An exhibition of handloom, handicrafts and jewellery being held at IMA Hall, near Fort Maidan, in Palakkad town is pulling in crowds, especially as people are warming up for Onam celebrations. The event, titled Grand Rajasthani Exhibition, has 30 stalls offering a wide variety of clothes and curios from different North Indian States, particularly from the eastern regions of Bihar, Odisha and Kolkata.
“We are doing this show-cum-sale in Kerala as there has been a great demand for our dress materials in the wake of COVID-19. After losing two years to COVID-19, we are all going to celebrate Onam in a grand style this time,” said Pramod Singh who organised the exhibition.
The show is scheduled until September 10, and rural artisans from States such as Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir say Keralites are increasingly taking a fancy to their cotton and silk clothes.
Mr. Singh said Ikat dress items from Bihar and Odisha, and Rajasthan handbags made of cloth were much in demand. “A lot of Kerala women are showing interest in Ikat items,” he said.
The exhibition offers various cotton hand-block printed bedsheets, including kekda and kantha work bedsheets. Generally called Jaipur bedsheets, the Rajasthan bed linen is popular in Kerala. “Jaipur cotton bedsheets last long and are comfortable for daily use,” said Komala Valli, a school teacher who visited the stalls on Tuesday.
Saris from West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Kashmir are available in cotton and silk. Linen silk, Kashmir silk and pashmina silk sarees are also on display. Various Kolkata sarees, including dhakai jamdani sarees, are available between ₹350 and ₹2,000.
Bhagalpur saris and kurtis and dupatta in madhubani and warli print are some of the other attractions. A stall dealing in Madhubani painting too is beckoning art lovers.
Though there is one stall exclusively for Kerala kasavu items, the U.P. Khadi stall looks colourful, offering a variety of shirts and kurtas ranging between ₹350 and ₹500 apiece.
The German silver (GS) jewellery, curios made of five metals, and precious and semi-precious stones too are part of the show. “I am doing this show for the first time in Kerala, though others have done it here before. We are hopeful of having good sales in view of Onam,” said Mr. Singh.
