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It's sure to lure art lovers and others

Staff Reporter

Stalls at Orissa Art and Craft Mela vie for attention Stalls at Orissa Art and Craft Mela vie for attention

ATTRACTIVE: A busy transaction at the exhibition under way in Pudukottai. — Photo: R. Ashok.

PUDUKOTTAI : It will be a mind-boggling exercise to select a stall. Even if you could successfully do it, it will be tougher to choose a particular article.

With a wide range of different stalls each displaying beautiful things, the grand Orissa Art and Craft Mela sponsored by Kasturba Multipurpose Handicraft Cooperative Society, Orissa, has been attracting people of all sections of life.

The dress materials will attract women, girls and college students.

Silk saris with Bomkai and double ikkat from Sambalpur, Bolangir, Sonepur with eye-catching designs and glittering colours attract women of middle and upper-middle age groups.

Also there are attractive saris from Sambalpur, Bomkai and Katki, vegetable-dyed with different varieties made of both cotton and silk. At the other corner, dupattas, ikat dress materials, cushion covers, bed spreads and readymade garments vie for attention.

Intricately carved silver filigree jewellery, palm leaf engravings, wooden and dhokra crafts are for art-lovers.

Handloom fabrics from Sambalpur, Sonepur, Barapali, Maniabandh, Nuapatna, Berhampur and other places testify to harmonious blending of colours and elaborate richness of pattern and designs.

The exhibition also provides ample opportunities for interior decoration of residences and commercial complexes. The appliquéd umbrellas, wall hangings with images of great leaders and eminent personalities, lampshades and door garlands in different sizes, shape and colours are bound to beautify a dwelling place or a business establishment.

The mastery of artisans in making minute carvings in sandstone is reflected in an array of icons, which are on display at another end of the exhibition. The stalls reflect the various cultural lifestyles of Orissa. The appliqué work, for instance, is a distinct craft of this State. It involves cutting the fabric in the form of flowers, birds and animals and stitching them on coloured cloth. The expo, which is under way at the Sri Radha Kalyana Mahal, is open from 10 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. till July 18.

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