Mysuru: The six-day Silk India 2018 exhibition, organised by ‘Hastashilpi’ as part of the Varamahalakshmi Festival, is beginning from tomorrow (July11) at Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry on Vinoba Road here. The exhibition will be open from 10.30 am to 8.30 pm till July 16.

“Various silk saree weavers, handloom clusters and Silk Co-operative Societies are showcasing their products in the exhibition. The intention of the organisation is to see that there is a direct contact between the weavers, artisans and the customers with no middleman involved,” said Hastashilpi organiser T. Abhinand.

He was addressing a press conference at Pathrakartara Bhavan here yesterday and said that since the last seven years the Hastishilpi organisation has been organising the Silk India expo and it is taken to nearly 60 to 70 cities in the country.

There are five lakh customers and the well-known weavers from 18 States in the country are participating in the expo. The silk sarees ranging from Rs.1,800 to Rs.1.30 lakh will be on display and sale, he said.

In the expo held last year there was a turnover of Rs.60 lakh. As there are people from different parts of the States in the country residing in Mysuru, they prefer to buy sarees from their region and hence the response has always been good, he added.

There are more than 50 stalls selling Arini Silk sarees, crepe, Georgette and Chiffon silk sarees, Tassar silk sarees and suit, Kanjeevaram silk and wedding sarees, designer fancy, Dharmavaram, raw silk, jute, Dhaka, handloom silk cotton sarees,  silk blends and stole, shawls, Uppada, Gadwal, Paithani, Mangalagiri and Pochampalli silk sarees and many more products, he said.

Inauguration: MP Pratap Simha will inaugurate the expo on July 11 at 4 pm. Dy. Mayor Indira Mahesh will be the chief guest.

Hastishilpi coordinator Srikanth was present at the press meet.