India’s diverse artistic culture has now converged in one place, bringing the city the finest exquisite jewel works from the artisans of various states of this country at the Poompuhar – Artistic and Artificial jewel exhibition that was inaugurated here on Wednesday.

Like every year, the exhibition is slowly starting to make its mark by grabbing attention of the crowd, especially the ladies, who have been flocking to the exhibition since its inauguration. ‘We eagerly expect this exhibition every year as they have a huge collection,’ says Jayalakshmi, who had come along with her friend to purchase ornaments.

The exhibition has an assortment of every state’s artistic work to enchant the buyers of various age groups.  From Impon jewellery, temple ornaments and antique jewellery to Jaipur’s stone jewellery, Hyderabad’s pearls and gold plated ornaments, the bling is fast disappearing. In addition, wooden jewels, tribal jewellery, jute-made ornaments, silver filigree, crystal chains, Rajasthani bangles and meenakari earrings seem to be the popular choices for the younger generation.

Just few days into the fair, the exhibition has already seen phenomenal sales with products worth between `50,000 – 60,000 being sold each day. And it is expected to increase in the days to come.

But it is not only the local crowd that is grabbing the bling – the exhibition has also caught the eye of foreigners. According to the Bose, manager trainee, Chennai’s foreigners are a huge fan of the jewellery. “They love the variety here, they feel the jewellery is very colorful and unique,” says Bose. This can be very well seen from the sight of a foreign visitor who carefully scans through all the stalls. ‘I totally love this place. I am seeing every variety that I can think of,’ says Ken Smith, a visitor from Canada.

The artisans from different places find this as a perfect platform to exhibit their works to people.

Sometimes they get huge orders after displaying their products here, while others feel quite disappointed to see people hesitating to buy original quality crystals and stones, instead opting for duplicate low quality crystals outside.

This is inspite of the huge  profit margin they gain.

But the buzz is still on and the excitement is sure to go on for few more weeks, as the exhibition ends only on June 29. After all, there is no end for shopping in a city like Chennai.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / June 08th, 2013