A visitor takes a look at Santiniketan bags at the leather fair. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, Nov. 27: Forget Gucci, Prada or Mulberry, fashionable handbags are now here from Santiniketan.

The traditional leather bag from Bengal, adorned with motifs of mythological figures, forests, flowers and themes like Sakuntala playing with a deer, have become the most popular choice of youngsters at the ongoing leather fair at Jaipal Singh Stadium.

Available at affordable rates, excellent quality of leather has been used in the bags, which come with a light orange background. From coin bags to purses, a whole lot of fashionable shopping bags are on display at the three stalls in the fair. Young girls were seen picking up the bags, which cost as low as Rs 20 a piece. The high-end products are not exorbitant either, with prices hovering around Rs 350.

Indrajeet Saha, who sells such bags, said they had come here for the third consecutive year. “In the fair we find that our Santiniketan bags run out of stock faster and we have to bring fresh stock. Our buyers mostly include college students. Housewives, too, buy these bags for shopping vegetables and grocery items,” said Saha.

He added that the designs, known as “Santiniketan prints”, are originally made at Bolpur and its adjoining villages.

“These bags have become quite a popular item in foreign countries too. It is exported to the US, Thailand, England and Scandinavian countries,” Saha said.

“We are committed towards achieving greater heights by fulfilling customers’ requirements and expectations in terms of quality of work through continuous innovations. Every time we bring new designs and huge collections to cater to the needs of the city populace.”

Reeti Singh, a student of St Xavier’s College, who was purchasing such a bag, said the main attraction of the bag lies in the fact that traditional themes portray the rich cultural heritage of our country.

“Although lots of other bags are also available, the beauty of Santiniketan bags are that they are not only fashionable, but are also quite big and affordable,” she added.

Indian Leather Technology Association joint secretary Jeevan Dasgupta said the bag was introduced from Santiniketan. “There are small artisans at Bolpur who designed these bags at Amaar Kutir, a village 6 km from Santiniketan. There are more than 100 units for designing these bags in Bengal and it has found a huge market in other states too,” he added.

Rupesh Kumar, the owner of another stall, who was seen convincing a lady customer, said people were enquiring about these traditional bags last year also. “We had not realised the fact that here also people are aware of the Santiniketan bags. This time we have brought additional pieces to cater to the needs of the people,” added Kumar.