Shilpgram

Shilpgram Udaipur (The Craft Village), Situated 3 kms west of Udaipur is the Rural Arts and Crafts Complex. Spread over an undulating terrain of 130 bighas (70 Acres) of land and surrounded by the Aravallies, the Rural Arts and Crafts Complex is conceived as a living enthnographic museum to depict the lifestyles of the folk and tribal people of the West Zone. Within this complex, huts of the member states are constructed incorporating traditional architectural features of different geographical and ethnic groups residing within the West Zone of India comprising of five Federal States.

One of the important objectives of Shilpgram is to increase awareness and knowledge of rural life and crafts, specifically, for the younger generation. Special emphasis is laid on workshops for children on arts, crafts, theatre and music.

The traditional village life to a considerable extent is self-contained and self-sufficient with a potter, carpenter, blacksmith and often a weaver living alongside one another nourishing and husbanding a series of transactions. To highlight these complex yet simple relationships, these huts are constructed in an interlocking occupational theme vested with its own internal dynamism.

The Centre's Rural Arts and Crafts Complex adopts this cellular approach such that each individual hut is at once an organic entity and at the same time nourishing and husbanding a series of such transactions.

In this integrated pattern are 5 huts from Rajasthan, representing weaver's community from Marwar. There are 2 huts named after the two sand bound villages of Rama and Sam from the desert region of western Rajasthan. From the hilly region of Mewar, is a potter's hut from the village Dhol, 70 kms west of Udaipur. Two huts represent the tribal farmer communities of the Bhil and the Sehariyas of the Southern regions of Rajasthan.

There are 7 representative huts from the state of Gujarat. A cluster of six huts from Banni area and one from Bhujodi have been selected from the arid wastelands of Kutch. the Banni cluster consists of two huts each of the Rebari, Harijan and Muslim communities famous for their weaving, embroidery, bead & mirrorwork, wood work and rogar work. Equally well known for its valiant horses, Lambdia village near Poshina in North Gujarat is represented with a potter's hut. Adjoining to the Lambdia potter's workshop at the Shilpgram is the weaver's hut from Vasedi village in Chota Udaipur area in western Gujarat. Two huts represent the Dang and Rathwa tribal farmer communities of southern Gujarat. In addition to these, there is an ornately carved wooden house from Pethapur near Gandhinagar.

These huts are: Banni Huts, Bhujodi Hut, Brahmin Hut, Bunkar Hut, Christian Hut, Craft & Culture, Dang Hut, Dhol Hut, Fisherman's Hut, Garasia Hut, Gond Hut, Huts And Haats, Kolhapur Hut, Koli Hut, Kulumbi, Kumbhi Hut, Lambdia Hut, Madia Hut, Meena Waas, Pethapur Haveli, Potter’s Hut, Rama Hut, Rathwa Hut, Saharia Hut, Sam Hut, Sculpture Park, The Chaupal Museum, The Gol Museum, The Kothi Collection, The Tribal Museum, Vardha Hut, Warli Hut

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