Shilpgram-traditional and modern craft haat in Noida

Abstract

A Haat is an informal market, normally held temporally and is conducted on a regular basis. A Craft Haat, as conceived in ‘Delhi Haat’, has the ambience of a traditional informal market, but is modified and designed for contemporary urban needs. Here one sees a synthesis of crafts, food and cultural activity. Crafts Haats are organized in to support or promote trading directly with crafts-persons, to eliminate the middleman. In addition to providing trading opportunities, haat bazaars aim at reviving dying crafts by introducing it to the urban population. This Food and Crafts Bazaar at Dilli Haat, is a treasure house of Indian culture, handicrafts and ethnic cuisine. A unique bazaar, in the heart of the city, it displays the richness of Indian culture on a permanent basis. It aims at providing encouragement to the needy artists from all over the country in order to sustain and preserve the rich heritage of India. While allowing free interaction between buyers and sellers, the organizers control prices for fairness to both the crafts-person and the consumer. My design for the NOIDA Craft Haat adopts an approach, which is different from ‘Dilli Haat’. Here, there is an attempt to bring together the traditional crafts-persons and young designers for continuing the crafts tradition of India. A skilled artisan may conduct training workshops to teach his craft to the young urbanite as a certified vocation. This will impart dignity to the artisan, and open the craft tradition to all inclined to learn it, as in a vocational training course. Also, the crafts-person is seen here as a designer, rather than as a mere labourer. To achieve the desired model of the Haat and to make it an interesting and attractive place for both the crafts persons and the visitors, case studies and interviews were conducted. The final design brings different approaches from these studies to create a modern and urbane experience, while achieving the objectives of design.