combined by craft

After three years, Dastkar Bazaar is back with over 100 craft entrepreneurs from 16 Indian states.

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 10/01/2023: For Metro Plus: Artisan Exhibition on Tuesday, Afghanistan Carpet Stall at Co-Optex Ground, Egmore. Photo Raagu r / The Hindu | Photo Credit: Raghu R

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 10/01/2023: For Metro Plus: Kashmir embroidery work at Artisan Exhibition, Co-Optex Ground, Egmore on Tuesday. Photo Raagu r / The Hindu | Photo Credit: Raghu R

Discussing how this edition is especially important for craftsmen, Shaili Jain, head of programs at Dastkar, explains how many of them struggled to find clients and work during the pandemic.

The fair has 105 stalls and a wide range of textiles from West Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Pashmina shawls have come from Kashmir for the first time this year. Nai Kiran, a Jammu-based collective headed by Zahida Amin, which employs over 100 women, makes dupattas, dress materials, sarees and pashmina shawls. At the stall, Imtaz Ahmed Khan says that he uses only handwoven clothes from different states, on which women do embroidery.

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 10/01/2023: For Metro Plus: Thangkha Paintings of Himachal Pradesh at Artisan Exhibition, Co-Optex Ground, Egmore on Tuesday. Photo Raagu r / The Hindu | Photo Credit: Raghu R

Miri founder Minnie DiSoria holds up her handbags, which are made from faux leather, and are therefore vegan and cruelty-free “Lucknow Mukesh embroidery, aari work, zardozi and tribal embroideries are used on these bags to make them look unique says Minnie.

Stalls selling DIY traditional art kits have educational kits (₹330) that teach children about the course of India’s five major rivers namely the Brahmaputra, Ganga, Yamuna, Kaveri and Godavari. There is also a doll making kit with materials to make dolls representing Kerala, Punjab, Bengal and Gujarat.

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 10/01/2023: For Metro Plus: Display of pottery from UP at Artisan Exhibition, Co-Optex Ground, Egmore on Tuesday. Photo Raagu r / The Hindu | Photo Credit: Raghu R

Thangka painting artist Tenzin Lama patiently explains how over 22 artists from Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh have created the works displayed at his stall. Thangka is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene or mandala. Similarly Pichhwai artist Mukul Joshi, who belongs to the seventh generation of artists in his family, proudly tells how his art is centuries old. Besides them, Gond artist Garib Singh Tekam keeps huge cheery canvases covered in intricate paintings inspired by the forests around his house.

Jaipur based artists Mukesh Kumar and Rakesh Kumar Soni are Meenakari experts. What makes Narsinghdas Maheshchand Meenkar & Sons unique is its intricate design work which is a curious overlap of traditional and modern designs. On display are earrings, cufflinks, necklaces, bangles, chokers and shirt buttons that are ornate, delicate and weightless. Mukesh explains, “Meena comes in the form of glass, we reduce it to powder, wash it and apply it to the metal which is then melted at 800 degrees. This process is repeated 5 times. “The artist believes in a mix of traditional elements Kundan / Jarav Jewelery with modern designs that are lighter and more ‘contemporary’.

Meenakari | photo credit: special arrangement

Anand, a Noida-based brand known for its shibori work on natural dyed fabrics, is here and founder Anup Roy is happy to meet its old customers. “Ananda was launched in 2008 with a mission to work with unskilled women in villages near Noida and help them acquire skills and sustain themselves. During the pandemic, we trained 20 young women from Sarfad village near Noida in shibori art, natural dyeing and even tailoring. Our aim is to make them not only artistes but also entrepreneurs, says Anoop, these women will carry forward my legacy. The fabric used is a blend of cupro cotton and modal silk, making it shiny, lightweight and ideal for Indian weather conditions.

Check out Mumbai’s Lalit Choyal, who plays an interesting little instrument called the Zenzula. The body of the instrument is made of sardine cans, the strings which resonate in the cavity of a wooden grafted can, high carbon spring steel strings. Each yantra is beautifully decorated. Lalit, a spokesperson for the Zenzula team, explains, “The instrument is inspired by the African instrument Nyanga Nyunga. Most instruments require an understanding of scales, chromatics, harmonics and notes but here if you strum a single note it sounds sweet. ,

Zenzula | Photo Credit: Team Zenjula

“Since most people are overwhelmed by the idea of ​​learning a musical instrument, Zenjula is one that can be played without any prior knowledge or training,” Lalit said. Each instrument is made in Bombay by a small team of craftsmen, some of whom are illiterate.

For the first time, Dastkar has merchants from Afghanistan. Mohammad Ahmed’s stall of Oriental Carpets and Afghan Handicrafts comes alive with sheep wool rugs from Afghanistan. Hailing from a family of carpet weavers, a Kabul man stands on a 150-year-old decorative sheep’s wool carpet and explains how each carpet continues to live through the weave and the value of each as it ages grows.

“I’m from Afghanistan, but my base is in Delhi,” says Ahmad Nabeel Nabeel, a dry fruit seller. His stall sells almonds, walnuts, dried mangoes and kiwi, figs, cherries, blueberries, pistachios, strawberries, almonds, Many other items are on display, including oil, walnut oil, homemade baklava, dates and saffron.

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 10/01/2023: For Metro Plus: Dastkar Exhibition, Afghani Dry Fruit Stall at Co-Optex Ground, Egmore on Tuesday. Photo Raagu r / The Hindu | Photo Credit: Raghu R

From 13 to 15 January, there will be a presentation of Rauf dance of Kashmir from 11 am to 7 pm. Various craft workshops and demonstrations by artists have been planned at the venue on 14th and 15th January. A darbar offering a variety of regional fare, from freshly fried jalebis to instant plates of chaat.

@Dastkar Bazaar is on 15th January from 11am to 8pm at Co-optex Exhibition Ground, Egmore. entrance fees , 30. For details, call 9910802970.