Gwalior Smart City is connecting local crafts and crafts of Gwalior to the mainstream to make them self-sufficient.

Gwalior Smart City CEO Jayati Singh said that local sculptor and craftsmen are being included in the ‘Waste to Art’ project by Smart City. So that the ancient Gwalior antiquities can be revived and the craftsmen who make them get employment. She told that under the Waste to Art scheme of Gwalior Smart City, 20 sculptures from waste and metal scraps will be prepared from the sculptors at various public places in the city. The total cost of this project is 98 lakh rupees. Singh told that now inclusion of local art and craftsmen in this scheme will give an identity to this Gwalior’s sculpture in the country and abroad.

In the first phase of this scheme, 4 sculptures, in which the statue of Gandhi, the spinning wheel of Gandhi, the sculptures of Sarod and Sonchiriya are ready, out of which Sonchiriya and Gandhi’s spinning wheel have been installed and and the work of installing others is also on pace.

It is worth mentioning that the murals had an identity in Gwalior. During the time of Diwali-Dussehra, there used to be a large number of toy shops in Jiwaji Chowk, also known as Maharaj Bada. Those toys embellished with clay concrete and watercolors have mostly ceased to be made. The antique crafts made here include the ritualistically significant Mahalakshmi elephant, Hardaul’s Horse, Gangaur, wedding kalash, Tesu, painted matki to be given to bride at the time of marriage. Now, with this effort of Smart City, a new hope has arisen in the community making it, they believe that by advancing this art and making the market available by Smart City, this art will give a new dimension and help them to become self-reliant.