How Google Arts & Culture is doing its bit for Indian crafts traditions

A new online repository reminds us about the rich crafts traditions in our backyard, thereby helping artisans too, says Ritwik Sharma

Most of us are aware of the all-round benefits of neem or bamboo, and even buy them in various forms from food to furniture. A lesser known entity, the Ramie crop, may well become a similar household name as its fabled properties are tucked into an online project launched by Google Arts & Culture to promote Indian crafts.

If you flip through the images and stories of the "Crafted in India" exhibits, the detailed information — such as how the grass plant's stalk is used to make fibre (used worldwide to make parachutes) and its leaves consumed as local delicacies