60 weavers, 17 states! Saree treat in Mysuru

Shilpa P | NT

Mysuru: As many as 60 weavers from 17 states across the country have landed in Mysuru with their exquisite Geographical Indication (GI) tag sarees for the 17 day special handloom mela- ‘Samskruthi-2021’ which will begin at JSS Urban Haat here from Saturday.

National and state award winning weavers from weaver societies have come up with traditional and heritage GI tag handloom products. Those include Ilakal Sarees and Molakalmur silk sarees of Karnataka, Kanjivaram silk sarees of Tamil Nadu, Uppada Sarees, Jamdhani sarees , Gadawal sarees and Pochampally Ikhath from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Ikhath sarees, Bomkai sarees and Sambal Puri sarees from Odisha, Maheshwari sarees and Chanderi sarees from Madhya Pradesh, Baluchari sarees from West Bengal, Kotadoria from Rajasthan, Patola silk sarees from Gujarat, Phulkari sarees from Punjab and others. There are also weavers from Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and, Assam according to Rakesh Rai A, Artisans co ordinator.

Development commissioner (handloom), ministry of textiles, Government of India, Cauvery handlooms, Bengaluru, Karnataka state department of handloom, textile and commerce have hosted the expo in association with JSS Urban Haat. M Shivananjaswamy, Project Officer, JSS Mysore Urban Haat said, “The expo is intended to support, weavers, artisans and craftsmen who are in crisis due to Covid 19 and to save traditional art and culture by providing an opportunity to market their products besides making different varieties of traditional handloom products from across the country available to people under one roof,” he said.

JSS Urban Haat at Hebbal industrial area on Ring Road in Mysuru started functioning in 2007 and has permanently built stalls which are designed aesthetically on the sprawling 5.5 acres. It promotes art, craft, heritage and culture by hosting art and craft festivals round the year. The Urban Haat had hosted first handicrafts festival in the country after the first wave of the pandemic, in September last year.