💻👣 From Code to Craft:Engineer Quits Tech Job to Revive India’s Lost Arts, Earns ₹50 Lakh in Just 2 Years

🔸 A tale of courage, culture & compassion that’s changing artisan lives—one brushstroke at a time.

👩‍💻 The Engineer Who Chose Purpose Over Paychecks

When most 20-somethings chase corporate careers, 💼 Sushmita Kaneri chose to listen to her heart. A 26-year-old software engineer from Pune, she held a coveted job offer but took an extraordinary leap—to rescue India’s dying art forms and give artisans a reason to dream again.

🧠 “I wanted to build something meaningful using my tech skills—not just profit-driven code,” says Sushmita.

Graduating from VIT Pune, she had all the makings of a conventional tech success story. But her childhood passion for social change and a school crowdfunding initiative that helped an orphanage sowed the seed of what would later become a revolutionary journey.

Sushmita Kaneri was always inclined towards striking a balance between technology and her passion for becoming a social entrepreneur.

🎯 Mission Gullakaari: Empower, Preserve, Inspire

In 2023, she launched Gullakaari — an artisan-first platform that merges ancient craftsmanship with modern relevance. The idea was bold but rooted in compassion:

🎨 Preserve endangered art forms🤝 Empower artisans with sustainable income🌍 Connect Indian crafts to a global audience

🧑‍🎨 The Artisan’s Struggle — and Awakening

📍 Nirmal, Telangana: Veteran artisan Mohammed Abdul Hakeem, 57, loved the intricate wood-based Nirmal paintings, but was unsure of its future. Middlemen underpaid him. His art, though timeless, seemed doomed to fade.

That changed when he met Sushmita.

🖌️ “I never imagined I’d feel this proud of my work again,” says Hakeem, now a featured Gullakaari artisan.

Sushmita travelled across India to learn about all the art forms that are becoming endangered

She adds, “The artisans were disheartened, feeling that their hard work was neither recognised nor fairly valued. When I spoke to one of them and asked whether he would encourage his son to carry on the tradition, he grew visibly angry. He told me he would advise his son to find a regular job instead. That moment was a turning point for me, and I realised we needed to preserve these traditional crafts and empower the artisans to earn a sustainable livelihood.”

Moved by the struggles of the Nirmal artisans and after spending another year travelling across the country to connect with other craftsmen, Sushmita founded ‘Gullakaari’ in April 2023. The platform is designed to connect artisans with customers, co-create art, and raise awareness about endangered art forms while helping artisans sustain their livelihoods. The vision behind Gullakaari is to give traditional art the respect and recognition it deserves.

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The organisation’s mission is to preserve India’s cultural heritage while making these crafts relevant to modern consumers. By offering a marketplace for traditional art forms like Warli, Patachitra, Gond, and Tholu Bommalata, the platform allows artisans to reach a broader audience and benefit from a steady stream of orders.

When ancient art meets AR and QR

When people ask the social entrepreneur where she has used her software engineering skills in her work, she says, “We use tech only where it adds value without altering the soul of the craft. For example, we trained the Tholu Bommalata artisans to create lampshades, incorporating 3D-printed logos for corporate clients. The traditional leather puppetry of Andhra Pradesh was once a vibrant form of storytelling, but now, it has nearly vanished. We have used technology in a way that when it is lit, the lamp beautifully illuminates not only the intricate art but also a 3D-printed logo, blending heritage with modern technology.”

Gullakaari is working to revive 13 endangered arts in India with the help of technology

🔄 From Software to Soulful Enterprise

💡In her early experiments, Sushmita founded Gullak, a donation platform. But she soon realized:

💬 “Donations help, but they don’t create livelihoods. That’s when I pivoted to purpose-driven craft revival.”

She spent months traveling across India, learning directly from artisans—from the storytelling Kavad boxes of Rajasthan to the delicate Tholu Bommalata puppetry of Andhra Pradesh.

🧬 Where Tradition Meets Technology

📱Sushmita didn’t discard her tech roots—she fused them with heritage.

Innovative integrations include:

🔹 AR + Art: Try-before-you-buy with augmented reality—imagine Warli art on your wall or Pashmina on your shoulders.🔹 QR + Kavad: Scan-and-hear storytelling for each panel of Rajasthan’s ancient Kavad boxes.🔹 3D + Lampshades: Tholu artisans now embed corporate logos using 3D printing while preserving hand-drawn tradition.🔹 Vegan Shift: Goat leather replaced with eco-friendly vegan leather + sustainable inks.

🔗 “We don’t change the soul of the art—we enhance it,” she says.

Gullakaari trains artisans to craft functional products using traditional art that can be sold easily

👩‍🌾 Women Rise with Craft

👩🏻 Savita Jadhav, a tribal woman from Raigad, Maharashtra, used to depend on forest produce for survival. Today, she's a trained candle artist under Gullakaari.

🕯️ “Even earning ₹3,000/month brings dignity. Now I can dream—and my children can too.”

🌿 Eco-Friendly, Ethically Driven

♻️ Gullakaari is green at its core—using husk-based packaging instead of plastic and planning to integrate blockchainto authenticate each handicraft’s origin.

🎁 Every product carries a story, every package respects the planet.

Sushmita has helped artisans across India gain a stable income through her platform

📈 The Impact So Far

✅ 1,000+ artisans onboarded✅ 13 endangered art forms revived✅ ₹50+ lakh revenue in 2 years✅ 4,000+ handcrafted products sold✅ 15+ corporate gifting partnerships✅ 100+ women-led micro-businesses trained✅ Artisan-led workshops with training stipends

💼 Product range: Tableware, stationery, lamps, coasters, diaries, totes💸 Prices: ₹25 – ₹2,500

The social entrepreneur conducts skill training workshops for new artisans so they can build a sustainable livelihood

🏆 Arts Being Revived by Gullakaari

🖼️ Paintings & Visual Arts:

• Warli (Maharashtra)

• Gond (MP)

• Kalamkari (AP & Telangana)

• Patachitra (West Bengal & Odisha)

• Miniature (Rajasthan)

• Cheriyal & Nirmal (Telangana)

🎭 Performing & Storytelling:

• Kavad (Rajasthan)

• Tholu Bommalata (AP)

• Naikpod Masks (Telangana)

🧵 Crafted Textiles & Products:

• Chittara (Karnataka)

• Madurkathi (Bengal)

• Hand-sculpted crafts (Bengal)

👨‍👩‍👧 Family, Finally Proud

Sushmita’s parents, once uncertain, are now her biggest cheerleaders.

👨‍👧 “Watching her revive forgotten crafts and bring dignity to artisans—it fills me with pride,” says her father, Rajendra Kaneri.

Sushmita’s parents always supported her through this journey of becoming a social entrepreneur

🧭 Looking Ahead: Building a Legacy

Sushmita dreams of a future where:

🌏 Indian crafts are globally recognised💼 Artisans live dignified, self-sufficient lives📲 Technology empowers, not erases, tradition

🔚 Final Thoughts: Crafting Change with Every Piece

Every Gullakaari product is more than an object—🎨 it’s a piece of heritage,💖 a labor of love,🧑‍🎨 and a beacon of hope.

📝 “We're not just reviving crafts—we’re rewriting futures,” smiles Sushmita.