BASTAR ART : INSIGNIA OF CULTURAL BEQUEST AND MARKET APPREHENSIONS

The history of Indian handicrafts has been age old. Indian arts and artisans have astonished people from other countries of the world through their creations since a very long time. Bastar region of Chhattisgarh possesses excellence in creating exceptional artifacts along with a wide variety .The tribals of this region hold proficiency in creating various Bastar art products categorized as Bell metal or Dhokra Art, Wrought Iron art, Sisal art, Wooden art and the Terracotta art. There is an elevating demand of these products but in spite of that these products fall short in reaching the target audience and the artisans are striving to earn their livelihood due to the barriers in marketing, which in turn arises a need to identify the marketing opportunities and come up with apt strategy to resolve the existing issue. This research paper is intended to scrutinize the challenges in marketing of these products along with emphasis on the opportunities in this sector , also underlining the role of emerging media in marketing of these tribal products. It also presents a SWOT analysis of this segment along with emphasis on present market links and some of the existing government schemes.