National-award winning weavers from across the country are showcasing their traditional fabrics and handloom textiles at the second edition of the ongoing 'Summer Weaves 2014' exhibition here.
The weavers, in a bid to promote their traditional textiles, are displaying fabrics which are not commonly found in markets.
Tribal weavers from Kotpad town of Odisha Gobardhan Panika and his wife Jema, both National awardees, have been showcasing organic cotton fabrics dyed using natural colours.
Woven from mill, spun yarn from Bastar, Chattisgarh, the couple has made saris, dupattas in their trademark off-white and maroon pallette with traditional motifs.
"I have been into weaving since I was 12 years old. The fabrics are all hand woven and naturally dyed. There are very few people in our area who use natural colours for dying,"says Gobardhan.
Ramananda Basak, another national awardee, has put up his traditional jamdani saris for sale. Jamdanis are one of the finest textiles of West Bengal.
"We are into weaving business since 500 years. The jamdani saris we produce are very different from what you will get in markets. They are designed differently keeping in mind the taste of our buyers," says Basak, who hails from Phulia town of West Bengal.
Similarly, Khatri Ibrahim Isa from Kutch, Gujarat, also a national awardee, has brought Ajrakh-print textiles made out of mulberry silk for sale.
"Ajrakh saris basically have geometric shaped designs. The specialty of Ajrakh fabrics is that both sides can be printed. My father was awarded for one such Ajrakh printed sari," says Akib, Ibrahim's son.
