Weaves: Exhibition of handlooms in Kochi

KOCHI: ‘Weaves’, an exhibition-cum-sale of ethnic handloom from across the country, began in Kochi. The event is being organised in 20 cities across the country. The exhibition will showcase cloth materials, home furnishing, ready-made items and designer wear in Indian handloom. There will be handloom from almost every state in the country. Kalamkari, gadwal, uppada, dharmavaram, pochampally, venkatgiri and mangalagiri from Andhra Pradesh, tussars of Bihar, kosa of Chhattisgarh, bandhani, kutch embroidery and patolas of Gujarat, kashida embroidered sarees, shawls and dresses of Jammu and Kashmir, and Mysore silks. Apart from this, there are ethnic textiles from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.In the last five years the exhibition was conducted in various cities in the country, including Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Guntur, Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Kottayam, Chennai, Mangalore, Mysore, Coimbatore and Bangalore. Owing to stiff competition from the power looms and imports from other countries, weavers today are undergoing difficult times.It is with an objective to promote these weavers and create new markets for them that the event is being organised. The exhibition at the  Mini Convention Hall,  Hotel Gokulam Park,  Kaloor, will end on August 29.