Gujarat handloom expo begins

A visitor going throught the stalls at the Gujarat handloom exhibition at Maharastra Mandal in Visakhapatnam on Friday. Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam.

A rich variety of handloom fabrics and handicrafts are on display at the Gujarat Emporium's exhibition, which began at Maharashtra Mandal in the city on Thursday.

Traditional ajraku and chuuni from Kutch and salwar suits, jackets, skirts, sarees, bedcovers, cushion covers are some of the items made with block prints.

There are also chakal – generally square pieces of embroidered cloth, handcrafted roof covering and canopy on display.

Appliqué work of Kutch craftsman, embroidery works on wall hangings, superfine tie and dye fabrics, cotton and silk sarees, dupattas, dress materials from Jamnagar and Bhuj Mandi of Kutch district are special attractions. Besides, there are bead work articles from Sourashtra.

Discount

“Though this is an exhibition of Gujarati Emporium unit from Bangalore, there are handloom and handicraft works from as many as 12 states, which include Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and West Bengal, besides Andhra Pradesh.

A 20 per cent discount on handlooms and 10 per cent rebate on handicrafts is offered at our exhibition. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, including holidays, till April 25,” in charge of the exhibition Balan told mediapersons on Friday.

He hoped to do Rs.10 lakhs business during the period.

Manager of the emporium T.V. Sudarsanan said the exhibition was held in the city in November last with success. There are 33 showrooms of Gujarat Emporium in India and in South India there are two in Tamil Nadu – in Chennai and Madurai, and one each in Kerala and Bangalore, he revealed.