Trivandrum: Looking  for some ethnic Indian weaves? Just  walk into the Cotton Fab expo at the Thycaud Police Ground in the city. Be it the elegant ‘Tussar’ silk from Jharkhand or the famous Chanderi silk from Madhya Pradesh or the colourful vegetable dyed block prints from Orissa, one can see all these fabrics displayed in one place, direct from the makers who have gathered from various parts of the country. 

The expo has around 35 stalls featuring saris, duppattas and salwar materials in different designs and patterns which include Bhagalpur silk from Bihar; Batik prints - a Javanese wax-resist dyeing technique - - from Kolkata; Meenakari work from Madhya Pradesh; Chikan work from Lucknow; Ahimsa silk or peace silk processed from cocoons without killing the pupae inside; Vishnupuri silk; and Kutch embroidered saris.

“We have come all the way from Jharkhand. All materials exhibited here are unique as we have made it exclusively for this exhibition. You won’t find two similar pieces here,” said Rahim from Lucknow. The expo aims at developing, promoting and helping weavers market their products to customers without middlemen.

Yentha shares some images of the colourful fabrics representing the nation’s rich heritage