Artefacts representing the cultures of seven States of India are put on display at the ‘Handicrafts Exhibition 2020’, that began at Shilparamam (Urban Haat) here on Sunday.
Rosewood products from Karnataka are a hit among the visitors, followed by the Chennapatna wooden toys, also a proud symbol of workmanship from the same State. Then there are the terracota earthen products, brought by a team of artisans from Puducherry.
The inimitable weaves from the town of Pochampally represent Telangana, while stalls of beautiful embroidery works and artificial jewellery represent Delhi.
Andhra Pradesh, the hosting State, has stalls of Kalamkari sarees from Pedana, Narsapur crochet lace work and Venkatagiri sarees.
The expo, conducted jointly by the Union Ministry of Textiles and the State Department of Tourism & Culture under the banner of Andhra Pradesh Shilparamam Arts, Crafts and Cultural Society, is visited by as many as 50 artisans from across the country.
In fact, this is the lone event sanctioned by the Central government for the Tirupati Shilparamam for the current financial year. The event was formally launched by P.G. Neetha, in-charge Assistant Director (Handicrafts), Union Ministry of Textiles, in the presence of B. Jayaraj, Chief Executive Officer of A.P. Shilparamam.
Mr. Jayaraj, underscoring the importance of such events, said: “These expos provide the right platform for the artisans to reach out to the art-loving citizens and a direct access to the customer at a reasonable price. Our intention is to save our age-old cultural heritage and pass on the traditional knowledge to future generations.”
The society has eight Shilparamam parks in Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Kadapa, Pulivendula, Anantapur, Puttaparthi, Vizianagaram and Kakinada, while new parks are proposed at Guntur (under construction), Srikakulam, Kurnool, West Godavari, Krishna, Prakasam, Nellore, Vempalli and Idupulapaya (both in Kadapa).
The ten-day expo ends on January 28.
Published - January 19, 2020 08:45 pm IST
