Crafting Arth’s Logo

Arth’s logo was designed in collaboration with our Warli tribal artist, Sadashiv Mashe. Warli craft resembles ancient cave paintings and is characterised by simple triangles, circles and squares. The traditional colour used is white painted over a reddish-brown background.

We described the idea behind Arth to Mr. Mashe, explaining our emphasis on grassroot artisans and on elucidating the story of crafts in terms of its history and process. After discussing ideas, in a few quick flicks of his wrist, Mr Mashe drew us an elaborate Arth story:

He portrays the craftsman holding up his treasured crafts like a beacon for the world to see. It also signifies the propagation of age-old crafts as it is passed on from one generation to another. The artisan and his craft are encircled in nature, emphasizing on the use of natural products available in surrounding regions. The crafts are ubiquitous like the ants, says Mashe. “Ah, such beauty!” exclaims an appreciator of crafts.

We decided to carve our logo out of this, focusing on the artisan in the portrayal.

Mr. Mashe first prepared the background colour, which took forever to dry in the monsoon. So we threw in a fan and some lungpower.
 
Once dry, the Warli figure of the artisan was painted over. Watch our making of the logo video.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjf02nk9mow
Painted in earthy tones, we loved the simplicity of the idea. We added a few finishing touches to our raw Warli design.. and voila, logo ready!
          

Story behind ‘Arth’

The name Arth was born in the small town of Swamimalai, situated on the banks of river Cauvery in Tamil Nadu. The temple town is famous for its bronze metal statues made of ‘Panchalogam’ (literally translated as Five Metals). An alloy of copper, lead, zinc, tin and gold, Panchalogam is used in the making of Hindu idols.

On a travel trip to Tamil Nadu, I stopped by Swamimalai to explore its handicrafts and meet the local artisans. I walked into a workshop-cum-handicraft store and ambled around the display of exquisitely handcrafted statues. My eyes fell on one rather beautiful piece. A quick glance at the price tag of Rs 6,000 made it seem rather expensive. Disappointed, I placed the product back on its shelf. Why would a local store price its products so high, I wondered.

Just as the thought crossed my mind, the store manager graciously invited us to tour around the production unit. We spent the next hour watching and marvelling at the various production stages – artisans preparing individual moulds, deftly handling the cauldron with the molten metal alloy, casting the moulds, tediously chiselling and meticulously filing the casting.

  

                        

Each mould can be used only for a single casting. It was a rather time consuming process. For instance, the piece that had caught my eye took around 18 days to make. What a steal it was at Rs 6000!

A quick swipe of the credit card, and I walked out of the store with my gorgeous purchase in hand. From the initial reluctance at the price to excitedly prancing towards the cash counter, what had changed, I wondered? It was no more a mere a pretty product on display; it was a handcrafted possession. It had significance now- an expression of age old culture and tradition painstakingly shaped by the hands of experienced artisans. I was able to better appreciate and indulge in the craft now. From here grew the name Arth, which is the Sanskrit word for ‘meaning’. Arth is our effort to bring beautiful crafts and their story to the fore.

Indian Handicrafts

Indian Handicrafts have existed for over 5000 years and have been shaped by culture, religious beliefs, topography and various dynasties that ruled India. From the finely etched lines of Jaipur miniature paintings to the vibrant Warli paintings, from the meticulously hammered silver of Karnataka’s Bidri Work to the alluring, colorful  Meenakari , from the crinkled, many hued Bhandej to more sedate Pochampally and Kalamkari-each one of these creations is steeped in rich culture, history and tradition.

Unfortunately, our age old handicrafts are dying a slow death due to cheaper machine-made and Chinese-manufactured replicas of Indian handicrafts. This makes authenticity a major concern, and it is difficult for customers to discern genuine products.

Despite the big price tags, the craftsmen often receive minimal monetary compensation due to multi-layered channel of middlemen who profit the most. Due to low income generation, handicraft skill and techniques that have been passed on from generation to generation, now has dwindling takers. The younger generation prefers taking up odd jobs in cities over continuing their traditional family crafts.

There is an increasing need to protect our myriad crafts. The extremely unorganized and fragmented handicrafts sector plays an important role in India’s economy. It is one of the largest employment generators, employing around 7 million people, mostly in villages and small towns. It provides employment opportunities to many women and people belonging to backward society.

Many dying crafts have been revived by the efforts of a few people. Our effort is to contribute towards the promotion and preservation of Indian crafts.