Thursday, August 28

Retail Therapy of the Crafty kind


Working on various projects had me cooped up in the house for too long and I needed a change of surroundings to simply chill out for a bit and the Dastkar Nature Bazaar provided just that.
A society for crafts and craftspeople Dastkar is a registered society that aims at improving the economic status of craftspeople, thereby promoting the survival of traditional crafts. It was founded in 1981 by six women, who had worked in the craft and development sector.
Some of what caught my eye.


Dried gourds as lampshades. Quite pretty when lit up.

Some crafts people I was seeing for the first time like this stall which had masses of oxidised silver charms and beads wrapped and macramed into jewellery. I saw some girls getting their hair twined with thread. Wonder if they got bells and charms dangling at the end.

Mirror work embroidery from western India.

Colied grass baskets and containers from Bihar

Applique from Orissa.This was a fairly large hanging.
I go each year to buy sarees for my mother and I bought a little elephant wind chime/hanging/bell thingy, very cute. Incidentally the theme for the bazaar this year was the elephant.
The bazaar is on until the 1st of Sep, 10am to 7pm. The Naga lady has some bead necklaces which are very tempting, maybe I'll go back and go overboard and give Visa/Mastercard some copy for their next priceless advertisement.
Jewellery, sarees, & everything in sight - Rs.75,000
Twined and charm laden extreme hairdo - Rs.5,000
Expression on husband's face - Priceless
(The joke would be on me if R didn't recognise me with my extreme hippy hairdo but then again...)

16 comments:

jude said...

love that hanging....so story cloth

megha puNAter" said...

what a treat i miss these indian fairs the last one i visited was in kala ghoda in bombay.

Maya Sara Matthew said...

Yes Jude certainly a more literal story cloth.

Maya Sara Matthew said...

Megha I hope you get to visit India soon and around this time of the year when the weather is mellow and such craft bazaars and all manner of festivities are in abundance.

Anonymous said...

this post looks wonderful! being in bangalore i cant believe i will miss it because i have to shift houses. should keep my eyes open for the next one :)

Maya Sara Matthew said...

Make the time Kalyani I'm sure your new place needs some new cushion covers or hooks embellished with ceramic tiles, a gourd light maybe.Three more days!!!

india flint said...

i've left you a wee present on my most recent blog-posting, if you'd care to wander over and take a look...

kate said...

As I scrolled down, looking at your images, all I could say was OOOOH. What a visual feast! Love your Mastercard copy! Gave me a smile.

ArtPropelled said...

Gorgeous post!Promise to post photos of your new extreme hairdo..please? I love the look of those gourds.You mention Orissa...I have been collecting examples of house wall paintings (especially Saura paintings) for a while now. I love them.

Anonymous said...

I m looking forward to seeing the much talked about hairdo !!!

Timaree said...

I was thinking like Robyn. Where's the picture of that hippy do? Love all the colors I see here. It seems most folk art around the world is colorful. Must be why I leave sophistication to all my sisters.

Maya Sara Matthew said...

Aaaah the hairdo,if it happens you'll get a picture :)but don't hold your breath!!!

Maya Sara Matthew said...

Tumbleweed thank-you for the award.

Maya Sara Matthew said...

Kate glad you liked the mastercard copy.Thanks for visiting.

Unknown said...

What gorgeous crafts. Those gourd lamps look amazing! I just feel like I visited India. Thanks.

Maya Sara Matthew said...

Thanks for coming by Karine glad you liked the photographs of the crafts.

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