GUJARAT HANDICRAFTS EXHIBITION (my published article from Trivandrumnews.com)

Trivandrum: The capital city welcomed New Year by hosting a platform for India’s fantastic art mesmerisms. Gujarat Handicrafts and Handloom Exhibition commenced on 4^th January 2014 at Kanakakunnu Jawahar Bala Bhavan. The carnival conducted under the auspices of Gujarat emporium, Ernakulam was inaugurated by the deputy mayor of Trivandrum, G.Happykumar. It is the time to ring out the old and usher in the new fashion trends like hand print materials, ethnic saris, stone and metal ornaments.

There is a vast array of India’s traditional clothes, ornaments, handicrafts and printed dress materials which are still fascinating in European countries. In addition to these, white metal ornaments, garlands of semi precious stones from Jaipur, ear rings and lockets which enhance the beauty of typical Indian lass are the major attraction of this city based show.

The exhibition has an amazing collection of trendy dress materials that incorporate saris of fulkari design work, chicken work,block print, screen print, bathic printed, Bhagalpur tusser silk, Ahmedabad and Bengal cotton saris. Gujarati kurtas, Kashmiri tops, Luck now chicken work kurtis, tie and dye salwar, gagra chowli and Jaipurian chanya chowli are the products mostly sold here. Moreover, the event provides kohlapuri chappals, Rajasthan bedsheets, cushion covers, Orissa paintings,Karnataka’s chanapatna toys, terracotta products from Gorakhpur and Kolkata. The cost of the products ranges from Rs.10 to Rs.10,000.

The show comes to an end on 19^th January. The event is given too much colour by the national award winners with their products. The Government of Gujarat offers a discount of twenty percent for handloom clothes and ten percent for handicraft products. The prime focus of the carnival is to enhance the standard of living of the artists who suffer from financial strains. Moreover the Govt. aims to sell their products directly to the customers with a reasonable rate devoid of mediators. The event is really a feast to the eyes of the spectators.