Silk show promotes Jharcraft

JAMSHEDPUR: Providing perfect impetus for the silk fabric market in the festive season, beginning with Ganesh Chaturthi, the National Handloom Development Cooperation (NHDC) on Wednesday started its two-week long exhibition-cum-sale of exclusive silk collections from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra along with silk dress materials of host Jharkhand at Tulsi Bhavan in Jamshedpur.
"The popular Kuchai, Kantha and Kosa silk (fabrics of Jharkhand) stalls are prominently put up at the exhibition," said exhibition in-charge, Hari Mohan Sharma. The exhibition is held for the first-time in Jamshedpur and aims to promote the silk fabrics produced in Jharkhand. "The idea, behind providing adequate space to Jharcraft stalls, is to promote the range of silk materials produced in Jharkhand among the locals who are not much aware of the quality of the silk textile produced here," said an exhibition volunteer. All 80 stalls, displaying Pochampali, Paithani, Kanjivaram, Jamdani, Baluchari, Ikkat and other silk materials from the interiors of India, have silk materials at relatively less prices than the markets.
The organizers brought silk saris and materials from all over India such as Chanderi from Madhya Pradesh, Baluchari from Bengal, Bandhej from Odisha and Tussar from Bihar to cash in on Indian women's preference for exotic silks. "The difference in the price of the product available at the exhibition and that of the market is 20 per cent. This is possible because at the exhibition the product is directly available to buyers and it does not have to go through middlemen," said Sharma. Products at the exhibition are best in quality as far as colour, design and the weave is concerned.
According to local silk traders, demand for silk materials increases during the festive season. "Apart from the wedding season, the festive season every year also sees a leap in the demand for silk saris and other silk materials. I feel the NHDC silk exhibition has come at an appropriate time," said Rajesh Agarwal, a Sakchi based retailer .
The steady stream of visitors crowding the exhibition hall on the inaugural day spread cheer. "It is nice to see so many people trickling in. We hope to do good business here," said one of the organizers.