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Hyderabad : Swayambhar Nari’s Seven-day Exhibition of Handicrafts from Shantiniketan from West Bengal kicked off here today at YWCA in Secunderabad.
Nayantara Nandakumar, founder of Our Sacred Space—a Cultural and Environmental Center in Secunderabad inaugurated the exhibition. It will remain open to public till August 24 from 10am to 8pm daily. Swayambhar NARI activities are supported by Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Union Ministry of Textiles, National Jute Board; Khadi; National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Wadi Project of NABARD, National Institute of Design (NID) and National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) for skill up gradation and product diversification in handicrafts.
The highlights of the exhibition include Khesh Sarees, made of using a unique technique of weaving old sarees; a 500 years old Kantha sarees made of needlework reusing old clothes and material and turning them into something new and Designer Grass Mats made of Golden Grass costing Rs 6000. The other highlihghts includes Handmade Jute and Stone Jewellery.
Kantha is a popular style of embroidery that comes from West Bengal, is a significant symbol that displays the skill and talent of the rural women in Bengal. It is perhaps the oldest forms of Indian embroidery as it can be traced back to the first and second A.D. The thought behind this needlework was to reuse old clothes and materials and turn them into something new. This is what makes Kantha embroidery only one of its kind. Kantha work is approximately 500 years old.
The focus of the exhibition is to improve the socio-economic status of socially handicapped communities. Besides promoting the handicrafts and handlooms, the exhibition lays special stress to shun plastics and use Jute and other eco-friendly products.
