Talk:Martand Singh (textile conservator)

DYK

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by The Squirrel Conspiracy (talk) 07:46, 13 June 2020 (UTC)

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• ... that textile conservator, curator and cultural historian Martand Singh was described as "India's best-known textile revivalist"?
  • ALT1: ... that in the 1980-90s, textile conservator, curator and cultural historian Martand Singh organized Vishwakarma exhibitions that for the first time systematically showcased India's textile heritage and weaving traditions of every state? Source 1 Source 2

Created by FreddyMercurial (talk). Self-nominated at 17:20, 28 May 2020 (UTC).

• Verified that the article is long enough, that there are no plagiarism concerns through the Copyvios tool and spotchecking, and that the hook is sourced in the article. Cunard (talk) 11:51, 31 May 2020 (UTC)

• Hi, I came by to promote this, but the hook is very basic. Instead of calling him the "best", why not say something about what he's actually done? Yoninah (talk) 00:46, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

Hi Yoninah, sure, have changed it to something more specific FreddyMercurial (talk) 04:04, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

• @FreddyMercurial: thank you. Two things: I have restored the original thread so future promoters can follow the discussion. Next time, please post an alt rather than edit the original hook. Second, your new hook is over 200 characters. It needs to be tighter for "hookiness", so readers will want to click on the article. One idea is to remove all the descriptions before his name, like this:
• ALT1a: ... that in the 1980s, Martand Singh organized exhibitions that for the first time systematically showcased the textile heritage and weaving traditions of every state in India? Yoninah (talk) 11:42, 1 June 2020 (UTC)
• I'm not sure if including the word Vishwakarma without a link or translation is a good idea; it detracts from the hook. Yoninah (talk) 11:42, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

Apologies about the thread. That makes sense. Your option sounds good; let's go with that or the one below (prefer keeping one descriptor):

• ALT2: ... that in the 1980s, textile conservator Martand Singh organized exhibitions that for the first time systematically showcased the textile heritage of India? FreddyMercurial (talk) 12:20, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

• @FreddyMercurial: OK, but you have "textile" twice. Would you like to say "weaving" or "dyeing" or other description at the end of the hook? Yoninah (talk) 12:23, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

Good idea! ALT3: ... that in the 1980s, textile conservator Martand Singh organized exhibitions that for the first time systematically showcased the weaving and dyeing traditions of every Indian state? FreddyMercurial (talk) 12:28, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

• Thank you, I think that reads very well. Since I suggested the hook direction, we need another reviewer to approve it. Pinging original reviewer @Cunard:. Yoninah (talk) 12:36, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

• For ALT3, from the source: "Curated as a series of seven Master Weavers' exhibitions that were part of the Festivals of India abroad, Mapu’s greatest legacy — the Vishwakarma initiative, was a revival of sorts for the lost and languishing weaving and dyeing traditions of the country and marked a turning point in the history of Indian textiles."

  "[A] revival of sorts" doesn't have the same meaning as "for the first time". Is there another source that verifies "for the first time"?

  I also don't think "weaving and dyeing traditions of every Indian state" has the same meaning as "weaving and dyeing traditions of the country".

  Cunard (talk) 17:19, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

• Thanks, Cunard. I'd like to suggest this rewording for the article and hook:
• ALT3a: ... that in the 1980s, textile conservator Martand Singh organized a series of exhibitions to rekindle interest in the weaving and dyeing traditions of India? Yoninah (talk) 17:49, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

Hi Cunard, ALT3 can be backed by the original ALT1 Source. That's essentially what the exhibitions were about, the diverse textile heritage of India, as practised in every state. So "weaving and dyeing traditions of the country" does, in effect, boil down to "weaving and dyeing traditions of every state", as each state has artisan communities particular to some village or town in that state. There's no such pan-Indian tradition as such. Singh even produced a register/directory of the different weaving and dyeing patterns that exist across the country. I'm currently trying to find more information and a reliable source to put that into the article. But, for our purposes, I hope that's cleared up things FreddyMercurial (talk) 17:55, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

Yoninah's 3a sounds good too! please take whichever FreddyMercurial (talk) 18:08, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

• @FreddyMercurial: I do think wording like for the first time systematically showcased is too long and doesn't say much. How about:

• ALT3b: ... that in the 1980s, textile conservator Martand Singh organized a series of exhibitions to rekindle interest in the weaving and dyeing traditions of each state in India? Yoninah (talk) 18:12, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

• 3a sounds the best, as flows wonderfully. Let's go with that FreddyMercurial (talk) 03:14, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

• ALT3a is verified. Thank you, Yoninah (talk · contribs) and FreddyMercurial (talk · contribs). Cunard (talk) 09:35, 7 June 2020 (UTC)