JOIN USCraftsmanship on view
The fourteen-year-old organisation Sampoorn grew from a self-help women's entrepreneur group to a country wide organisation supporting and encouraging all kinds of crafts and artisans. Now exhibiting over 130 stalls and representing 23 States, they have an amazing variety of goods on display perfect for picking up unusual gifts or enhancing your wardrobe or home interiors. There is something for everyone at this exhibition at the Chitrakala Parishat which consists of a vibrant mix of products created out of street waste to high end silk weaves and stylish contemporary goods.
“We help craftsmen and artisans get in touch directly with the consumer. This way they support their trade by getting much better prices, and crafts that are in danger of dying out get a new lease of life,” say Shalini and Kailash Sudarshan of Sampoorn, who work tirelessly to promote these craftsmen from all over the country, many of who are national and state award winners in their respective fields.
What's on offer at the exhibition?
Unique cotton and silk weaves from different parts of the country, ranging from the exquisite Devbhumi Oak Forest silk transformed into lovely light stoles and shawls in rich jewel tones to the gorgeous Benares silks that defy description. Sarees, dress materials, readymade garments, from kurtis to mix and match pieces, hand bags, jewellery, brightly coloured pottery, earthen ware, unusual weaves from the mystic North Eastern tribesmen, finely embroidered garments from Gujarat and Rajasthan either in snowy whites or bright splashes of colour. Brass ware gleaming in very contemporary designs, murals from Kerala, hollowed out gourds in funky shapes, beautiful wood carvings in small panels or huge life sized ones that work well as planters or vases, beautiful wood carvings in small panels or huge life sized ones, bangles and brightly coloured jewellery in all shapes and sizes from tiny dancers dangling on a wire to chunky tribal work.
For your table there are a range of ready to cook mixes and powders to digestive choorans and well seasoned pickle from different States, their aroma wafting tantalisingly into the air.
The fair is on till June 28 at Chitrakala Parishat.