Issues facing India's traditional artists

2.1 Artists rarely set their own price

Middlemen place the orders, choose the designs and keep most of the margin, and few artists can reach buyers on their own.

Documented in Madhubani, Pattachitra, Gond, Warli, Sohrai and Khovar, Rajasthani miniature, Sanjhi, Tikuli

Warli paintings bought from artists for Rs 500 were reportedly resold for Rs 5,000 to 10,000, so the artist kept 5 to 10% of the final price.¹ In Madhubani, middlemen's markup is reported above 70%.²

In a study of 112 Pattachitra artists in Raghurajpur, Odisha, a third received fewer than five orders a month, half had 5 to 10 pieces rejected every month, 59% stored unsold work at home and only 17% knew of online marketplaces.³

Gond work sells for anything from about Rs 2,000 to Rs 60,000, a spread set by access to buyers rather than skill.⁴ Rajasthani miniature artists market themselves by sending out CVs, with no secure income,⁵ and Sanjhi artists in Mathura lack local buyers.⁶ Tikuli artists in Patna describe income that is irregular and project-based.⁷

In Tri-Impact's field work, artists with a wide range are asked again and again for the motif that sold last, because the order comes through a middleman.⁸

2.2 The designs travel without the artist

Motifs are copied onto mass-market and luxury goods, and the artist's name rarely goes with the work. Copies compete on price, and the credit goes elsewhere.

Documented in Madhubani, Warli, Pattachitra, Sohrai and Khovar

Printed Madhubani designs cover sarees, tiles, mugs and diaries, and some of these products sell for more than the paintings they copy.⁹ Warli designs appear on products from pottery to clothing without money reaching Warli artists,¹⁰ and imitations by makers from outside the community sell at airports for Rs 10,000 and more.¹

Works bought from women Madhubani artists have won awards for others.¹¹ The Madhubani Geographical Indication lists about 51 to 53 authorised users, against hundreds of artist households in a single village.^9,12

A 2025 legal review found that Geographical Indication law does not protect the cultural meaning of tribal art such as Warli and Sohrai, and cites a sacred motif printed on luxury handbags without consent, context or credit.¹³ Pattachitra artists ask for copyright protection of new designs.³

2.3 Fine work costs the body

Hours of close, precise work bring pain and eye strain. Much of it is done at home, often at night, without dry storage or health cover.

Documented in Madhubani, Zardozi, Pattachitra, Warli, Tikuli

In a study of 60 women Mithila artists who paint 4 to 6 hours a day, six in ten reported severe pain while painting.¹⁴

Of 330 zari embroidery workers in rural West Bengal, the technique behind Zardozi, 57% reported chronic eye discomfort and 82% chronic musculoskeletal discomfort, most often in the lower back and neck.¹⁵

Warli women often paint at night after housework, with no space to sit together and nowhere to store materials through the monsoon.¹⁶ Pattachitra artists report no health cover and no provision for elderly artists or widows,³ and Tikuli artists raise concerns about the enamel paint they use.⁷

2.4 Savings, credit and schemes stay out of reach

Income comes order by order, savings are thin, and few artists know which government schemes they qualify for.

Documented in Pattachitra, Tikuli, Phad

In the Raghurajpur study, 61% of Pattachitra artists had no savings. Of the 58% who had borrowed, most went to relatives or moneylenders, and only about one in four used a bank. Income too low to repay, rigid formalities and lack of collateral kept them from bank loans.³

Low awareness of schemes is recorded among Tikuli artists,⁷ and Phad artists in Rajasthan ask for low-interest loans and affordable insurance.¹⁷

2.5 Gender, caste and distance limit access

Women do much of the work, yet in several traditions men handle the trade and the price. In some places caste has shaped who could paint what and who met buyers, and distance keeps many artists waiting for buyers to come to them.

