Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Raghurajpur - the heritage arts & crafts village

Please watch the following video..
In the heart of Puri, Odisha lies a blooming cultural paradise. Raghurajpur - the heritage arts & crafts village - where every villager is an artist and every home is an artist's studio. But their colourful lives have some dull moments. And we can help complete their #HalfStory.

Find out how you can help: 
https://www.doright.in
https://www.facebook.com/doright.in
https://twitter.com/WeDoRight
http://instagram.com/journeyofdoingright


as of writing this post they've met their donation goals.


I appreciate their art. as an illustrator myself i understand the work they put into it, and sincerely hope this website helps them.

the next part of this post is probably going to get me a lot of hate.. 

Some criticism:
1) Why not just let them sell their art on etsy or other such existing artisan sites? what is this constant need to start a new site for everything these days? 

2) Lets cut out the middle man? by this argument.. people who make apps and games.. but don't get a share of the profits should also start selling their apps directly in an "open to all" market.. 

oh wait, that's been done.. i wonder how financially uplifting that turned out for them.

3) Isnt the payment gateway(icici, ccavenue, visa, paypal) that the site will have to use.. going to be another middle man?

4) Its not like these "middle men" are evil demons from planet zod.. aren't they just "entrepreneurs" like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Ambani etc... ? aren't they just following what business logic/methods that every business student is shown as a glowing example?

5) What does it say about an art form.. when it needs a website dedicated to itself.. as if it can't hold its own against other art forms.. 

6) Don't give me the "tradition" argument. If traditions were that important you and me should have continued our family traditions of being farmers, goatherds etc.. You'r ancestors adapted to changing times.. they had the gall to abandon their traditional vocation and take up something new. Thats how your here reading my blog.. and not sitting in a mud hut starving and blaming "the middleman" for getting the better of you.

Or if you feel that your ancestral heritage wasn't glamorous enough, then go ahead and become an artist in this village in Odisha.. and take up their cause as one of them.. 
Not as the benevolent outsider.

Its all nice and convenient to say that Tradition is important and traditional crafts need to be supported.. when someone else is doing the starving.


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