Contents
List of Pictures xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Introduction 1
Research
Involvement
Structure of the Book

1. Crafting the Subject: Craft Producers,Craft Objects and Craft 21
What is Craft? Excavating a Trope
Craft in India
Knowing Craft
Pragmatism and Romanticism:
'Developing Craft'
Imaging Craft Objects and their Producers
Dancing with Images

2. People, Place, Life . 46
Early Impressions
Spaces, Changes
Labbais and Rauthers
Hindus and Muslims: Resonance, Hostility and Layered Subjectivites
3. In the House 72
Who is in the House?
Money Matters
Informal Sources of Liquidity
Fluctuating Fortunes
Leading a Good Life

4. The Work of Weaving 101
From Sedge to 'Silk': the Raw Material
Making Mats
The Politics of Space for Weaving
Learning to Weave, Learning to be a Weaver
Production and Re-production
Aesthetics and Authenticity

5. Uneasy Balances nomijmii 138
Weavers and Traders
The Cooperative Society
Private Traders and the Cooperative Society
Weavers, Traders and the 'Society'
The NGO as a Trader
Choices and Opportunities
The Idea of Community

6. Production and Representation 170
The First Award: 1993
The Second Award: 1996
Active Helplessness

7. Talking About Mats 191
Mats for Marriages
'Silk Mats' and Marriages
Craft and Ritual
The Agency of Objects
Gifting Mats, Opening Doors
Superfine Mats Lead, Fine Mats Follow Ironies

8. Selling Gifts: Mats in the Market 228
Selling Pattamadai Mats
The Masters Best, Yours to Possess'

9. Technological Matters 243
Who Wants a Better Loom?
The Craft Enterprises Looms
Challenging the Body

10. Conclusion 266
Appendix: Newspaper and other articles 272
Bibliography 275
Index 291