NOTES FROM A CRAFTSMAN

‘Notes from a Craftsman’ follows the lives of 8 Indian craftspeople as they practice the generations-old crafts of gold leafing, roghan block printing, dyeing, bead-work and Mata ni Pachedi textile scroll painting in the heart of urban Ahmedabad. The film tunnels through homes and ateliers, following the story of a piece of textile as it moves from hand-to-hand to become a finished piece of contemporary craft. Apart from directing, editing and executing the cinematography, I also designed the soundscape for the film. The film won an award for ‘Best Sound Design for documentaries’ at the Indian Recording Arts Academy Awards 2019.

The crafts in India were historically patronised by nobles and wealthy gentry, artisans received a fixed salary and daily rations right through to their old age, a system forever changed, when the English disbanded craft guilds across colonised India to set up industrial production units. The Indian craftsman conceives of his art, not as the accumulated skill of ages, but as originating in an almost divine skill revealed to him by his practise. ‘Notes from a Craftsman’ explores this philosophy of making, following ‘the mark of the hand’ in urban India.

The film can be viewed on request, write us a note : HERE