Handspun cloth Khadi, which Mahatma Gandhi advocated for wide use, is now going to be an outfit of young masses. Gandhi had launched Khadi movement to make people self-reliant and spread the popularity of indigenous products. Now, weavers are giving innovative touches in the Khadi outfit in order to make them attractive among all classes of people, including the youths.
The Odisha Khadi and Village Industries Board organised its second edition of national level Khadi and Gramodyog fair at the exhibition ground here in the city. Inaugurating the exhibition, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said his Government is committed to do whatever possible to popularise Khadi garments and other products. To increase marketing of the products, their designs should be updated, he suggested.
The exhibition here not only showcases the Khadi clothes, but also displays colourful traditional bags, wooden furniture, Ayurvedic medicinal products, pickle, honey, food items, handicrafts and skincare products, etc. The fair has 124 stalls, among which 24 stalls have been allocated to artisans from West Bengal, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, etc.
An artisan from Haryana Umesh Sharma said, “I have come Odisha for the first time and the grand response I get here is encouraging.” He also said the artisans and vendors selling different products learn from such exhibition how to expand business. According to the demand of young mass, we are trying to give a modern touch to the outfits, he added.
Another artisan from Kolkata, Partho Ghosh, who was showcasing hand-stitched Sarees, dress materials and Kurtas said, “We have a very good sale here this year.”
The stalls have been arranged in three pavilions named as Madhusudan Das Mandap, Nabakrushna Chaudhury Mandap, and Gopabandhu Das Mandap. Bed sheets, Chadar, lungi, shawls, home decor, and teddy bears can be found at one place. Shawls, pure honey and turmeric have a lot of demand, said Bishnupad Sahoo, an artisan from Koraput.
The main objective of organising the exhibition is giving a boost to marketing of the product, said Odisha Khadi and Village Industry Board Secretary Dambarudhar Jena.
Through these exhibitions, the artisans can interact with each other and can exchange their ideas and techniques also. Their products can be upgraded, according to the demands. In JNU and colleges of North India, it’s a fashion among the students to wear Khadi Kurta, but the same is not popular among the students here in Odisha.
We aim at entering the college campuses and make Khadi fashionable for the students, he added. People can see spinning demonstration in the fair
as well.