Documented in Madhubani, Warli, Pattachitra, Tikuli

As Warli became commercial, men took up a form that women had traditionally painted.¹ In Madhubani, men largely control trade and price,¹¹ and Tikuli women mostly make the work while rarely leading its sale.⁷ Among Pattachitra artists, women's participation falls with age under household pressure.³

In one painting tradition in Bihar, caste decided who could paint which subjects and who dealt with buyers.^18,11 Many Madhubani women artists rarely leave the village, speak only Maithili and cannot afford exhibition fees, travel and lodging.²

2.6 The materials, walls and next generation are thinning

Natural colours are giving way to synthetic paint, the mud walls and rituals some traditions grew from are disappearing, and fewer young people take up the work.

Documented in Madhubani, Pattachitra, Sohrai and Khovar, Phad, Sanjhi, Tikuli

The palette of earth, leaves, flowers, soot and turmeric is giving way to synthetic paint in Mithila art.¹⁹ Pattachitra artists find white, black and red the hardest colours to prepare and ask for support with canvas and natural colours.³

Sohrai and Khovar lose their walls as mud houses are rebuilt in cement and as mining displaces villages.²⁰ Phad has lost much of the ritual storytelling its scrolls once served,²¹ and the temple practice behind Sanjhi is changing.⁶

Sanjhi is described as languishing, with a dwindling number of masters.⁶ Fewer young people inherit Pattachitra and low income pushes artists out,³ and young people leaving is a recorded concern for Sohrai, Khovar and Tikuli.^22,7

3.1 Training that leads to paid work

From 2017, the Women Artisan Skill Enhancement Project, run by UNDP and Larsen & Toubro Infotech with local partners FUEL and Tisser, trained about 1,250 Warli women in Mumbai and Thane districts, Maharashtra. Training covered Warli techniques on paper, fabric, glass, wood and clay, and prepared a group of local trainers. The women formed producer groups of about 20 members, took paid work orders and showed their work at exhibitions and fairs such as Saras Mela. Four of the six groups opened bank accounts, and at least 20 women secured artisan cards, which give access to government schemes for artisans. The report also records gains in confidence, record keeping and work planning.¹⁶

3.2 Co-creation that reaches international stages

A Sanjhi paper-cut master from Mathura worked with a contemporary artist to take the temple art form into new formats. The work was shown at Homo Faber 2026 in Venice, an international exhibition of fine handmade work.²³

3.3 Online sales on fair terms

In Dindori district, Madhya Pradesh, 157 Gond artists from nine women's self-help groups began selling their work on Amazon in June 2026 through a local enterprise, with support from the district administration. A written agreement between the enterprise and the groups gives the artists 60% of profits. The remaining 40% covers platform costs, procurement, logistics, packaging and operations.²⁴

3.4 Selling without dealers

Artists from villages near Ranthambhore in Rajasthan once copied photographs to sell through dealers in Jaipur. The Ranthambhore School of Art, set up by the Ranthambhore Foundation in Sawai Madhopur, helped them develop their own work and sell it without dealers or middlemen. Their paintings sell for Rs 1,500 to Rs 10,000 with ready buyers, and have been shown at the Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi.²⁵

3.5 Making artists visible to buyers

In Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, women paint Sohrai and Khovar on the mud walls of their homes. INTACH trained over 75 women to paint the same art on paper, so the work can travel and reach buyers. Conservators built a database of nearly 500 artists to help them receive commissions. Sohrai and Khovar artists have painted the 17,500 sq ft boundary wall at Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park in Ranchi.²⁰

3.6 Legal protection held by the community

The Warli Geographical Indication, registered in 2014, is held by a Warli-led organisation, which places the right to the name with the community that created the art. A women's cooperative has applied for the Sohrai-Khovar Geographical Indication.^1,12

4.1 Near-vision glasses and productivity

In a randomised trial, near-vision glasses raised the productivity of Indian tea pickers with presbyopia by 21.7%, and by 31.6% for those over 50. Tea picking, like fine painting and embroidery, depends on close vision.²⁶

4.2 Bank accounts with training

Rural women in Madhya Pradesh who received bank accounts, training and direct deposit of their wages worked more and gained control over their income, compared with women who received accounts alone.²⁷