A child looks at a handicraft item at Sisir Saras exhibition at the Exhibition Ground in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 2: Rural crafts and food products attracted the citizens in large numbers at the Sisir Saras exhibition organised by Orissa Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS).

The 11-day fair concluded on Sunday and artisans from all over the country appeared happy with the business at the exhibition.

Sisir Saras had brought items galore at the Exhibition Ground of the city, including products needed for day-to-day use and craft items that would add charm to the interiors. Ornaments crafted by artisans as well as footwear, kurtis and a number of accessories for women were very popular while khadi, tussar and other handlooms too saw good sales. The demand was highest for food products such as badi, papad, pickles, country cakes and other eatables.

“The kiosks from across the state that sold different items are not available in the city and prepared in villages by SHGs (Self Help groups). Their sales are high every year and this time too the figures are high,” said G. S. Mishra, executive administrator, ORMAS. “Overall, the sale had reached 4.5 crore in the first 10 days,” he added.

The event saw 600 participants from 328 self-help groups and institutions from 22 states.

There were 283 kiosks among which metal works from Madhya Pradesh, woodcrafts of different kinds from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand, bamboocrafts from North East were some special attractions at the eighth edition of the rural products fair.

“The sale was wonderful and I’m sure I’ll come next year too,” said Manish Kumar from Jharkhand. Similarly, local khadi cloth items such as lungee, handkerfchief, Katia jackets, cotton vests, Jala shawls also had a good following.

“We had thriving sales this year. Most of our products got over by the first week. I think people are looking for good quality handloom and they buy the same even at a high price when they find satisfaction in the quality,” said Dhirendranath Chand, an artisan from the Tarini Loka Vastra production unit from Gopinathpur, Cuttack.

While organisers said the objective of the exhibition is to provide a platform to the rural craftsmen to directly sell the products and interact with urban customers, the buyers felt such fairs help them get various items at one place.

“It’s nice to find items from various places of the country under one roof as we get an option to choose from the wide variety of products,” said Prerna Pati, a homemaker.