Restoration of Doleshwar Mosque: Reviving Craft and Engaging Craftsmen of Lime- surkhi

The goal of this paper is to present the revival of the long-lost craft of lime-surkhi and demonstrate its use in the restoration of Doleshwar Mosque in Bangladesh. This paper evaluates the current status of the lime-surkhi craft and shows how it is being revived. Doleshwar Mosque, a British colonial mosque that showcases some of the best surviving specimens of lime-surkhi work, is used as a case study. The research here investigates the challenges that the craft and craftsmen encounter and discusses how the restoration effort might serve as a model for a sustainable future for the craft, using key informant interviews and focus group discussions as research methodologies. There are no comparable studies on this topic in the context of Dhaka in Bangladesh. The study offers a three-step process for facilitating the survival of the craft through collaboration and capacity building: identifying the rare craftsmen, giving them the recognition they deserve, and passing on the traditional knowledge by drawing in the next generation. This article has the potential to present the development of new policies pertaining to the revival of crafts, not just for Bangladesh but also for other cities facing similar issues with dwindling crafts and craftsmen.