Art by the People

The Shilp Deergha gallery at the new Parliament building celebrates the crafts traditions of India

- Aditya Mani Jha

One of the major attractions at India’s newly-constructed Parliament complex is the Shilp Deergha, part of the ground floor galleries and designed to exhibit the various arts and crafts forms from across India—whether it is embroidery, textile work, metal sculptures, block printing or terracotta. The Shilp Deergha, conceptualised by Jaya Jaitly (founder and president of the Dastkari Haat Samiti) has been divided into eight parts, which correspond to eight philosophical concepts, namely, Gyan (knowledge), Prakriti (nature), Aastha (faith), Ullas (joy), Parv (festival), Samrasta (unity), Swavlamban (self-reliance), and Yatra (journey).