The Crafts Council of India (CCI) is 60. Ever since freedom fighter and social activist Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay started it in 1964, to aid in the development of India’s unique handicraft and handloom traditions, the CCI and its sister councils have worked to establish stronger craftsperson-customer connect and preserve livelihoods.
The last six decades have seen the non-profit society headquartered in Chennai grow exponentially. It has also seen its style of functioning change: from organic growth to a more focussed approach. Gita Ram, 82 — who recently passed on her mantle as chairperson to Visalakshi Ramaswamy, 79 — remembers how things were when she joined the CCI about 47 years ago. “We did some very interactive things in the early days. Creating awareness about craft traditions was key to us. I remember an all-India terracotta workshop we conducted, and another one on basket weaving. Everyone learnt — the artisans, the public, and us in the CCI,” she says. “In the 80s, the focus moved to revival. Our focus was on Tamil Nadu’s kalchettis [stoneware], and we worked with an artisan called Ramasamy. The doyen of printing in Gujarat and a revivalist, the late Prabhasha, partly contributed towards a lathe too, and we got orders from Japan.”
Ramaswamy, who has been associated with the CCI for 33 years, shares how a lot more crafts were alive in her time, and many more craftspersons were around. “I will never say crafts are on the wane. We have enough consumers for craft, but we must go back to that phase when it was found in everyday life,” she states. “Ornamentation can only sustain you so much. Now, the time is right to increase numbers, but it won’t happen on its own.”
Visalakshi Ramaswamy
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Special arrangement
What has stayed constant, however, is the fervour of the women who drive the CCI. A completely voluntary organisation, it is steered by deeply committed members from different professions and age groups — though it mostly skews towards the silver-templed. Draped in stunning handloom saris and unending passion, they work tirelessly within the crafts ecosystem.
Ram and Ramaswamy speak of how many craftspeople who began with CCI’s exhibitions, went on to achieve national, even international, fame. In fact, their sari exhibitions have also seen the likes of now well-known designers such as Anavila Misra, Gunjan Jain and Sanjay Garg.
Gita Ram
Bazaars and design interventions
The CCI has consistently stepped up with encouragement, ideas, and marketing help for artisans. Their craft bazaars are a great example. More than opening new retail opportunities, they also helped craftspeople realise that India was not a homogenous market. “For example, someone once brought woollen clothes to a Chennai exhibition. Now they know better,” smiles Ramaswamy. “They also know we do not encourage anything that is not original. So, no screen-printed kalamkari from Kalahasti, only hand-painted ones. While there must be an affordable entry point when it comes to prices, consumerism cannot win over craft.”
An artisan at one of the craft bazaars
Over the years, they have helped artisans find new markets and identify opportunities, besides doing research, documentation, training and advocacy. A recent example is the Golu Doll Project, where CCI worked with doll makers in Kanchipuram. Their design intervention helped the artisans create new moulds, and embrace a more vintage aesthetic and colour palette.
A doll maker in Kanchipuram
Golu dolls
Book launch at The Folly
A book, CCI Turning 60, will be launched today (October 26) at The Folly in Amethyst, Chennai. It celebrates the organisation’s journey so far and features the work of the CCI and its affiliated State councils in various verticals. Ram says that the book “is the complete history of the various crafts councils. Some of them are works in progress and they are doing amazing work. And we had to record that”. Alongside the launch, a pictorial exhibition based on the book will be on display, too.
The exhibition will open to the public from October 27 to 29, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
According to Ram, CCI allows for continuous learning. It also helps that money is not on the radar. “We are all volunteers, and it matters. No one earns any money; so, there’s no issue of who is bigger or smaller. We are here to celebrate craft,” she says. The society used to depend on government funding, but has now opened up more revenue sources, especially from corporate CSR quotas.
There’s no hierarchy here
Many tend to think the CCI is full of veterans, mostly women. Among those who broke that notion is Chennai-based designer Vikram Phadke, 62, who joined the CCI in his 20s. A friend at the National Institute of Design introduced him to the council. “I got really involved because this is an amazing organisation where everyone works quietly. There’s no hierarchy really, and everyone bonds over their love for craft,” he explains. “Everything is pro bono, and it is a rare NGO where only the admin staff take home a salary.”
Kamala craft shop
Craftspersons, he adds, have a lot of love for the CCI, because the members helped them get the one thing that was missing in their lives — respect. “I think that, across councils, everyone deals with artists with great sensitivity,” he says. “We spend a lot of time together, they stay with us during exhibitions. No one really stakes ownership here, for everyone is in service of the craft.”
Going forward, Ramaswamy’s brief for the next two years is to focus on more sustainable and green things — natural materials and natural dyes, for instance. She also wants the council to work with students, so that they understand the value of the country’s crafts heritage. Finally, she wants all the councils in India to join together and come up with something big to honour Chattopadhyay’s legacy.
The independent journalist based in Mangaluru.
Published – October 25, 2025 11:36 pm IST