If rows of colourful Etikoppaka toys dominate the entrance of the expo, another stall has colourfully crafted handbags. The main attraction remains the stacks of the modest fabric of Khadi welcoming visitors to the Khadi Gramodyog Mela – 2014 organised by Khadi and Village Industries Commission at Vemana Mandiram. 20 participants from different parts of the State have displayed their products.
A fabric that has been a symbol of the Indian Independence movement has gone through a complete makeover in recent times with many acclaimed fashion designers turning to Khadi for giving it a facelift. While the exhibition presents the Khadi fabric at its basic look, it gives a platform for many production units to display the products under one roof. Selling saris, dress materials, bedsheets and blankets in a stall by P. Suresh from Tuni.
“Thanks to a growing awareness for Khadi fabric and its various utility products, the total annual production of our organisation ‘Swaraj Sangh Krishnapuram’ has gone up and the demand has spread to regions like Vizag, Vizianagaram, Yelamanchili and Kakinada,” he says.
Dashes of colours come in the form of Kalamkari fabrics and Khadi pure silk saris that find place in the stalls here. Apart from this, D. Gayatri Devi from Rambilli has set up a stall for papads for different varieties, some handmade ones too. “It has been a year that we set up the small unit with 15 women members. We supply our products to Vizag, Tuni and Narsipatnam,” she says. The exhibition will be on till July 27.