This episode explores the intersections of migration, labour, and aspiration within the urban handicraft economy of contemporary India through an ethnographic study of Shilparamam, an artisanal market in Hyderabad. Focusing on biographical narratives of artisans, shopkeepers, and their assistants who have migrated from regions such as Mithila (Bihar), Mednipur (West Bengal), Manikpatna (Odisha), and Agra (Uttar Pradesh), Chandan examines how urban markets mediate relationships between local economies and craft production. It privileges the site of distribution over production to understand how artisans position themselves within the infrastructures and affective landscapes of the city. The analysis unfolds in three parts: first, it introduces the concept of “surrogate migration,” where objects and kinship-based networks substitute for physical mo ...