HYDERABAD: There is never a dearth of exhibitions in Hyderabad all year round.Locals have the luxury of picking out from a range of traditional handloom goods and handicrafts almost at any point of time in the year.The industrial exhibition that occurs every year spanning almost over 70 days has pretty much become synonymous with the city.Besides this, there are the government sponsored exhibitions that bring in artisans from across the country, either as an independent exhibition or through initiatives like Shilparamam or the Hyderabad Utsav.So while this gives denizens a huge array of crafts and clothes from around the country to choose from, local artisans are losing out.Discussing this predicament, Latha Tummuru, manager and designer at Daram, a handloom retail store that sources its merchandise from the weavers directly, explains, “We are a race and community that is constantly looking for something better.The attitude here is why should we buy something that, they consider, is available in our backyard.Thus, goods that come ‘all the way’ from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kolkata, Uttar Pradesh, Kashmir and so on, get higher priority than our Pochampalli, Gadwal or Venkatgiri.” Talking about the current state of affairs, she adds, “Right now, while there is a demand, it is only among a very select group of people who know where to go buy.The weaver, however, doesn’t come out of his way to sell since the market isn’t very receptive.While there are government initiatives like LePakshi and AP State Cooperative Society Ltd (APCO), the goods there are picked up without any specific understanding of the customer’s frame of mind.” Our current culture is one that is obsessed with trend and fashion and not with simplistic traditional patterns.Weavers, on the other hand, are from a different social context and don’t understand the histrionics of being fashionable.“Entrepreneurs play a key role in promoting our local artisans.The artisans are very disconnected from the potential market.Due to the general lack of interest in purchasing, the weaving community is losing its motivation to produce anything very different.This has lead to a kind of chickenand- the-egg paradox where local craftsmanship can’t be given a major boost without something innovative and new,” she opines.Coming to the question of exhibitions not hosting many local artisans, if at all any, Tummuru replies, “The concept of an exhibition is actually relatively new, even though it’s something that has been happening for a while now.There are two crucial points to an exhibition --- who is the organiser and what is the understanding of hand work.Also, I believe, the government policy regarding exhibitions is a very statistical equation of who is coming in and what is the possible revenue.Counting all these factors, locals don’t have a strong leverage to be a part of exhibitions due to the lack of i n t e r e s t i n customers.”However, the general manager (marketing) of LePakshi, I V Lakshminath said, “We give preference to our local craftsmen and there is a good demand for them, especially outside the State.Pochampalli doesn’t do as well as the others because its common, but otherwise, business is good.It depends on who is organising the exhibition and the funds available.”Comparing the purchasing attitude, she says, in places like Delhi, customers are more willing to spend while down here, they are more price-sensitive.Ultimately, the solution to this is to find enterprising initiatives that can support and satisfy both the weaver and the customer.“Weavers, more often than not ask us to give them designs and they weave accordingly.Having a design team work with them helps to a great extent.”
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