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| People at Gandhi Shilp Bazar at Bali yatra in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das |
Cuttack, Nov. 20: Bali yatra has provided the right platform to budding artists to display their creativity before lakhs of visitors coming to the biggest fair of Odisha.
Twenty-seven-year-old Prafulla Mohale is overwhelmed by the response of visitors for his unique metal art painting work. It is for the first time that the artist from Maharashtra has taken part in the Gandhi Shilpa Bazar at Bali yatra.
“My trip to Odisha has been successful as a lot of people here have appreciated my work. I feel my work is unique as it easily catches the attention of others,” said Mohale.
The metal art paintings are similar to the tribal art and crafts of Bastar.
Mohale has been successful in creating magic with the traditional art form by adding new concepts.
The cost of the various metal art paintings in the form of Radha-Krishna and other idols ranges between Rs 300 and Rs 22,000. Around 200 kiosks have come up at Gandhi Shilpa Bazar, which has been organised by Odisha State Cooperative Handicrafts Corporation Limited.
Development commissioner (handicrafts) under the Union textile ministry has sponsored the national-level handicrafts exhibition at Bali yatra. More than 150 handicraft artisans from all over the country are displaying a variety of products including chikan embroidery, brass metal ware, carpets, wooden furniture and traditional toys.
So far, the artisans have done a business of about Rs 30 lakh in the last three days, while the total business is likely to cross Rs 50 lakh by the end of the fair on Sunday.
“Though the brass metal work of Odisha is popular, we had decided to take part in Bali yatra as it offers a direct interaction between the buyer and the seller,” said S. Vardharaju, an artisan from Andhra Pradesh.
According to Raju, as the brass metal works of Andhra Pradesh is more inclined towards religious forms, a lot of people are buying the products including various idols of goddesses for worship.
Apart from the Gandhi Shilpa Bazar, the products of various artisans and other self-help groups at the Pallishree Mela are also in demand at Bali yatra.
One can find a variety of homemade pickles, spices and other ethnic handicrafts at the Pallishree Mela, which has been organised by Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society.
“The total business has already crossed Rs 1 crore in the last two days. We hope that Bali yatra will usher in new hopes among the various self-help groups to come up with more unique products,” said regional officer of the Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society Bipin Rout.