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Everything brings Orissa to mind

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

Stunning collection: Colourful products on dispay in Puducherry.

PUDUCHERRY: If you get Prashanth Kumar Das started on Bomkai, Ikkat and Kandua saris you better be ready for a detailed half-hour explanation of cotton counts, thri-rangi dying, designs, double ikkat and tribal art. This weaver of Kandua silk saris, who has set up stall at the Orissa Art and Craft Fair at SS Thirumana Nilayam on S.V. Patel Salai, demonstrated how Bomkai saris were made with embroidery work and Ikkat saris have threads coloured using the tie-and-dye method.

A stunning Rs. 7,000-worth Kandua silk sari, the pallu of which alone involved 15 days of labour and which has tribal art on the body, has been incorporated with images of a traditional Orissa wedding. A lesser priced version of the sari can be got in silk and cotton mix saris for Rs. 3,500. A design, involving wheels and horses – motifs from the Konark temple – that came out in 2007 in Bomkai saris from Samblapur took two men 30 days to weave.

The counter has silk, tussar silk, cotton and silk-cotton saris in various colours, in prices ranging from Rs. 500 to Rs. 25,000. They also have dupattas from Rs. 300 to Rs. 3,000, salwar and chudidhar materials.

The exhibition, which is being organised by Utkal Hastasilpa, a registered society, is on till December 26. They are offering a discount of 10 per cent on handicrafts and 20 per cent on handlooms.

The exhibition also showcases appliqué work, tribal patchwork, silk paintings and jhoti chita (paintings done on the walls of homes). Gift envelopes for Rs. 25, bookmarks for Rs. 10 and greeting cards for Rs. 15 each are also on display. You can also get wall hangings with wooden animal images for Rs. 50 and Rs. 100 here.

From Agartala, Arun Banerjee has brought bamboo and banana fibre wall hangings with images of Lord Ganesh, Sai Baba and Shakuntala with a deer, in different sizes and shapes. He also has hand-carved bamboo mugs and flower vases. From Gujarat chaniya cholis with chamki work; and bedsheets, cushion covers, silk paintings, meenakari jewellery, lac bangles and rajayees from Rajasthan also find place in the expo.

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