Crafts Bazaar 2022, Pune

 

We had just returned from Guwahati on November 6th and I was to leave for Nagpur on the 8th. The one free day in between was a bonus and proved a blessing.

One of the biggest advantages of being in India in November is to be able to visit the Dastkar Haat Samiti’s crafts bazaar in Pune. I visited this for the first time last year and was very impressed with the extensive craft items that were available from embroidered goods, cane and bamboo items, pottery, bedding linens, kitchenwares etc. The highlight for me were sarees from all over India. Some of the best weavers, printers, and revivalists were on site with their best goods. 

My initial plan was to come on my own. But when I casually mentioned it to Sonali Pradhan she said she and some other friends were interested in going there too. As you can imagine this year’s visit proved even more fun than last year. Sonali picked me up in Santacruz Mumbai and then Janaki Venkat too joined us on the way. I was meeting Janaki for the first time. It was fascinating to know that she is a painter who likes to experiment and learn different kinds of paintings. 

Upon reaching the crafts bazaar the three of us went about exploring the colorful stalls on the site. It more than lived up to our expectations. My first purchase upon entering the grounds was a hand made ceramic idol of Ganapati. Next I picked a set of glass bangles.  Unsurprisingly, I was enthralled with the sarees at several stalls. The ikats, bhujodis, kalamkaris , Assam cottons and eri silks , revival North Karnataka weaves to name a few. It was my second time meeting Dr Hemalatha Jain of Punarjeevana and first time meeting Sushant Phukan of The Nomi. I picked a new revival weave called Aane Hejje from Hemalatha in a lovely salmon color. At Nomi I found a handloom eri with mulberry mix saree in a shade of yellow I was long looking for. At the Bhujodi stall I met Purushottam bhai ( Pachanbhai’s older brother) who I had just recently met in Kutch. Got a Kala cotton Bhujodi saree in deep red and a Bhujodi dupatta from him. Besides the sarees I couldn’t resist picking up a couple of earthenware cooking pots from Manipuri vendors. Their pot I bought last year has become one of my favorites in the kitchen. Lightweight, easy to wash and a delight to cook in. I had to add to the collection. I found a beautiful hand painted kalamkari dress material for Amita and some handmade silver earrings for gifting. As you can imagine we walked out of the venue with several bags in our hands. One saree sakhi Ruchi Agarwal who lives in Pune walked up to me and introduced herself. That’s what is so cool about being on SS. You make friends on the go.

We enjoyed the Rajasthani food at the site and even got recruited for short promotional interviews about the bazaar. Finally as we were leaving the grounds we even got to say hello to Ms Jaya Jaitley the founder of Dastkar Haat Samiti. It was a beautiful day shopping sarees with friends. Now back on the road to Mumbai. Tomorrow off to another adventure. 

Saree for the day was an Ajrakh print on modal silk in a coffee brown color with orange color used to highlight in the design. One of my recent acquisitions from Juned during my visit to Ajrakhpur. It even got a spontaneous compliment from Ms Jaitley. Juned was happy to hear because she often stays with them when she visits Kutch.