Himalayan Times (1959)

December 6, IH69

5i slagnn «Eimt»

Nine

CRAFTS MUSEUM

(Continued from page g)
ment of our oouuiry.

The collection in tbo
Crafts Museum has been
enriched by acquisitions of
dolls and toys, paintings
and textiles, stone and
ivory, wood and metal
objects, terracotta and
jewellery from various
parta of India. The
extensive collection of
textiles is a speciality of
tins Museum. The bold
colour, deoorative designs
and motives reveal the
orafisman's depth of
imagination and the
clever way of rendering
simple and variegated
forms in wo en material.
A prize collection is a
rare sproimen of a very
large size Kalamkari
print. Besides, there are
Raluchar saris, Ma.-uli-
patarn batiks, Banaras
brocades, Gujerat patoln.
Tanjore silk, Pui jab
phulkaris, Kashmir shawls
and deoorative kanthas
from Bengal. In addi-
tion to these, there is a
wide variety of specmens
of costume designs, ex-
cellent embroidered works,
choli pieces and ghagras.

India is rich in
jewellery but the tradi-
tional des gns are probab-
ly best preserved in the
folk type. The Crafts
Museum has also made
a special effort to collect
m many specimens as

passible so that modern
designers and craftsman
may choose from the
myriads of Indian forms
now threatened with
gradual extinction.

The museum move-
ment is one of the cons-
tructive forces in our
changing social structure.
Aware of theirimportanct,
India today is planning
to develop museums of
various kinds In this
growing pattern, the
Crafts Museum is destined
to play h very important
role. By assembling, pre-
serving, displaying and
demonstrating o rafts,
objects, this institution
will rightly justify India's
unique position in the
field of handicrafts—a
cultural heritage coining
down for millennia.

( Continued from page 7)

effort bfd so fsr been
made to market our
handicrafts abroad.

Special studies of
foreign markets are now
being made Mid after study
of the market possibiltiee
in the United States ia
already available f • i
exporters. Besides, the
Corporation has taken
several steps to promote
exports such as giving
loans to exporters against
firm orders from abroad
and assistance to manu-
factures in procuring raw
materials required by

PROPOSED CESS ON TEA
New Delhi, Dec. 3 '

The Government of
India is considering a
proposal to levy a cesa
of two pice per lb of tea
produced by the well-
managed gardens of Assam
to finance the re-planta-
tion programme of the
Mate Government.

Aooording to tenta-
tive estimates of the
State Government, the
programme, which will
cover all tea-gardens
would ooat about Ra. 1
orore. This can easily be
raised, it is pointed out.
by levying a cess of two
pioe per lb.

The programme is
understood to have been
approved by the Central
Government, although it
has yet to deoide whe-
ther the cfss should be
levied or not and what
should be the rate.

The Finance and La-
bour Ministers of Assam
bave come here for con-
sultation with Planning
Commission and the Union
Commerce and Industry
Ministry in this connexion

thtm etq. Export of
handicrafts this year has
been better than in, last
year and it is to be
earnestly hoped that the
Corporation'will sucoeed
in putting Indian handi-
crafts in the world
market in h big way.