Not gold or silver, it is the humble rice that is finding its way to the hearts of fashionable people. After trying out metal, paper, and flower jewellery, people of taste who like unconventional pieces of jewellery are getting fascinated by paddy jewellery.

Weaving palm leaves together to make decoration pieces, and weaving traditional headgears with siali leaves are the ancient crafts of the Bhumij tribe. A Balasore-based charitable trust is working with villagers to keep the craft alive.

Wheat stubble left in the wake of harvesting in May, for instance, is being transformed into consumer goods and artefacts by some women in Uttar Pradesh.

Mohra are metal masks depicting the faces of deities, usually cast in brass, which are worshipped in Himachal Pradesh. The 10th century craft has been kept alive by craftsmen mostly settled in Mandi and Chamba districts.

The Oraon community paints the mud walls of their homes once every year. What they paint represents their gotra or sub caste. There are 12 gotras that are represented by different creatures like the tiger, tortoise, fish, etc.

Aalta Patra is offered to the Sun God during Chhath Puja. There are communities in Bihar that have been traditionally making these flat and papad-like offerings.

A potter family in Srinagar makes diyas to be used during Diwali. The ‘diyas’ are in great demand and are a shining example of inter-faith harmony in the valley.

Puppeteers are a fading phenomenon but 74-year-old Fakir Singh is doing his bit by teaching the tricks of his trade to young children in his village in Kendrapara, Odisha.

Patachitra artists in Bharatpur village in West Bengal get a fillip as Sanghita Mitra, who quit her job with a software company, is working with them for over a decade to keep Bengal’s ancient artform alive.