Rasulpur: Hope to take Gopalpur tussar clothes to the international level soared high as a United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) delegation visited Gopalpur village under this block in Jajpur district and took a glimpse of the tussar silk weaving process at workshops of weavers. The UNESCO delegation visited the handloom textile workshop of Maa Tarini Tantubaya Sahajog Samiti, Sunday. The delegation members arrived at Gopalpur after attending a two-day International Handicrafts Conference at Jajpur Road.
UNESCO’s Delhi representative Chiranjit Ganguly, filmmaker, and art designer Arun Das, culture and tourism expert Kumar Anubhav of Not on Map outfit, and Handloom, and Handicraft designer Goon Jain of Virk were part of the delegation. They were accompanied by livelihood expert of district mineral foundation (DMF) Anubhav Prasad, project coordinator of Mission Shakti Sephali Swagatika, textile designer Nathi Singh of Tata Trust, Tyga Rajan from Chennai, and Sudakshina Banerjee. The delegation members visited all units of the workshop and enquired about making threads from tussar cocoons and later weaving them into colorful clothes. They took stock of the calendaring machine and other equipment used in the processing of thread in the workshop. They also enquired about the marketing facilities available for the clothes and their prices.
The members met the weaver leader Ashok Kumar Guin, Ramesh Chandra Das, and technical assistant (handloom) Srikant Mishra and held discussions with them on what goes on with the making of the magical sarees and clothes. The delegation members expressed satisfaction with the quality of the clothes and the intrinsic weaving style that has kept pace with time. They assured to make efforts to promote the magical works of the handloom weavers and artisans at the international level.
UNESCO’s Delhi representative Chiranjit Ganguly said that a high-level delegation will soon visit Gopalpur in the coming days. He said all types of artwork are available in this village and sincere efforts will be made to promote them.
The delegation members also reviewed the work and development of the artisans engaged in terrakota, bamboo crafts, and artistes of Pala, Daskathia, and Sankirtan apart from practitioners of traditional agriculture, he added. He said they will prepare a report on the use of resources in the respective fields and make the members of the community self-reliant by involving the youths and submit the report at their head office for action at their end.
Tucked away in quaint corners of Rasulpur block lies the small village of Gopalpur in the Jajpur district. This village has seen years of craft evolve on its lap. Years of legacy woven with music onto Tussar and Ghicha sarees with borders as ornate as the heritage they carry forward. The village has over 5,000 artisans and weavers.