An exhibition of Indian handlooms and handicrafts is underway in the city with a good collection of materials and dress items from across the country. Organised by the State Handloom, Textiles and Handicrafts department, the fair entitled as the 9th Toshali National Craft Mela was drawing huge footfalls in the last few days. The people of Bhubaneswar are exploring a wide range of exquisite handloom and handicraft items.
The exhibition features a rich collection of traditional items from different States including madhubani paintings from Bihar, brass products of Moradabad, wood furniture of Saharanpur, solapith flowers of West Bengal, patchwork of Madhya Pradesh, bamboo products of Tripura, iron crafts of Chhatisgarh, chikankari of lucknow, Kashmir shawls, Banarasi and Kanjbaram silk saree and many more items.
“I had come from Rajasthan to sell bags with embroidery work. This is my first time in Toshali fair and the response here has been good,” said Musard Ali. He has beautiful cotton and silk bags with different embroidery works within a range of `50 to `450. Muhammad Husain from Kashmir said, “We are very thankful to the people of Odisha who are very nice and humble and keep responding us very well.” He is coming here regularly from first Toshali fair with Kashmiri shawl, saree, kurtas, silk sarees and Pashmina shawls.
The exhibition also presents the inherent culture of our State and skills of the craftsmen. Appliqué, stone carving, wood crafts, pattachitra, dhokra craft, silver filigree, straw crafts in handicraft and Ikat, Tassar, Bomkai, Kotpad and Tribal sarees etc. in handloom are pulling the crowds’ attention.
This exhibition is also unique from others as it not only displays the richness of many States’ ethnicity but also gives the art lovers an opportunity to witness fashion show, live demonstration of handicrafts and handloom practice and special care for disabled persons.
A theme pavilion ‘Magic in Metal’ depicting the Dokra casting tradition of Odisha has been set up where the artisans are explaining the casting process to the visitors. This year, 350 handicraft and handloom stalls have come up at the venue. As many as 200 stalls of handicraft items, 100 stalls for hand-woven items and 30 stalls of food court are arranged in the field.
Many cultural activities like folk dance performances by different groups and musical nights by various artists are also organised during the fair. India’s Raw Star winner Rituraj Mohanty’s performance was the main attraction of the fair. A food court having 30 foods stalls also has been set up to offer delicious multi-cuisine foods to the visitors. The 13-day festival at the Janata Maidan will conclude on December 27.