 |
| A tribal girl works on the spinning machine at the display centre during Gramshree Mela in Gopal Maidan. Picture by Srinivas |
Jamshedpur, March 18: From the fiery Kati match to the beautiful designer Kutchai and bamboo products, tribal artists are ruling the roost at the ongoing Gramshree Mela.
Amid an array of rural art and handicraft items from across the country, the 30 stalls set up by self-help groups (SHGs) and non-government organisations (NGOs) from the state’s rural belts have remained the biggest crowd-puller since the mela began on Friday.
“We have tribal artists and groups coming from far-flung areas. Most of them are from different NGOs working with underprivileged women from these areas,” said Sudhir Kumar, an official from Tribal Culture Society, the organisers of this fair.
Ujjwal Kumar Dutta from Pakur has come with some uniquely designed bamboo products made by village women.
From pencil boxes to lamps and bottle stands, every little item at this stall has been made by the women.
Another stall set up by Chhotanagpur Craft Development Society, Ranchi, had some unique bamboo products completely based on popular designs from Assam.
“This is the government’s scheme, under which six talented bamboo artisans from Assam were brought here to provide training to the tribals in making bamboo products,” said Nazrul Islam, one of the trainers from Assam.
But ruling the roost was the stall by the Seraikela-Kharsawan-based NGO, Jharkhand Silk and Textile Handicraft Corporation, which displayed some uniquely-designed sarees and other products of Kutchai silk.
According to the cash registers, the organisers made over Rs 3 lakh on Saturday alone.
Over the weekend, the total amounted to Rs 4 lakh.