Display of talent by rural artisans
T he magical touch of this artisan has the capacity of changing an ordinary light weight wood into a beautiful toy within a few minutes. C S Siddegowda, mastercraftsman (Retd) and state awardee, Regional Design and Technical Development Centre of Channapatna was demonstrating the popular Channapatna dolls at the Craft Bazaar, organised by the JSS Mysore Urban Haat, under the sponsorship of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, New Delhi as part of Gowri-Ganesha festival.
Hundreds of such artisans have gathered under one roof to display their talent in the 10-day crafts bazaar. The attractive Kashmiri shawls as beautiful as the women of the valley beckon the visitors. Speaking to City Herald, Haneef who has opened the out let said that the intricately embroidered shawls called Jama shawls take at least two months to complete.
There are also needle embroidered and machine embroidered shawls to suit one’s wallet. The one stall that is sure to attract women folk is the outlet by Pratima Pandey of Maharashtra who has displayed self designed cotton bags for sarees, blouse, underwear and hanky bags available at a very reasonable price. This is sure to bring down your fiery temperament as it is a common scene at every household searching for a kerchief or socks every day. The patchwork bed city Railway Station - buzzing with activity right from the early spreads attractively hand embroidered by the craftsmen from Gujarat displayed by Maniben, attractive Jaipur wooden artifact, murals, Dharwad sarees, soft cushioned sandals, showcase items made out of buffalo horns and many more are displayed at the bazaar. The main objective of the project is to provide marketing facilities to rural artisans and craft persons without the intervention of middlemen. This Craft Bazaar will provide a basic infrastructure to rural and urban artisans to promote and market the arts and handicrafts of India.There are around 150 stalls in the premises for the art lovers to shop and encourage these rural artisans. Apart from this there will be cultural programmes during the weekend at the open air theatre and as part of this a Bharathanatyam competition will be held on September 5. For application and details contact 2548323 or 9686677232. The expo is open from 10 am to 9 pm on all days.
