Somewhere in India, right now, a craft that took centuries to develop is disappearing. Not dramatically — just quietly, as artisans age, younger generations move on, and factory-made alternatives take over.
This week’s good news is about the people who noticed that happening and decided it was their problem to fix. A royal family, a father and daughter, a woman who left HR, a software engineer who turned down her first job. Four crafts. Four stories of people who refused to look away.
How a Maharashtra Royal Family Saved India’s 400-Year-Old Ganjifa Card Art
Long before Pokémon cards, India had Ganjifa — hand-painted circular playing cards that once entertained Mughal emperors. By the 20th century, the art had nearly vanished. When the Sawant Bhonsle royal family of Sawantwadi in Maharashtra saw it slipping away, they sat down and learned it themselves, training under an 80-year-old master.
Their palace darbar hall became a studio. The craft now has a GI tag, 20 active artisans, and India Post’s first-ever circular postcards carry its art.
Read how a royal family kept a 400-year-old game alive.
Father-Daughter Duo Helps Women Earn From Home by Reviving Kashmir’s Forgotten Grass Mats
Until the early 2000s, handwoven Wuguv mats made from wetland reeds and rice straw were in almost every Kashmiri home. Then factory alternatives arrived, artisans left their looms, and the craft faded.
In Srinagar, Gulam Hassan — who had learned the craft as a child — began reviving it after 2020, with his daughter Tanzila beside him. Their home became a training centre. More than 20 women now earn Rs 10,000–12,000 a month weaving from home.
Here’s how a father and daughter turned a mat into a livelihood.
A Raipur Startup Raised Incomes for 200 Artisans by 30% — By Changing How Traditional Craft Gets Made
Shambhavi Pandey left an HR career managing 3,000-person workforces to ask a question nobody in the craft world seemed to be asking: why does traditional folk art almost never make it into someone’s home? Her Raipur brand Folkstroke now works with 200 artisans across seven states — Gond painters, Tholu Bommalata artists, Kalamkari craftspeople.
Artisan incomes have risen 30 percent over six years. “During COVID, when I did not have any work, Didi gave me work,” says Gond painter Santu Tekam.
Read how Shambhavi turned folk art from gallery walls into everyday homes.
Engineer Leaves Tech Career To Save Endangered Indian Crafts, Earns Rs 50 Lakh in 2 Yrs
In 2021, Sushmita Kaneri met a Nirmal painting artisan in Telangana who said he would tell his son to find a regular job instead. She had a software engineering degree and a job offer waiting.
She turned it down. By 2023 she had founded Gullakaari, now working to revive 13 endangered crafts — Warli, Kavad storytelling boxes, Tholu Bommalata leather puppetry and more. Over 1,000 artisans are connected to the platform. In two years, cumulative revenue reached Rs 50 lakh.
Read how one conversation changed the course of 13 crafts.
