The sixty-four traditional arts and crafts, also known as the 64 Kala, form an essential part of India’s impressive and rich cultural heritage. Together, they form the cultural identity of the nation but also its foundational economic backbone. These arts and crafts have formed the livelihoods of millions of people across many generations for thousands of years in India. However, these crafts and arts were systematically discouraged, destroyed (especially Metallurgy), and demeaned during British colonial rule, as they were against the economic interests of the British colonizers. This eventually led to their near annihilation for many of the 64 kalas.