One such handloom fair is going on at the Shilpakala Academy premises. The fair began in October and will continue till chand raat. The costumes available here may not be associated with the recent craze of garish lahengas, shalwar kameez or saris featured on the Hindi drama serials. Nevertheless, the traditional costumes made by the rural weavers of different districts still seem to have a major appeal.

Apart from the traditional clothes like saree, shalwar-kamiz, fatua, shirt, panjabee and shawls, the traditional hand-woven materials of the indigenous people are also attracting the fair goers. The temporary stalls of saris seem to attract majority of the crowd. Women of all ages come to the fair either to buy, or to have an idea about the price of the clothes. Some simply come to browse and check out the Eid collection.

One such shopper Nasima, from Uttara said, "The main attraction of these fairs is we can buy clothes at a cheaper price than that of the shopping malls. Some of the stalls have exclusive collections that are not easily available the rest of the year. I can also buy the clothes for zakat from this fair."

The stalls that feature items made by indigenous people are also crowd-pullers. A shopper in one such stall, Rehana Akhtar was planning to buy a pinon-khadi (a traditional Chakma attire for women) for her teenage daughter. She said, "My daughter is a hip youngster who likes to wear something different. So, she wants me to buy an indigenous costume for her. And as these clothes are hardly found in any shop in the city, I am taking this opportunity to buy one from here."

The Jamdani, Nakshikantha stitch, Jessore stitch, batik, block print and appliqué designs have the highest sale in the fair. A shopkeeper Rustam said, "In the first one week of the fair, the small number of visitors disappointed us. But now as you can see, the number of shoppers has increased as Eid is closing in. Sales are naturally satisfactory."

Fatua, panjabee and t-shirts are also in demand at the fair. But most of the buyers seem discontented with the limited collections. Swajib Chowdhury of Tikatuli said, "Most of the clothes are for women. Saris and shalwar kamizes are exclusive here but the items for men have disappointed me. There could have been more collections for men in such fairs."

All in all, the fair is a commendable effort and promotes our local craftsmen and weavers. The positive sign is every year the number of visitors is increasing.