The Minister of State for Rural Industries, P Mohan opened a ‘Craft Museum’ at the Poompuhar Showroom in Chennai on Wednesday. The Minister also inaugurated a ‘Kolu Toy Fair’ at the Poompuhar Complex in the presence of Chairperson and Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation Limited Sheela Rani Chunkath and Principal Secretary to Government of Tamilnadu, Hand-looms, Handicrafts, Textiles and Khadi Department Harmandar Singh.
The exhibition, which has been organised in view of the upcoming Navarathri season, features a motley of kolu toys and craft items that reflect the cultural significance of the festival in various parts of the country.
The minister lauded the organisers for the display, which also included craft works in various mediums such as clay, paper mache, ceramic, terracotta, marble dust, kolkatta clay, radium, wood and cloth.
The craft work presented at the exhibition has been collected from various parts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kolkatta, Rajasthan, Delhi, Pune and Pondicherry.
A highlight of the exhibition, according to the organisers, is the collection of wooden toys from Kondapalli, Chennapatna and Ettikuppa areas of Andhra Pradesh.
In view of the Navarathri festival, the toys and crafts displayed at the showroom will be available for sale to the public till October 14 with a 10% discount.
During the event, the minister and the organisers urged the general public to participate in the exhibition and contribute to the development of the artisan community and the craft industry.