.org/projects/2016/6/2/chamba-rumaal (2016, Dec 10). Chamba Rumal. TRC Leiden. https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/individualtextiles-and-textile-types/religious-representations/chamba-rumal Rupsa Nag. (2020, Aug 20). Chamba Rumal: The Embroidery Art of Himachal Pradesh.

Sahapedia. https://www.sahapedia.org/chamba-rumal-embroidery-art-himachal-pradesh Why Did We Choose Chamba Rumaal Over Any Other Craft For Documentation? Craft Village Blog. https://craftvillageblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/10/what-did-we-choosechamba-rumaal-over-any-other-craft-for-documentation/ Sohini Dey. (2017, Aug 11). The Little Known Story of Himachal Pradesh’s Unique Handkerchiefs That Were Embroidered by Queens. The Better India. https://www.thebetterindia.com/95481/chamba-rumal-himachal-pradesh-craft-embroidery/ Chamba: Intriguing Beauty. Incredible India. https://www.incredibleindia.org/content/incredibleindia/en/destinations/chamba.html Art and Craft of Chamba. Chamba Online https://www.chambaonline.in/city-guide/art-andcraft-of-chamba

All the images were taken either from a royalty free website or given to us by master craftsperson of our craft cluster.

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Annexure

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Report of the Interaction with the Craftsperson In our conversation with Mrs Indu Sharma, a craftswoman who practices the craft of Chamba Rumal, we asked her about the situation of the crafts business, working and the sales during the pandemic to which she responded that the situation was getting better some time back but with the arrival of the 2nd wave, the business got affected again. The current work is via online ordering itself.

Further, we inquired about the no. of artisans who are at work in the cluster with her, to which she responded by saying that there are around 10-12 people who are fully equipped with the skills required for the craft. The remaining artisans who are still in the process of learning from them, in their cluster are around 70 of them.

Is this like a family practice that is prevalent even now?

No, the practice of having nuclear family setups being involved in the craft was prevalent during the rules of the kings but since the Govt is in support of the development of the craft, many centres of learning for the women are being opened where they receive training for at least 3-4months. The same was done even during the pandemic between the month of November’20-February’21 where the people were trained in this craft, with her own involvement in 2 training programs as a trainer. Since there has been a lockdown situation since March, the training programs have again come to a halt.

Does the Govt pay stipend for receiving this training?

Yes, the govt pays 200/day to the trainees and 500/day to the trainers.

How many people from your family are involved in the craft from your family?

I and all of my younger sisters are involved in the making of Chamba rumals. And the male members are not involved in the process of doing embroidery but they do the miniature paintings on the rumals in the form of motifs on which the embroidery is then done by the women.

Could you kindly explain the process of the making of Chamba Rumal?

Yes, sure. First, the motif and the idea of the motif is decided by the craftswoman as to which designs does she want to incorporate on the rumal for eg, Rasmandal, peacock etc and then she approaches the miniature artist for the same. The artist then draws the same on the rumal on which the woman then starts with the embroidery. Also, if a woman is equipped with the skills of miniature painting, even she herself might make the painting on the rumal. For eg- I am skilled in embroidery and my husband (Mr Parikshit Sharma, the only miniature painting artist who still does the same with the hand-painting technique itself) is skilled in miniature paintings. But since I myself know the art of miniature paintings, only when I have to draw something complicated or has some variation, it is then taken care of by the miniature painting craftsmen.

How much time is consumed in the completion of one rumal?

Differs from one size to another, i.e but one motif approximately takes around 6-hours to make.

How is the training given? What are the elements that are taught?

The training involves different types of stitches, single stitches, double stitches, triple stitches, etc and then stitching into different shapes. A period of two-month(period of the training program) is very little to learn hence if there is a student who is doing well during the program, I myself get her involved with me and then give her personal training to do better. They also have the liberty of sitting at home and working on it. A person at least needs to invest a time of 6months for learning this craft properly.

But, perfection comes with experience, eg- even though I have been involved in this craft for the past 20years, I still feel that I am learning something new every single day. And once you become better, you can also add your own flavour to the pieces you make.

What was the first work that you had made all by yourself? And which is the most difficult or trivial piece of work that you have made up until now?

