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The art of craft
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There's a wide range of handlooms and handicrafts to choose from at the All India Crafts Bazaar
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THE ANDHRA Pradesh-based voluntary organisation, Kalasrusti that helps artisans with marketing and design, has organised a ten-day All India Crafts Bazaar at the C.P. Art Centre. On show are handlooms and handicrafts from at least nine different States.
The exhibition is a bangle lover's dream come true. Just as you enter, there's a stall selling junk jewellery, from stretchy metal bangles to wooden beads. If you get past that, there's an even larger stall of bangles from Hyderabad, in all shapes, sizes, materials and hues.
Starting from Rs.10 for a set of simple glass bangles, the prices can range up to Rs.500 for a pair of Hyderabadi cultured pearl bangles or even Rs.1,000 for bangles set with American diamonds. There are various designs in glass, lacquer embellished with mirrors and stones, plastic and metal. Other jewellery on display includes necklaces with Hyderabad cut beads, pendants and pearls.
Get past the Hyderabadi stall and there's another lot of bangles from Chennapatna in Karnataka. These are lovely patterned creations made from lightweight wood.
The designs are simple, colourful and cheerful and the prices, even more so — Rs.20 or Rs.30 depending upon the thickness of the bangle. The stall also sells containers, boxes and other odds and ends, made from the same smooth and brightly painted wood.
More bangles from Rajasthan with metal work, mirrorwork and lacquer are available at another stall, which also sells gems, necklaces, snuffboxes and ashtrays.
Then, there are stalls of saris, fabrics, household and decorative items, paintings and furniture, filling the rest of the two halls over which the exhibition is spread. There are loads of fabrics from all over the country — Manglagiri saris and dress material with their distinctive zari borders, Banjara embroidery worked items, Kashmiri dress material, Punjab's phulkari embroidered materials that cost between Rs.300 and Rs.500, Hyderabad handloom saris (priced between Rs.250 and Rs.550), Madurai cotton saris (Rs.200 to Rs.400), Gujarati and Lucknowi dress material and Venkatagiri saris that range from Rs.300 to Rs.2,500.
There are delicately crocheted lace doilies, chairbacks and tablecloths from Narasapur in Andhra. If you're looking to add some elegance to your house, there are wood items and furniture from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh — wooden spoons, agarbathi stands, bookstands and holders, stools, trays, bowls to massage and pedicure aids. Woven and patterned reed tablemats, curtains and mats start from Rs. 200.
Pochampally bed-sheets, cushion covers, bags and dupattas from Nalgonda district in Andhra, printed and woven dhurries from Warrangal, block-printed bed sheets from Jaipur (Rs.80 to Rs. 300), Khurja pottery, brass artefacts, oxidised white metal figurines, decorative terracotta items from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Madhubani paintings from Orissa and Rajasthani gemstone and miniature paintings ranging from Rs.50 to Rs.650 complete the wares on show.
The exhibition is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at C.P. Art Centre, 1, Eldams Road, Alwarpet till October 13.
SHALINI UMACHANDRAN
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