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Show of creativity
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The Handicrafts and Handloom Textile expo at the Cottage Industries Emporium, showcases the country's rich crafts heritage. Take your pick from a diverse collection, all under one roof.
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CRAFT EXHIBITIONS brought together by the Central Cottage Industries Emporium have a distinct magic, a melding of traditional craft skills and innovative and sensitive design inputs, which define contemporary lifestyle forms. Showcasing the best in the country's traditional and evolving craft heritage and the genius of India's `paramparic' craftsperson, the `Cottage' products celebrate crafts in media as diverse as brass, bronze, stone, copper, textiles, cane, clay, wood, reed, silver and gold, precious metals, glass, grass, etc. And in a range of skills as mind-boggling as sculpture, carving, inlay work, wood carving, cire perdue bronze casting, iron sculpting, `jaali' work, and weaves of wondrous varieties.
Sourced from well-known as well as remote craft pockets of the country, every object showcased at CCIE is an amalgam of superior craftsmanship and skills as well as innovative design brilliance. Impeccably crafted Swamimalai bronzes and icons, the best of wood carving from Tamil Nadu, khurja pottery, block printed textiles, zardosi cushion covers, Rajasthan's wood craft, Kashmiri carpets — the `Cottage' has them all. At a sale of `All India Handicrafts and Handlooms' currently on at its premises, the CCIE presents a galaxy of the country's handicrafts and handlooms in staggering choices.
Among the textiles available are block printed sarees, salwar kurta ensembles and table and bed linen from Jodhpur, Barmer and Madhya Pradesh. Nowhere else in the city is such a profusion of brilliant block prints available in a gamut of colours. Also cotton and silk sarees from Bengal, Kancheeepuram, Indore, Jaipur, Kutch and so on.
The Khurja pottery too defines lifestyle in the most contemporary of shapes and vivid colours. One can get lost in the incredible choice of exquisitely crafted dinner and breakfast sets, tea and coffee sets, an array of brilliantly coloured mugs, vases and table lamps — each a tribute to the Khurja craftsperson's handwork.
Silver and semi precious stone jewellery in tribal and folk formats, again impeccably crafted, form part of CCIE's display. For those who fancy carpets, there is a wealth of carpets from Kashmir, Amritsar and Jodhpur as well as a choice of vibrant dhurries. Also seen at the exhibition are prettily painted wood cuts from Tamil Nadu, lovely terracotta pieces from West Bengal, jewel-like marble inlay artefacts from Agra and brilliantly crafted brass icons from Aligarh. Tribal dhokraware items and painted silk scrolls, coconut shell cutlery and Rajasthani and Gujarati puppets are other popular gift items on sale, reflecting the many-faceted craft culture of India.
The mega `Handicrafts and Handloom Textile Sale' at the Cottage Industries Emporium, sponsored by the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, concludes on January 12. The venue: Temple Towers, 672, Anna Salai, Nandanam.
PUSHPA CHARI
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