Six Indian Art Forms That Are Disappearing, and the Artists Keeping Them Alive

India has over 3,000 documented art and craft traditions. But the number of art forms that are actively practised, with enough practitioners to ensure their survival into the next generation, is considerably smaller. You must be wondering why? The reasons are consistent across geographies: machine-made alternatives undercut hand-made work on price, younger generations leave for urban employment, and the knowledge transfer that once used to happen organically within families and communities has broken down. What remains, in many cases, is one family, one village, or one artist standing between a centuries-old tradition and its disappearance. Here, find a list of six of those Indian art forms and the people holding the line.

Rogan art originates in Persia and arrived in Nirona village in Kutch approximately 400 years ago. The technique involves boiling castor oil for about two days, adding natural mineral pigments to create a thick, shiny paint, and then trailing thread-like strands of paint off a stick to produce elaborate designs freehand on fabric. For over eight generations, the Khatri family of Nirona sustained their livelihood through it. After the 1950s, the arrival of machine-made industrial fabrics collapsed the market. By the late 1980s, the art was on the verge of extinction, with family members selling vegetables and working at tea shops to survive.

The renaissance came in 2014 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted two Rogan Art Tree of Life masterpieces to former US President Barack Obama, bringing the craft to international attention. Rizwan Khatri, a seventh-generation Rogan artist and national award winner, rebuilt the craft after his father, Sidik Khatri, lost everything in the 2001 earthquake. A painting by Rizwan was presented by PM Modi to the British High Commissioner. He has since taken the initiative to teach Rogan art to 15 women in his village, a significant break from tradition in which women were earlier barred from learning the craft.

Cheriyal scroll painting is a narrative art form from Cheriyal village in Telangana, believed to date back more than 500 years. Wandering storytellers known as Kaki Padagollu would travel from village to village, unrolling these scrolls as they narrated epics and local legends in song. The art uses khadi cotton cloth, tamarind seed paste, and natural pigments. Today, a single family carries the entire tradition.

Sai Kiran Dhanalakota, 33, is credited with continuing the legacy of the Dhanalakota family, the last practising family for Cheriyal scroll painting. A 160-year-old scroll painted by his great-great-grandfather is on display in a museum in Paris. With the market for Cheriyal scrolls declining, his parents advised him to pursue academics rather than painting. Sai Kiran instead obtained a fine arts degree to acquire new techniques and modernise his work.

Tarkashi is an intricate art form involving the inlay of brass, copper, or silver wire into wood, practised by Gaurav Shakya's family for generations. His grandfather received a national award for Tarkashi in 1970. Gaurav, born in 2003 in Mainpuri, is now carrying it forward as the third generation. The craft has no institutional support structure and no dedicated market. Gaurav's primary challenge is finding platforms to sell his work and connect with buyers who understand what they are looking at. He is currently working to expand into online sales and exports.

Tikuli is a miniature painting tradition from Bihar, originally produced on small lacquered discs of the same name that women once wore as a forehead ornament. The art form, which uses rich colours and fine detail on glass and other small surfaces, nearly disappeared entirely when the ornament fell out of fashion. Ashok Kumar has been revitalising Tikuli art, working on small surfaces with the original techniques while creating contemporary compositions. His work has been acquired by collectors and institutions. He is currently among a very small number of practising Tikuli artists in the country.

Toda embroidery is a needlework tradition practised exclusively by the Toda tribe of the Nilgiris. The art uses bright-coloured threads and geometric designs in red and black on white cloth to create intricate patterns on shawls, capes, and garments. Shantha Kumari has been practising Toda embroidery for over four decades and has won several awards for her work. The Toda community numbers fewer than 2,000 people. The embroidery is not taught outside the community, and the number of active practitioners is declining with each generation.

Chamba Rumal is an embroidery tradition from the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, characterised by double-sided needlework on fine muslin, with both sides of the fabric appearing identical. Padma Shri Lalita Vakil has expanded its practice and is credited with keeping the tradition alive and relevant. The craft was once produced in the courts of the Chamba rulers and used as ceremonial gifts. Its survival today depends almost entirely on the work of a small number of practitioners and organisations like Bridge Bharat, founded in 2022, whose work is built around creating continuity for such crafts, not simply preserving them but reimagining their relevance in contemporary contexts.