BHOPAL (Madhya Pradesh): A huge crowd was seen at the stalls of J&K and Himachal Pradesh at Bhopal Haat on Tuesday. The stalls have been set up as part of the ongoing National Handloom Expo.
A wide variety of woollens including shawls, coats, sweaters, jackets, caps, socks, phirans, poncho, stoles, and mufflers for women, men and children are on display at the stalls.
The 15-day expo is being organised jointly by the Sant Ravidas Madhya Pradesh Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation and Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.
69-years-old Abdul Rashid from Mir Kashmir Emporium has displayed Kashmiri woolens like long jackets and kurtis and pure pashmina shawls in aari, kani and zari work for females.
'We have been displaying our handloom works in the expo for 40 years. Now, we got the chance after the gap of two years due to Covid-19. It affected our business by 40%,' he said.
Rashid further says that he has fetched huge varieties of Pashmina woollens including shawls, stoles and suits ranging from Rs 8000 to 1 lakh. 'Pashmina is the name of a sheep found in Ladakh. We fetch the wool of the sheep from there and make woollens in Kashmir,' he says. Besides, Kashmiri phirans, poncho, coats, Russian caps are also on display under J&K stalls.
A huge variety of woollens like shawls, coats, sweaters, reversible jackets, Kully caps, socks, stoles, mufflers for women, men and children are also on display at Himachal Pradesh stalls, attracting visitors a lot. These woollens are made from yak, lamb,sheep, rabbit, Angoora and pashmina.
'The weather is very suitable for woollens. So people are buying all kinds of woollens especially shawls, jackets, coats and Kullu caps,' says an artisan who is manning a stall from Himachal Pradesh.
Around 100 from 29 states across the country have showcased their traditional handloom items under the expo. Padma Shri author Kapil Tiwari inaugurated the expo on Sunday evening. Managing Director of the Sant Ravidas Corporation, Anubha Shrivastava was present. The expo will be open from 2 pm to 9 pm on weekdays and from 12 noon to 9 pm on weekends and holidays till January 9.
