KOCHI: With an aim to sell fashion at an affordable rate, Bengal Weaver’s conglomerate, Rang Mahal, is holding their 11th exhibition of handmade sarees at BTH hotel in Kochi. The exhibition has an exclusive collection of traditional sarees made by 250 weavers.
Sharmishta Das, the coordinator of the exhibition, said that every year they see a large sum of customers coming to purchase the saree. “As it is purely natural and cost-effective, women here love our collections. We have many regular customers,” she said. She noted that, on each day, they exhibit about 2,500 sarees and the price ranges from Rs 800 to 10,000. On each day, 100 new pieces are also exhibited.
According to Sharmishta, Ahimsa silks is a popular material among their collection along with Kalamkari, Dhaka cotton and many others. She said the ivory white saree is also becoming a centre of attraction. “We have a collection of more than 550 different designs and pattern. It is also a daily-use type of saree, hence it attracts the crowd,” she said.
The exhibition is also organised as a pre - Onam show. Though the exhibition majorly concentrates on sarees, they also provide Kalamkari dress materials.
According to the organisers, any profits made from the exhibition go to the welfare of weavers. “Here, weavers directly make the sale to customers and there is no role for middlemen,” she said. “Therefore the exhibition is a platform for the social upliftment of weavers.”
Rangmahal has also conducted exhibitions in other parts of the state including Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kozhikode. The exhibition, which kickstarted in Kochi on July 11, will be on till July 22 and is open to the public from 10 am to 9 pm.