The Rajiv Youth Foundation, a voluntary organisation based in Malappuram, is holding a craft and handloom bazaar at the Jawahar Bal Bhavan here to mark its 15 anniversary.
The exhibition seeks to create a platform where the craftspeople can interact with consumers directly and determine the price of their products without the middlemen.
“We have conducted many such exhibitions across the State, but it is our maiden show in the capital. We are trying to persuade the Union government to constitute a welfare fund devoted to small-scale handicraft industries in rural areas,” said Sherin Salim, organiser.
More melas
Surya Narayan, who sits behind a counter selling an array of impressive palm-leaf paintings unique to Orissa, says there has been a rise in the number of such melas. “Just over the past year, I have participated in three exhibitions conducted here,” he said, adding that his works are more admired than bought. “It is usually art connoisseurs and foreigners who buy the art work,” he said, rolling out a long sheet that contained brightly painted figures of Lord Krishna.
Jewellery items have had the most takers, according to the organisers.
