The shopaholics of the city are enjoying summer shopping at Karigari craft bazaar organised at Gandhi Bhawan. Being organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Dastakar Samiti, the craft mela began here on  May 16 and is evoking a good response.

The mela is adorned with sparkling and fizzy shades of different regions as it is all about handloom and handicraft materials and it sports a huge collection of cotton suits, lucknow suits, handloom silk sarees and dress materials. Further, it showcases a collection of dress materials from Punjab, Jaipur, Rajasthan and Banaras.

There would be a major collection from Madhya Pradesh such as a variety of Chanderi dress material, sarees, dabu print, terracotta, bagh print and jute and leather items like purses and hand bags.The craft mela is not only about the dress materials but, it also displays cotton bed sheets, interior accessories, curtains and cushions of different materials and ranges.

While talking to ‘The Pioneer’, the organiser of the mela,  Iqbal Singh, said, “Akhil Bhartiya Dastakar Samiti works for craft vendors. We often take them on tours in a group so that they can earn the profit directly by selling their material in any handloom fair in India or overseas.”

He said that they also send these vendors overseas. He also said, “We organise such fairs just to provide a platform to the Self Help Groups (SHGs) working in different parts of the country, plus for the people to enjoy shopping from various States,” he added.

As many as 50 artisans have participated in the mela and have brought special items of their region. Elaborating further he said, “Majorly there is no middleman involvement and earning in this process and the artists receive the full amount of their hard work and of course the beautiful karigari.A range of different motifs on various dress materials are the major point of attraction this time. The mela would continue till May 25.