National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy

Unclaimed

The Craft Museum was truly amazing and worth visiting. It beautifully showcased various aspects of Indian heritage, from ancient textiles to ancient sculptures, all presented with detailed explanations. Additionally, the museum featured traditional houses from different states, which was the best part of the experience. For those interested in purchasing sculptures, there are shops available within the premises, along with handmade paintings and other unique items. And now, if we talk about the staff, they were also very good, helpful, and polite. My overall experience at the museum was very good. If you are also interested in Indian history and ancient artifacts, you should definitely visit it at least once.

No Tickets.. Free Entry for Indians… Good Food… I visited this beautiful cute museum, which had 2-3. Sections showcasing our art and craft evolved from India. The Entry was free for Indians and for foreigners it’s just ₹300. It was unbelievably not at all crowded. You can even take the kids to this lovely place. They even have textile museum inside. They even have dance/music performances in intervals by our local Indian artists. They have small cute shops selling beautiful paintings, tribal jewellery and lovely shirts, I bought a cute wooden pencil for just ₹50, A keyring for ₹50, to support the local artisans, I bought a cute cat and a lamp for ₹50 each. Even this small bird looking instrument which you can play after dipping it in water just for ₹50. Then this cute shirt for ₹50 even this cute small broom for dusting which is handmade for ₹50 and these hand painted bookmarks for ₹150 each. They even teach you how to make pots for just ₹50 and then you can take the pot or so along with you. I just bought it and didn’t learn but I’ll surely try it next time! For food, we went to cafe Lota, amazing experience! Good food indeed. They have a lovely menu! Healthy menu actually. It has many items made of Ragi. I would surely recommend people to visit this place and support our local artisans and vendors, who are working so hard. Let’s support them and please don’t bargain with them. Their prices aren’t too high. Please do visit and share your feedback too ?

It is near Pragati Maidan. You can see beautiful things made by hand, like paintings, pottery, clothes, and woodwork from different parts of India. There is a special area called Village Complex where they have made small villages. It looks like a real Indian village. You can also watch artists making crafts in front of you. The place is clean, quiet, and good for people who love art and culture. There is also a shop where you can buy handmade items.

The National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy, celebrates the rich, diverse, and practicing craft and weaving traditions of India. Situated at the corner of Pragati Maidan, opposite the majestic Purana Qila, the museum was designed by the renowned architect Charles Correa. Museum is a visual repository show casing the traditional architectural marvels simulated in the museum building. The heritage crafts and textiles collections displayed around in the open-air areas, the galleries and the intricacies of making of handicraft and handloom artefacts can be seen under one roof. Also, if the visitor so desires may purchase few souvenirs direct from the artisans and weavers. At present the Museum collection consists of over about 29,395 specimens in various crafts acquired over a period of 70 years sourced from various states named as Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Union Territories of India named as Andaman & Nicobar islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Puducherry. The collection reflects the continuing traditions of handicrafts and handlooms, over the ages. Museum collection consists of a variety of traditional artifacts such as Textiles, a vast range of metal lamps, sculptures, utensils etc, wood-works, folk/tribal paintings, range of cane and bamboo crafts, clay and terracotta figures and a lot more. The exquisite examples of textiles include Kalamkaris, Jamawars, Pashmina and Shahtosh shawls, embroidered fabrics especially Kanthas, Chikankari works and chaklas Tie and Die (Bandhani) fabrics, Baluchar and Jamdaani saris, Pichwais,Phulkaris, Ikat fabrics of Odisha, ChambaRumals, Block printed textile fabrics of Gujarat and Rajasthan, Himru textile pieces of Maharashtra, Naga shawls, Chanderi saris and a variety of tribal textiles of the Lambadi, Toda and Naga tribes. Village Complex was set up in 1972 as Rural India Complex as a Part of Asia Trade Fair Designed by the well –known architect Ram Sharma and Sculptor Sankhu Chaudhuri, the Village Complex was later incorporated into the Crafts Museum. It comprises 19 structures- village dwellings, courtyards, shrines- from different parts of India, built in facsimile with skills and materials of the respective regions. The Textiles Gallery hosts an extensive collection of traditional Indian textiles, which covers the vast range of hand-woven and handcrafted techniques found throughout India. The Cultic Craft Gallery features sculptures, paintings, textiles and other objects associated with the rituals of various religions in India. Crafts demonstration programme is a monthly promotional activity of our country’s intangible cultural heritage of Handicraft, Handloom & folk performances. The participating artisans and weavers unravel various processes, tools and techniques involved in making of a craft or textile. Hand crafting and handloom weaving are marvellous skills to watch live. The visitor learns about the tedious processes and enjoys purchasing a souvenir or two to carry home. During the one month stay in the museum, the performers craftsperson and weavers time and again go to the reserve collections and museum galleries to involve in reviving the traditional techniques and designs. This platform thus provides a direct platform to the performers, artisans and weavers to propagate their skills and product to the visiting public. The programme also enhances the ability to revive the forgotten designs and art forms.

If you're looking for a calm and relaxing place in the middle of the city, the National Craft Museum is a great pick. It’s peaceful, full of beautiful traditional art, and perfect for a slow stroll. One of the best parts is the pottery section — you can actually try making your own pottery for a small fee, which is super fun! There’s also a small theatre where they sometimes show performances or craft-related films. The museum has a canteen if you get hungry, and a few shops where you can buy handmade stuff — great for gifts or souvenirs. They’ve got lockers to keep your stuff safe, clean washrooms, and free drinking water too. Overall, it’s a chill spot to spend a few hours, especially if you’re into crafts or just want a break from the usual city chaos