Tag: Jamdani

Annual ‘Sabala Mela’ attracts large crowds

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The annual handicrafts fair, Rajya Sabala Mela – a platform for self-help groups and small-scale entrepreneurs to exhibit and sell their goods – has begun. The venue is Central Park in Salt Lake.

The fair, organised by the State Consumer Affairs and Self-Help Group & Self-Employment Department, would continue till November 25.

The fair will be open everyday from 2 PM to 9 PM, and entry is free. Handicraft items from across Bengal are being sold at the fair. Visitors can also enjoy performances by well-known folk artistes every day.

The products being sold include baluchari, jamdani, zardozi and boutique sarees, terracotta items of Bankura, dokra crafts, burnt-clay home décor items, leather bags, artificial flowers, zari work items, flowers and plants for homes, orchids, bamboo and cane items, waxworks, shola items, masks, muslin items, tulaipanji rice, and various other handicraft and food items.

‘Are Hilsa, Jamdani also infiltrators?’ – Mamata Banerjee targets BJP Over Assam NRC

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Attacking the BJP-led central government over exclusion of 40 lakh people in the final draft of Assam-NRC, Bangla Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused the saffron party of being “anti-Bengali”.

Taking a swipe at the BJP, the Trinamool Congress chief asked if hilsa fish, Jamdani saree, sandesh and mishti doi, which are originally from East Bengal ( in undivided India), would also be branded as “infiltrators or refugees”.

Asserting that these 40 lakh people are “very much Indians”, she questioned the criteria on which they have been excluded.

The CM has been attacking the BJP government at the Centre over National Register for Citizens (NRC) which has excluded names of over 40 lakh citizens in the final draft for want of necessary documents in Assam.

“What is going on in the country is injustice. The BJP with their extremist ideology is trying to create division among the people. I think they are playing the politics of revenge among the countrymen. We are not for this kind of politics,” she said.

She accused the BJP of being “anti-Bengalis” and “anti-Bangla”.

They (the BJP) must not forget that speaking Bengali is not a crime. It is the fifth most spoken language in the world. What is BJP’s problem with Bangla? Are they scared of the intellect of the Bengalis, their culture. They must not forget that Bangla is the cultural mecca of the country,” she said.

After the success of baluchari showroom, now exclusive jamdani showroom

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Baluchari and jamdani are two of the most beautiful examples of sarees from Bengal. The State Government has been making a lot of efforts to make them more popular. As a result, the lot of the handloom weavers who make these is also improving.

Depending on the quality and types of saree, the earning of weavers has increased from 200 to 250 per day to Rs 350 to 500 per day.

Last April, Tantuja had opened an exclusive showroom for baluchari products on Park Street, Kolkata – not just sarees, but readymade garments, kurtas, belts, ladies’ bags and home décor items too.

The huge success of that has now encouraged Tantuja to open another exclusive outlet – this time for jamdani products, on Lenin Sarani.

It is going to be opened to the public in early 2018. To make the jamdani sarees more affordable, products covering a wide range of prices would be available – from Rs 2,000 to Rs 1 lakh.

Tantuja’s exclusive baluchari showroom has seen unprecedented success. From sales worth Rs 10 to 12 lakh per year, covering all the outlets, this one outlet, during the first six months from April 2017, has sold goods worth Rs 52.17 lakh.

 

তাঁতশিল্পের প্রসারে এবার জামদানির নয়া বিপণন

বাংলার তাঁতশিল্পের বাজারকে আরও ছড়িয়ে দিতে এবার জামদানি শাড়িতে নজর দিচ্ছে পশ্চিমবঙ্গ সরকার। নবাবি আমলের মুঘল দরবারি চিত্রকলার সঙ্গে বাংলার নকশি কাঁথায় মন্দির টেরাকোটার বুননে তৈরী বালুচরির চাহিদা বরাবরই ছিল। বালুচরির বিক্রী বাড়াতে আট মাস আগে ‘এক্সক্লুসিভ’ বিপণন কেন্দ্র গড়েছে রাজ্য সরকারের নিয়ন্ত্রণাধীন ‘তন্তুজ’। একই ধাঁচে বাংলার বস্ত্রশিল্পের ওপর এক অতুলনীয় সৃষ্টি জামদানির বাজারকে চাঙ্গা করে তুলতে শহরের বুকে আরও একটি নতুন এক্সক্লুসিভ বিপণন কেন্দ্র গড়ে তুলছে তারা।

লেনিন সরণীতে এই শোরুমটি তৈরী হচ্ছে। টেন্ডার ডেকে কাজ শুরু হয়ে গেছে। এখানে থাকবে নানা ধরনের জামদানি শাড়ি। দুই আড়াই হাজার থেকে শুরু করে একলাখি জামদানিও পাওয়া যাবে এখানে।

