The silk exhibition at Hotel Mayfair Lagoon in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 10: Stunning creations in silk are attracting shoppers in the city as an exhibition of silk products kicked off today at Hotel Mayfair Lagoon in the city.

The exhibition has been organised by Prakrit, the silk handloom brand of Madhya Pradesh Silk Federation, Bhopal.

The silk expo has brought a striking range of handloom collections.

Unique hand-printed material on silk is available at the exhibition in form of saris, shirts, kurtas, stoles and salwar suit sets.

Be it the Ajrakh block print of Gujarat, the bagh print of Jhabua tribal village, the Jaipur dabu prints or the Sanganer block patterns, one is spoilt for choice when it comes to saris.

The colours chosen by the weavers are also stunning and unusual for handloom saris. There is also a collection from the Maheswar handloom weavers’ village, which is also a heritage site in Madhya Pradesh for their weaving legacy.

Famous patterns such as Kalamkari hand-painted designs, kantha embroidery, jamdaani and chanderi silk patterns with zari work are winning over the buyers of the city.

Exclusive designs include Laxmibai saris, award winning jaal saris that take six months to weave, Odisha’s “mor pankha” pattern on Ikkat and Batik stoles on silk.

“We are trying to introduce new possibilities with silk fabrics. Here you would find mulberry soft silk, eerie, matte tussar as well as mercerised silk. Apart from creations of Madhya Pradesh, we have silk handloom from Odisha, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Bengal,” said Rakesh Kumar Srivastav, general manager of the host federation.

Some highlights include crepe silk, georgette silk and chiffon silk from Hoshangabad. Reel fabric both printed as well as plain, furnishings such as bed sheets and cushion covers and tie and dye as well as batik printed party ties for men are also available.

“The range of silk products and designs is amazing. The price is also reasonable and they are offering a minimum of 10 per cent discount which makes it absolutely irresistible for shoppers,” said Namrata, a corporate employee.

The saris are priced between Rs 1,800 and Rs 60,000 while stoles begin at Rs 2,000 and salwar suits at Rs 3,000. The reel material is available in a range from Rs 440 to Rs 590 per metre. Ties are offered at Rs 750 a piece.

“We hosted this exhibition for the first time in Bhubaneswar last year. This is our second visit and with the overwhelming response of last time that earned us Rs 36 lakh business we are hoping that this year we can collect Rs 50 lakhs here,” said Srivastav.