All India Handicrafts Expo during ADB Meet

Hyderabad, May 2 (UNI) Coinciding with the ADB Annual Meet taking place here, 'Handmade India', an All India Handicrafts Expo has been organised by the Textile Ministry's Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts).

The handicrafts fair would be open to ADB delegates from tomorrow to May 6 2006 and thereafter would continue to be open for the public from May 7 to May 9, a release said.

The fair would have 150 craftsmen, including Shilpa Gurus and Master Craftsmen, a majority of them award winners, exhibiting wares in 100 stalls. The stalls have been interestingly designed using a rural theme. Craftspeople would also give live demonstrations of their skills.

Prominent crafts on exhibit and for sale would include wood carvings, textiles and diverse embroidery traditions, metal ware, terracotta from Bengal and Tamil Nadu, metal sasting, grass, reeds, cane and bamboo from the North East, jewellery, traditional painting, wood inlay, tribal handicrafts, leatherware, carpets, dokra from Chattisgarh and Orissa, castings, including famous Tanjore bronzes, costume jewellery, lacquerware, stone carvings and various others.

'Lepakshi' would display a range of craft specific to AP.

Ajay Kumar, Additional Development Commissioner of Handicrafts, said 'delegates to the ADB meet taking place at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) would be able to conveniently view the diverse handicrafts from across the country, under one roof.

This is also an opportunity to showcase craft traditions reflecting the cultural heritage of the country to a diverse audience from various parts of the world'.

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