Artisans who converged from across the country at the All India Craft Bazaar being organised at the Srikakulam District Forest Office are a happy lot as they are doing brisk sales.
The artisans have come from several States, such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and other places. After having suffered a lot of losses in the past two years due to the impact of COVID-19, the artisans heaved a sigh of relief after their products began seeing high demand ahead of the Sankranti festival.
The Craft Bazaar exhibition, which began on December 23, 2021, would continue till January 31, according to Visakhapatnam Artisans Development Society president Mohammed Nasim and general secretary Mohammed Saleem. The artisans displayed saris, dress material, shawls, carpets, soft covers, fancy items, and wood carving material at the exhibition.
Isetekhar Ahmad, an artisan who has come from Uttar Pradesh to sell khadi shirts, said that his sales had doubled this year compared to previous exhibitions. Mohammed Noushad, a trader from Delhi, said that there was a huge demand for his door curtains. “Normally exhibitions are held in cities. People living in rural and semi-urban areas rarely get an opportunity to visit exhibitions. With the availability of cash after the current harvesting season, many farmers are buying goods in the exhibition,” he said.
A carpet seller from Uttar Pradesh, Shahzad Ahmed, said that 50% of his stock was already sold in the last 10 days. Jallu Tirupati Rao, an advocate who visited the Craft Bazaar, said that such exhibitions provide a wide range of products at affordable costs as the artisans were selling their products directly to customers instead of depending on middlemen and wholesale and retail dealers. “Paints, pearls, toys, and stone photos are available at affordable rates at this exhibition,” he said.