I had made a piece that contained a motif of a flower with peacocks on all of its four sides.

Well, difficult is nothing since I thoroughly enjoy my work but the piece that I am currently working on is a very large rumal and it contains 12 avatars of Krishna. It is a very beautiful experience altogether to make this piece. We also celebrate a festival here called the Shobha Yatra (procession ) for the Kailasha Parvat which is also called the ‘Manivesha Yatra’. This is a very famous event of Chamba, and we i.e me and my husband have created a piece keeping this festival in mind. The visitors of this Yatra first stay at Chamba and then continue their journey towards Kailasha mountain, we thus displayed their journey in our piece, like a story. When we meet, I shall show you the piece.

How much is the pricing of the threads you use and how many cloth designs can be covered in on reel of the thread?

The thread costs Rs20/piece and it generally covers 4-5 pieces of small cloth or 1 big cloth eg- saree.

Whom have you learnt this craft from?

I joined the Delhi craft council and started learning this craft from Ms Kamala Nayyar and then I went on to learn the same from MastoDevi.

How are you currently managing the orders? Which mode are you receiving the orders from?

Through certain contacts, govt employees, tourists and other multiple channels.

Eg- Rohini Aroda, who has done her PhD on Chamba rumal, created pieces for her for the designs she had made.

We are also looking to build an association or a society of the craftsperson of Chamba rumal and then sell our products collectively through the shops in different parts of India, eg- since there are a lot of tourists in Shimla, such shops are established there.

How was the order system before the pandemic?

Before the pandemic, we used to receive most of the orders from the exhibitions, but currently, there are not many facilities for sale.

Are there some motifs or designs which are compulsorily included in every piece of work created by you people? Apart from it being a two-sided stitch?

No, there aren't such compulsions. It is generally done as per the demands placed. If there is an order for dupattas, kurtis, etc, we also make those, but if the fabric is washed constantly the fabric might lose its beauty.

The traditional motifs are made too like the ones from Krishnaleela etc.

But there are new designs which are adopted too for eg- when the students from NIFT come to our cluster, they introduce some new designs to us, and we make them.

How do you receive the orders generally? Are they in bulk or individual orders?

We generally receive individual orders only since the price range of the same is quite high.

(She then showed us some samples of the piece that had been prepared by her recently ) Are there any fabrics on which one cannot do the work of this embroidery?

It is difficult to do the work on the fabrics that are thick since the double stitch might not appear on them easily.

How is the sourcing of your raw materials done? What is the processing done before using it for the design?

The cloth used for the work is not found in Chamba so if we have to source it, we do the same from Delhi or Chandigarh, generally from the Khadi Emporium. But the threads used can be sourced locally.

Once the cloth arrives, we put it to use immediately without any shrinking/ washing whatsoever. If the cloth needs to be dyed, we do the same before the embroidery.

How do you accomplish the stitch on both sides of the cloth?

The technique of ‘Do-rukha tanka’ is used i.e both side same stitch.

What is the thread that is used?

It is a silk thread and we used both, twisted & untwisted.

What is the price range of the cloth that you use?

The prices might differ, if you go for the higher quality muslin, you can get the same for Rs.700-800 but the ones of a lesser range it might be around Rs.500. Silk cloth generally starts from Rs. 700, eg mulberry silk might cost Rs.800/metre.

Are there any middlemen involved in your process of receiving orders?

Sometimes there might be middlemen, sometimes there might not be. So in such situations, I generally charge them for the raw materials used.

How does your costing work?

When we design and make for eg- a small motif of a flower, we charge them Rs.150/- (inclusive of every cost) and if we make a figure, its costs Rs.250/- Hence if a rumal has 4 flowers- it will cost Rs.600 plus some additional costs.

Has the craft of miniature paintings started fading away?

Answer- Yes, the practice of the craft has started fading away. My husband’s teacher Padmashree Mr Vijay Sharma’s, and my husband being his personal student is the only one in practice and he has very less no. of students. Also, in Kangra, where the craft originally belongs, it is only practised by 30-40 people only. This is happening because the new generations are not taking up the craft since it takes around 1.5-2years to learn it.

Thank You