Ninety groups are participating in the Santhe Martin Louis
CHENNAI : Traditional handicrafts and art dominate the 11th edition of Sampoorn Santhe at the Kalakshetra Foundation. Started on February 15, the 10-day one-stop bazaar is all about designs by craftsmen from Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kashmir, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.“We have been in the market for 20 years and we specialise in block print. In exhibitions like these, people get educated on different kinds of fabric and designs and later come to us to purchase garments. We have a great sale in summer,” said Tarun Chopra, owner of Lajja, a Gujarat-based brand. 
Ninety craft groups are participating in the Santhe including seven NGOs and five self-help groups. A puppet show is held every day.Even for a casual visitor, Santhe promises to be an exhilarating experience. Shweta Shriram who attended the fair with her husband said, “The Santhe is a veritable treasure house of indigenous techniques, designs, blending the traditional with the modern while offering the public a mind-boggling range of products including textiles, soft furnishings, accessories, toys, leather goods, pottery and paintings.”
Among other interesting stalls were Chaya Nisarga, a Bengaluru-based traditional board game brand. “Our objective is ‘play together stay together’ in this digital world. Some of our games include Pogadae, the ancestral ludo, stone tic tac toe and the ancient Indian puzzle, Brahmagopuram,” said Ravi Shankar Shinde, owner of the brand.
Sampoorn Santhe is the brainchild of Sampoorn, a Bengaluru-based NGO, working for the promotion and development of crafts and the welfare of craft persons. (Sampoorn Santhe will be held till February 24,11 am to 7.30 pm. Entry and parking are free)
What to
expect
At the Santhe, craft lovers are treated to a variety of handwoven Tussar, Akola, Chanderi, Jamdani, Ikat, south cotton, Khadi, Kutchi, Rajasthani Pattus, Kalamkari, Akolo, Ajrak and Kanchivaram prints along with mirrored hand embroidery, block prints, woollen shawls, natural fibre products and folk art.