পার্ক স্ট্রীটে তন্তুজের বালুচরি শাড়ির ‘এক্সক্লুসিভ’ বিপণন কেন্দ্রটি চালু হয়েছে গত এপ্রিল মাসে। সংস্থার সূত্র থেকে জানা গেছে, আগে সংস্থার বিভিন্ন শোরুম থেকে বালুচরি বিক্রী করে বার্ষিক আয় হত বড়জোর ১০ থেকে ১২ লক্ষ টাকা। নতুন বিপণন কেন্দ্রটির দৌলতে তা বেড়েছে পাঁচগুণেরও বেশী। এপ্রিল থেকে অক্টোবর মাত্র ছয় মাসে সেখান থেকে বালুচরি বিক্রী হয়েছে ৫২ লক্ষ ১৭ হাজার টাকার।

বালুচরি, স্বর্ণচরি ও জামদানি বাংলার হস্তশিল্পের অন্যতম নিদর্শন। তাই এদের জনপ্রিয়তা বাড়াতেই এরম উদ্যোগ নেওয়া হচ্ছে। বালুচরির এক্সক্লুসিভ শোরুমটি থেকে বিপুল লাভের পরেই এই নতুন বিপণনটি খোলার সিদ্ধান্ত নেওয়া হয়েছে। আগামী বছরের শুরুতেই এই কেন্দ্রটি উদ্বোধন করা হবে।

তন্তুজের এই উদ্যোগে প্রধানত উপকৃত হচ্ছেন বাংলার তাঁতশিল্পীরা। তাদের দৈনিক মজুরীও অনেক বেড়েছে। শাড়ির ধরন অনুযায়ী তাঁতিরা প্রতিদিন ৩৫০ থেকে ৫০০ টাকার মতো মজুরি পাচ্ছেন। আগে এই মজুরি ছিল ২০০ থেকে ২৫০ টাকার মধ্যে।

এখন আরও একটি এক্সক্লুসিভ বিপণী খোলার পর বাংলার তাঁতশিল্প যেমন অন্য মাত্রা পাবে, তেমনই তাঁতিদের জীবনযাত্রার মান আরও উন্নত হবে।

 

Bengal artefacts huge draw at London Design Festival

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Exquisite artefacts from West Bengal with long histories such as ‘jamdani’, ‘muslin’, ‘kantha’ and ‘balaposh’ were a major draw in the London Design Festival.

The artefacts included the ‘Indo-Portuguese shawl’, which draws on a long history of colonialism in Bengal and a confluence of cultures. The seven artefacts displayed under the ‘Biswa Bangla’ initiative showcased the best of the state’s handloom and handicrafts sector.

“We got an excellent response. We tested the waters here, and received many inquiries for regular supplies. Biswa Bangla is now in the process of opening a store in Piccadilly to scale up our efforts,”, Rajiva Sinha, principal secretary of the state’s department of textiles said.

Described as an initiative that eliminates ‘middlemen’ and distributes all profits among traditional craftspersons associated with it, Biswa Bangla achieved a revenue of Rs 15 crore in its first year and is on target to achieve a revenue of Rs 25 crore with a larger pool of craftspersons.

Besides stores in West Bengal and New Delhi, it will be the first time that any state government will have such stores outside India, officials attending the London Design Festival said. Besides London, there are plans to open a store in China.

7,000 traditional craftspersons are associated with Biswa Bangla, producing 5,400 products, many of whom have long histories and were part of international trade during the colonial era. Some products are due to be displayed at the Victoria & Albert Museum next year.

The products on display included ‘patachitra’, or scrolls on which mythological or epic stories are painted in a sequence, and masks from south Dinajpur and Bankura, made from bamboo, wood and clay.

Bengal handloom now on doorsteps

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Now at a click of a mouse or a gentle tap on your smart phone you can choose a Jamdani, Tangail, handloom or silk printed saree from Tantuja.

Customers can go online shopping at Flipkart without jostling through the Puja crowd. With an increase in online shopping, the West Bengal State Handloom Weavers Co-operative Society Limited also decided to go online with its handloom sarees.

Its premiun brand Tantuja’s Jamdani, printed silk, handloom sarees, self designed sarees of various ranges are available on online stores like Flipkart.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has always encouraged the growth of MSME. To showcase West Bengal’s handloom in other states and in London she has opened Biswa Bangla brand stores.

She has also instructed MSME minister Swapan Debnath to revive Muslin, an almost decaying fine handloom.

“The customers can avoid Puja rush and make their choice of sarees online. They will receive the delivery at their doorstep,” the minister said.

He said, “We are in the business for the past three and a half months and have made a business of Rs.10.5 lakh. Through stores like Flipkart it has become easier for NRIs and Bengali families living in other states to get Bengal handlooms at their doorstep”.