Śilpa

Making: textiles, metal, clay, wood, paint, architecture-as-craft — materials, processes, makers, and the knowledge in the hand.

Scope

Craft processes and material science; GI-registered and other named traditions; artisan communities, training, and economics; textile history; documentation ethics (consent, pay, tools, workshops).

Out of scope / common mistakes

Craft as nostalgia without makers or margins; “secret recipe” mystique; marketplace copy dressed as ethnography; separating the object from community (Samāja) and meaning (Soul).

Care rules

Makers are people first — consent for name, face, and story. Income claims need numbers or honest absence of numbers. Chemical and metallurgical specifics share the table with Vijñāna and need depth treatment when precise. GI status comes from the registry filing — do not embroider origin myths as legal fact.

Load-bearing concepts

Concept	Orientation	Depth later when…
GI	Legal recognition for many craft goods	Specific filing, specification
Mordant / natural dye	Core textile vocabulary	Step chemistry, indigo, timelines
Crucible / alloy craft	Border with Vijñāna	Wootz, bidri, bell metal
Ikat	Resist-dye before weaving	Regional variants, geometry
Artisan cluster	Place-based community of practice	Specific cluster documentation
Provenance	Who made it, under what terms	Maker credit and consent terms

Topics we plan to cover

Wootz, bidri, Pochampally, Cheriyal, Aranmula, kalamkari, Madhubani.

• Ajrakh resist-dyeing (essay in preparation)