The Hindu : Karnataka News : A taste of art from the northeast in Mangalore

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Thursday, Aug 09, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka

A taste of art from the northeast in Mangalore

Staff Correspondent

MANGALORE: A fortnight-long North-East Crafts Fair organised by North Eastern Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation Limited, under the aegis of the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, got under way here on Wednesday.

The fair will provide new markets for the products manufactured by artisans under the guidance of the corporation and also to diversify the product range. D.C. Borkotoky, Deputy General Manager (Marketing) of the corporation, told presspersons that more than 50 artisans from the seven northeastern States would display their skills at Hotel Woodlands. The artisans are chosen by the Development Commissioner attached to the ministry as per a rota and sent to various places across India as part of such promotional crafts fair, Mr. Borkotoky said.

They are encouraged to interact with the people in the place where such fairs are organised, seek ideas from them and strive to come up with new products and designs for trial and promotion of cane and bamboo crafts, he said.

The artisans who had come to the city as part of the fair last year had sold items and products worth Rs. 21 lakh, he said. “We encourage them to sell the products at cost price, so that they can gain more through better volume in sales,” he said.

An officer from the corporation makes an assessment of the price charged by the artisans and guides them. The corporation has blacklisted artisans who violate pricing norms, he said. Mr. Borkotoky said the Ministry was subsidising the entire expenses incurred by the artisans who participate in such fairs as unreasonable cost for products would keep people away from buying them.

Krishna Palemar, Suratkal MLA, inaugurated the fair.

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