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| Visitors select handicrafts and handloom products at Northeast Crafts Fair on Exhibition Ground in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati |
Bhubaneswar, Jan. 31: Craftworks from the Northeastern states are on display at the annual Northeast Crafts Fair on Exhibition Ground.
From home décor articles to furnishings and adornments, artisans from the seven sister states have brought items that are finding a great following among buyers here.
Novel designs in handicrafts created out of bamboo and cane are winning over visitors to the fair while handloom from Assam is another unique offering at the exhibition.
The items include food baskets and trays, flower vases, furniture, wall hangings, hand fans, showpieces made of bamboo, cane and various kinds of grasses.
Among the most striking crafts is the wide range of sculptures made out of carvings on thick bamboo roots. Some of them are carved as expressive faces while others are images of gods and goddesses.
Handbags, purses and clutches made out of cane and bamboo as well as the artistically designed cane footwear are also finding popularity at the fair.
“These crafts are innovatively designed and they are also durable and come at a very reasonable price. The furniture and accessories for home décor can give the house a classy look,” said Monalisa Samal, a visitor.
Over 80 artisans from Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur and also from Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat are selling their traditional crafts at the fair.
Apart from bamboo work of the Northeast states, Assam’s mekhala chadar, their local attire, has caught the eye of Odia women.
Mostly woven in silk and tussar with classic patterns in white, off-white and red, these clothing items have found a new meaning for women in the city.
“Most of our customers here are opting for the mekhala chadar to use it as dupatta. Some are also finding the longer chadar similar to a sari or the thicker tussar ones as kurta cut piece,” said a weaver Bapan Dash from Assam.
Metal crafts and carpets from Uttar Pradesh, jewellery from Gujarat and the Northeast states are some other articles available at the fair.
The fair organised by North Eastern Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation Limited, known as Purbashree, under the ministry of textiles was inaugurated on January 25 and will continue till February 8.
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