Bhimthadi Jatra’17 Showcases Traditional Textiles, Handicrafts And More

December 22, 2017

In its twelfth edition, Bhimthadi Jatra, an annual festival and one of the city’s biggest cultural fairs is back to enthral Puneites with unique handicrafts and artisanal skills.

This festival is known famously for bridging the gap between different communities across Maharashtra. Self-help groups and small enterprises get to showcase their talent across various things.

This year, one can find over 300 different stalls for clothing, handicrafts, artwork, food, spices, dry fruits, savoury items and much more.

Bhimthadi Select is a new addition to the festival that has been curated by Pallavi Datta. She has recently been named as Fashion Documentarian for Sustainable Fashion and Indian Textiles at the Lakme Fashion Week 2017. She has curated 20 stalls showcasing traditional and sustainable handlooms, textiles and other items.

Lipsa Hembram of Galang Gaban, is showing her work at Bhimthadi Jatra for the first time. This stall is a part of the select edition. “We have saris and ready made clothing items. They are all made from cotton and natural dyes from Kotpad, Odisha,” she says.

Another stall with interesting items includes The Kishikinda Trust, which is displaying items made only out of banana fibre and waste materials. These items include baskets, wallets, mats, rugs and bags.

Vanita Tambhake has been running a stall at the festival since the last six years. As part of the Priyadarshini Mahila Self-Help Group, she is selling a range of savoury items like chutneys, masalas, and other dry condiments.

“For small businesses like ours, Bhimthadi is a great way for us to market and advertise our work. If not for this, then it is very difficult for us to get the word out on what we do,” she explains.

Displaying a colourful and bright range of Banarasi saris, Mustafa Hussain is also showing at the Bhimthadi festival for the first time. “These saris are woven from cotton, silk and satin. They come from Mubarakpur, Uttar Pradesh.”

A new addition to this year’s festival also includes a whole section displaying stalls about organic food and farming. In this section, you can find stalls selling organic milk, ghee and other dairy products. Many farmers have also brought along organic seeds to sell.

#The festival will be on till December 25 at Agricultural College Ground.