Journalism of Courage
Eight months ago,a rather elusive quest led me to a shabby little building in Shivajinagar. I was on the prowl for the perfect handmade paper journal but having found nothing suitable in the sundry stationery stores of Delhi’s Chandni Chowk,ended up at the doorstep of the Handmade Paper Institute squatting next to our very own Agricultural College. For those who don’t follow the fortunes of modest trades,this is an antediluvian paper factory which sidled back into public notice when its planned rescue from obscurity was announced this week.
It so happened that nothing caught my fancy on that particular visit. Scrolls of varied colour and texture hung temptingly from the walls but the staff was not particularly eager to entertain a finicky individual buyer,not when their thin revenue depended upon more substantial bulk orders. In fact they all seemed profoundly harassed and weighed down by the pathos of their work. My options were to choose from among the dozen readymade journals on display or leave empty-handed.
For this and possibly several other more important and less selfish reasons,exhibiting its latest products and mementos from its romantic history including THE original Constitution of India printed on its sheets ought to spell resurrection for the place. Handmade paper is a highly versatile and adaptable craft and well worth protecting. One hopes the new showroom will bring in more imaginative designs and customer-savvy salespeople to be the face of the institute; people whose interest doesnt visibly vaporise when you ask if something can be customised. Like it or not,Makeover,Marketing and Merchandise are the three magic Ms of heritage conservation.
Look at the long-neglected Shaniwar Wada,which now sports helpful information boards as well as a souvenir shop,and drew unlikely members of the glitterati to an Astad Deboo performance in its grounds this year. Or the Tambat craftspeople of Pune; dwindling in the Peths and taken for granted for decades until a series of heritage exhibitions recast them as hip and rustic chic. Of course,that was a delightful manipulation of the Veblen Effect a quirky economic principle where people will buy more of the same stuff when offered at a higher price because of the exclusivity and status value it suddenly acquires.
Such price experiments wont help the Handmade Paper Institute as much since it has ample market competition unlike the uncommon metal-beaters. But an aesthetic overhaul the Maratha fort is very welcome. I for one know Ill be re-visiting it with more optimism when this journal fills up.
(The author is a chess grandmaster and former national champion)
