The second phase of the Sari Festival “VIRAASAT”- Celebrating 75 handwoven Saris of India will begin from 3^rd to 17^th January 2023 at Handloom Haat, Janpath, New Delhi.

The Ministry of Textiles is organizing the festival, the timing of which are 11AM to 8 PM.

The second phase, having 90 participants from different parts of the country, brings enhanced attraction by participation of famous Handcrafted varieties of Saris like Tie and Dye, Chikan embroidered Saris, Hand Block Saris, Kalamkari printed Saris, Ajrakh, Kantha and Phulkari. These will be in addition to the exclusive handloom Saris of Jamdani, Ikat, Pochampally, Banaras Brocade, Tussar Silk (Champa), Baluchari, Bhagalpuri Sik, Tangail, Chanderi, Lalitpuri, Patola, Paithani etc. Also available will be Handloom Saris like Tanchoi, Jangla, Kota Doria, Cutwork, Maheshwari, Bhujodi, Santipuri, Bomkai and several other varieties like Garad Korial,  Khandua and Arni Silk Saris.

The first phase of “VIRAASAT”- Celebrating 75 handwoven Saris of India started on 16th December 2022 and concluded on 30th December 2022. The event was inaugurated by Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on 16^th December 2022, along with Hon’ble Minister of State Smt. Darshana Jardosh and other women parliamentarians.

In the 1^st Phase from 16th to 30th December 2022, 70 Participants took part in “VIRAASAT” event. A wide publicity program was taken up to advertise this event through Print Media by Newspapers, Posters, invitation cards Social Media, Cultural Program and Designers Workshop etc. The event has been a big hit, and along with impressive footfalls across age-groups, brought much needed attention to the sector and sales of handloom goods for the weavers.

A social media campaign has been launched under a common hashtag #MySariMyPride to support our handloom weavers. ­­­­­Coinciding with the 75 years of Independence, “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” there will be an exhibition-cum-sale of Handloom Saris by 75 handloom weavers.  A series of activities are planned to for the visiting public such as:

• Viraasat-Celebrating the heritage: Curated display of handloom saris.
• Viraasat-Ek Dharohar: Direct retail of saris by weavers
• Viraasat Ke Dhage: Live loom demonstration
• Viraasat–kal se kal tak : Workshops and talks on sari and sustainability
• Viraasat–Nritya Sanskriti: Famous Folk dances of Indian culture

The exhibition will be open to public from 11 am to 8 pm. Handloom saris drawn from some of the exotic locations of India are on display and sale at the exhibition. A brief list is given below: -

The event is likely to bring renewed focus on the age-old tradition of Sari weaving and thereby improve earnings of the handloom community.

Handloom sector is a symbol of our country’s rich and varied cultural heritage, besides being one of the key sectors providing employment to a large number of people, especially women.  The event celebrates both the tradition as well as potential of the Handloom Sector in its full strength.

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AD/NS