“VIRAASAT”- Celebrating 75 handwoven Saris of India, [MySariMyPride, Exclusive Handloom Sari Exhibition at National Centre for Heritage Textiles (Handloom Haat) Janpath, New Delhi]

Ministry of Textiles, Government of India is organizing the second edition of Mega event Viraasat Sari Festival 2023, from 15^th - 28^th December 2023, at Handloom Haat, Janpath, New Delhi.

During 2022-23, Virasat Sari Festival 2022, was celebrated in two phases and was a big hit with an impressive footfall, good sale by handloom weavers and brought much needed attention to the sector.

It is also worthwhile to mention that to promote handwoven saris, Ministry of Textiles organized two editions of Sari Walkathon at Surat (9^th April 2023) and Mumbai (10^th December 2023) with overwhelming response as thousands of women came all dressed in Saris representing the pride of their state.

In continuation to the series of these events, the second edition of Viraasat Sari Festival 2023 will have special focus for Handloom Saris of various parts of nation and will bring together handloom weavers of country, sari designers and sari lovers and buyers. The event will showcase the Handloom heritage of India.

The event will celebrate both the tradition as well as potential of the Handloom Sector in its full strength. The event is likely to put renewed focus on the age-old tradition of Sari weaving and thereby improve earnings of the handloom community

The highlights of the event are as following:-

• 90 stalls for handloom weavers/artisans to directly retail the saris.
• Curated display of exquisite handwoven saris of nation
• Workshops and talks on Sari & Sustainability
• Cultural performances by contemporary and folk artists
• Live loom demonstration
• Food stalls of different varieties of food etc.

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 handloom sector of India engages more than 35 lakh persons. The art of handloom sari weaving has traditional values attached to it and each region has exquisite saris varieties. The uniqueness of saris such as Paithani, Kotpad, Kota doria, Tangail, Pochampally, Kancheepuram, Thirubuvanam, Jamdani, Santipuri, Chanderi, Maheshwari, Patola, Moirangphee, Banarasi Brocade, Tanchoi, Bhagalpuri Silk, Bawan Buti, Pashmina Sari etc. to name a few attracts saris across the globe with exclusive art, weaves, designs and traditional motifs.

Government of India has launched the various schemes for Handloom for branding of high-quality products with zero defects and zero effect on the environment to encourage and to give a distinct identity to the products, apart from highlighting the uniqueness of the products. It also serves a guarantee for the buyer that the product being purchased is genuinely handcrafted. All the exhibitors at the exhibition have been encouraged to display their exquisite products and thus aim to improve the market for Handloom saris and earnings of the handloom community.

The Mega Event "VIRAASAT - My Sari My Pride" Sari Festival and exhibition will be open to public from 11 am to 8 pm from 15th to 28th December 2023.

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