INVC NEWS
Surajkund International Crafts Mela showcases some of the most exquisite handlooms with intricate designs and bewitching colours. Handmade fabrics soaked in flamboyant and effervescent colours made by skilful craftspersons promise to adorn the feminism of every women. Those visiting the Mela cannot resist but buy a few pieces of these saris.
One such distinctive handloom of Andhra Pradesh is the kalamkari saris. At Workhut no. 926, craftsperson M. Vishwanath Reddy is a third generation practitioner of kalamkari—an art of hand painting that has been displayed on cotton and silk saris and dupattas. “Kalamkari is done with a pen brush using natural dyes. Typically, the motifs drawn on saris & wall hangings capture the essence of temple architecture and scenes from great epics.” Reddy has brought a unique collection of saris and wall hangings with scenes from epics Mahabharata and Ramayana painted on them. “A wall hanging in the size of 4X6 feet with all the snapshots of our legendary epic painted on them takes
9 months to be completed and costs Rs 2.5-3.00 lakhs.”
Gadwal saris of Andhra Pradesh at Workhut no. 787 are very famous for their fascinating cotton fabric with heavy silk border and pallu saris. A complicated process is involved in making of these silk/cotton saris, their distinctiveness lies in their hand woven authenticity. Tells craftsperson Putta Venugopall from Telangana at this stall, “The traditional technique of weaving the Gadwal saris involves a special art of interlocking threads, known as Kupadam, therefore, the Gadwal saris are locally known as Kudapam sari. The fabric of the silk borders is composed of tussar or mulberry silk. The cotton saris are often embellished with silk checks. This fabulous mix of silk and cotton makes for the recent trend.”
This stall was a hot favourite among the visitors, as one could see it customers pouring at this stall throughout the day.
The arts & crafts of Chhattisgarh truly represent the dexterity of its artisans. The tribes are known to have their own tradition of cloth weaving. The designs on their clothing reflect the shapes of different animals and birds like peacocks, lions etc. Also motifs of village huts, old temples and tribal art are found on the saris designed by the craftspersons from Chhattisgarh.
At the Workhut no. 172, the Godav shilpa art, which is about body tattoos designs being translated on cotton and chanderi saris, a craftswoman is continuously demonstrating the art of making these saris here. “The hand painting is generally done with natural vegetable dye with a fine brush in colours of red and black,” she adds.
Kosa silk is known for its sturdiness and is preferred to pure silk in the state of Chhattisgarh. This version of Tussar silk is produced exclusively in Chhattisgarh region of India and has been displayed at the Mela. Known for its dull golden brownish look, it is available in shades of pale golden, dark honey, fawn, cream and many more variations at the Mela.
Besides bagging good deals, the visitors are soaking the pleasures of attractive & colourful ambience created in the Mela environs. While the youngsters can’t resist and break into impromptu jig with the folk dancers and can’t resist clicking pictures at the interesting photo booths of put up by Theme State Chhattisgarh.
Loud guffaws break out at Surajkund Mela
The sounds of laughter reverberated at the Chaupal of the ongoing Surajkund International Crafts Mela at Faridabad on Wednesday evening, which was packed to a capacity audience for the Hasya Kavi Sammelan. Led by ace satirist Surender Sharma, a team of poets included Mahender Sharma, Yousuf Bhardwaj, Jagdish Sufi, Hukka Bijnori and Devraj, who took the stage to create many ‘laugh-till-you-drop’ moments.
Their witty, intelligent and satirical wisecracks came with an underlying message and were highly applauded by the audience. The issues these seasoned poets touched upon in their recitations are relevant to the present times, which included topics like food adulteration, national integration, growing stress and breaking of joint families et al.
Drawing competition at Surajkund Mela
A drawing competition for senior students was organised at the Natyashala of Surajkund International Crafts Mela, Faridabad, in which over 100 students took part. The first prize was bagged by Nitin Kumar of Tagore Academy, Ballabgarh. Isheta Kapoor of Apeejay School, Faridabad won second prize while the third spot was shared between Ravi Kishan Kumar of Govt. Boys Sr. Sec. School, NIT-3, Faridabad and Navya Nidhi Bhatia of Apeejay School, Faridabad, Sector 15, Faridabad. The consolation prizes were given to Naaz Bhardwaj of Apeejay School, Sector 15, Faridabad, Pooja Saini of Arya Vidya Mandir, Ballabgarh and Nischay Gautam of Dynasty International Public School, Sector 28, Faridabad.
