The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Showcasing handlooms from across the country

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Wednesday, Mar 28, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Showcasing handlooms from across the country

Swahilya

Exhibition features 90 participants, 101 stalls

EXCLUSIVE RANGE: Visitors at one of the stalls in the National Handloom Exhibition Expo 2007 in Chennai on Tuesday. — Photo: R. Shivaji Rao

Chennai: It is a splash of colours at the National Handloom Expo 2007, currently on at the Co-optex Grounds in Pantheon Road, Egmore.

A range of hand-woven textiles and cloth-based utility items are on display at the exhibition, which began on March 15.

Though originally scheduled to conclude on March 31, it has been extended by two more days — up to April 2.

The exhibition features 90 participants from across the country and has 101 stalls. Textile clothing and other items from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Puducherry, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir and North Eastern States are on display.

The expo has a wide array of exclusive hand-embroidered fabrics and readymade clothes. Srinagar stall `Paradise Handloom' has a Rs.85,000 Pashmina shawl of Ladakh on display. "This took 80-year-old weaver Khaja Abdul Rahman two years to make," said the stall manager.

Vying for the attention of visitors are the bedspreads in pastel shades from Puducherry, wool carpets from Bikaner and Jaipur, Kantha work from Shantiniketan, Gujarati cloth handicrafts at Gurjari, silk letter bags at the Azad Handloom Silk Weavers Co-operative Society, Varanasi.

With a massive turnout in 2004, when the exhibition was conducted last, sales touched Rs.1.96 crore.

This time, a business of Rs.3 crore is expected.

However, its timing coincides with the examination season, and hence many participants believe that this could be a reason for the poor turnout so far.

Co-optex special officer and managing director M.P. Nirmala said cultural shows were being organised to draw crowds. A fashion show for children and men is scheduled for Friday and Saturday. The highlight of the exhibition is the competitive price tags. "A printed silk saree that costs Rs.900 elsewhere is around Rs.750 here," she said.

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