Section A- Reading : Read the passage given below. Technology is making advancements at a rapid rate but at the cost of a valued tradition—the crafts industry. The traditional crafts industry is losing a lot of its trained and skilled craftsmen. With that, the art of embellishing brass and copper utensils with fine engravings is also disappearing. The government has identified around 35 crafts as languishing craft.
The speciality of handcrafted items is its design, an association with long traditions belonging to a specific region. The word ‘handcrafted’ does not imply the involvement of dexterous human fingers or an agile mind with a moving spirit anymore. Lessening drudgery, increasing production and promoting efficiency have taken precedence. The labour-saving devices are taking the place of handcrafted tools and this has jeopardized the skills of these artisans.
Mechanisation has made its way into everything – cutting, polishing, edging, designing etc. Ideally, the use of machinery should be negligible and the handicrafts should be made purely by hand with a distinguishable artistic appeal. However, with the exception of small-scale industries, the export units are mostly operated by machines. The heavily computerised designs contribute to a faster production at lower costs.
Although mechanization of crafts poses a challenge to safeguarding traditional crafts, the artisans are lured with incentives in order to impart handicrafts training. Some makers do see machines as a time-saving blessing since they are now able to accomplish difficult and demanding tasks with relative ease. These machines might give a better finesse to these products but they don’t stand out as handcrafted. Quantity has overtaken quality in this industry.
A need to highlight the importance of the handmade aspect is required by both the government and private sectors, in order to amplify awareness and also support the culture of making handicrafts. A few artisans are still trying their best to rejuvenate and revive their culture and heritage but it’s an uphill task competing with the machine-made goods. A multitude of artisans have changed their professions and are encouraging their progeny to follow suit. There are others who have stayed their ground but are clearly inclined towards buying machines.
Nearly two decades ago, there were around 65 lakh artisans in the country. Three years ago, when the government started the process of granting a unique number to the artisans based on the Aadhaar card, 25 lakhs were identified. Loss of traditional crafts is clearly a worrying issue, but it stands to reason that forcing any artisan to follow old ways when concerns of livelihood overrule other considerations, is unfair.
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY FIVE questions from the six given below. i. What does the writer mean by calling handicrafts a ‘valued tradition’? ii. Rewrite the following sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with a word that means the same from lines 5– 15. If it continues, the workcation (work + vacation) trend will be a powerful boost to domestic tourism operators failing to make progress in the economic slump caused due to the pandemic. iii. State any two reasons why artisans are choosing to work via machines rather than handcrafted tools. iv. Why do the artisans need to be ‘lured with incentives’ to impart handicrafts training? v. List one likely impact of the support of government and private sectors towards the culture of making handicrafts. vi. How does the writer justify an artist’s act of abandoning her/his traditional craft for a more lucrative option?
2. Read the following excerpt from a case study titled Impacts of Festivities on Ecology. Festivals are synonymous with celebrat
Similar Searches: cbse class 10th question paper 2021, cbse class 10th question paper 2020, cbse class 10th question paper 2019, cbse class 10th question paper english, cbse class 10th question paper of science, cbse class 10th question paper term 1, cbse class 10th question paper sst, cbse class 10th question paper answer key, cbse class 10th question paper answer sheet, cbse class 10 question papers 2019 all subjects pdf download, cbse class 10 question paper 2020 with answers, cbse class 10 previous year question papers all subjects, cbse class 10 english question paper with answer key, cbse class 10 english question paper with answer key 2021, cbse malayalam class 10 question paper with answers 2021, cbse class 10th question paper 2020 science, cbse class 10th question paper 2020 maths, cbse class 10th question paper 2019 science
Have a question? Please feel free to reach out by leaving a comment below
