Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Feb 7: The fourth day of the National Handloom Expo elicited mixed response from visitors.
While some stall-owners expressed happiness at the turnout, others said their sales didn’t live up to their expectations. Stall-owners from states like Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan were a happy lot as their stalls saw a lot of visitors. A Pondicherry stall also saw a lot of activity at the fair.
Some stalls even had their set of regular customers who make it a point to visit the stall whenever the handloom expo comes to the city. “The response from visitors is very encouraging as always. There are some regular customers who have been purchasing my wares whenever I come to this exhibition, for the last six years,” said Siva Kumar of Pondicherry, who sells handmade bed sheets, towels, and pillow-covers. “People mostly like products made of pure cotton and our materials fulfill their requirements,” Siva Kumar added.
Suraj Kumar Panda and Mita Panda who came from Badagada to the exhibition said they were regulars at the Pondicherry stall. “We have been visiting the expo every year to purchase from Siva Kumar’s stall. We love the quality and design of the fabrics. The handmade towels are so soft that they are much better compared to readymade ones,” Mita said.
Rajasthani stall owner Ashok Khatri who has been in the profession for the last 25 years and is a recipient of the President’s Award for popularising Rajasthani handloom, says he is overwhelmed by the response that he gets here. “We have been participating in this exhibition for the past nine years and every time, we’ve received good response from the visitors. People like Rajasthani handlooms and bandani (tie and dye) work is very popular everywhere. Most of the bandani workers are women hailing from remote villages near the Indo-Pakistan border. Our work helps many villagers sustain their livelihood,” said Khatri.
“Our field of expertise basically involves mirror-work, patch work, cut work and bandani on cloths, cushion covers and bags which is attracting lots of female customers. People who know bandani work and its quality love to purchase bandani dress materials and dupattas,” Khatri added.
Abdullah, who specialises in popular Benarasi sarees, said, “People here are big fans of Benarasi sarees and do not mind shelling out big bucks to purchase quality products. We have however chosen to price the sarees reasonably so that everyone can afford them,” Abdullah said, adding they also sell tanchui sarees and jamawar suits which are popular for their striking designs.
Sandeep Kumar from Karnataka is however disappointed with his sales. “We haven’t seen a good response from visitors. Most of them just visit the stall, look at the garments, and leave. Last year, our sales were good, but this year it is an entirely different story,” said Sandeep, who is selling Kanjeevaram sarees at his stall.
B Balaraju from Berhampur is selling Sambalpuri Pattu saree at his stall. “People are mostly visiting the handloom stalls from other states, as exhibitions on Orissa handlooms are a regular affair. This is why our stalls are failing to find many visitors,” Balaraju said.