Rajasthan Grameen Mela, an exhibition-cum-sale of clothes and jewellery, is drawing people to IMA Hall, near Fort Maidan, here.
The three dozen-odd stalls have a wide variety of dress materials from Rajasthan, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal and Kashmir.
The antique jewellery stalls have many unique items. While the semi-precious stones are on display, precious stones are kept securely inside a box. “We have all kinds of jewellery ranging from ₹100 to ₹80,000,” said exhibition curator Dinesh Sharma.
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Displaying necklaces of ruby, jasper, emerald, yellow sapphire and
blue sapphire, Mr. Sharma said the demand for precious stones was on the increase. An emerald necklace cost ₹42,000 and a blue sapphire necklace ₹44,000. Rambo necklace made of ruby, emerald, yellow sapphire and blue sapphire remains the king of jewellery.
Using a lighter, Mr. Sharma testified the bona fide of the pearl
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necklaces on display. “It is not cultured pearls,” he told the
visitors. Beside red corals, malachite stones imported from Africa
and finely cut in India are on display.
Bed sheets, spreads
A wide variety of dress materials, bed sheets and bed spreads are on display in different stalls. Apart from Jaipur razai and Bhagalpur silk and cotton materials, large Rajasthan bedsheets enjoy a special place in the show.
Banaras, Pochampally, Kalamkari, Bhagroo block print, Kashmiri
Pashmina silk, Hubli and Mathura sarees are kept side by side.
Pashmina sarees from Kashmir can outweigh the others in colour and brightness.
There are stalls selling hakoba and hazrat print from Delhi and Lucknow, Khadi kurtis from Meerut, Baluchery saree from Kolkata, Kekda handloom bedsheet from Rajasthan,
Jaipur’s katha work, and Ikkat sarees of Odisha.
“Although these colours look a bit dull, they are so much liked by
south Indians,” said Mr. Sharma pointing to the traditional colours of Rajasthan.
The exhibition is into the second week and pulling crowds. It will
continue until March 7.