New Delhi, Nov 20 (IANS) Jamdani saris are known for their fine texture, elegant colours and their steep price tags - but visitors to the ongoing India International Trade Fair nevertheless flocked the stalls of Bangladeshi textile houses to buy the exquisite six yards of cloth.
Among the 20-odd Bangladeshi exhibitors, more than half were from textile houses, who had brought their prized Jamdani sarees to the fortnight-long trade fair that began Nov 16.

Rufiqal Islam stood at his corner stall in hall number 12 of Pragati Maidan, as hordes of visitors made a beeline for the row of international exhibitors. “This time, we have a new product of mixing silk with the traditional Jamdani cotton. This gives it a shiny appearance which appeals to people here,” he said.

Most of his Jamdani saris are in the range of Rs.2,000 to Rs.10,000. A veteran of several trade fairs in India, he said his clients were not just Bengalis in India, but also members from other communities.

“There is more awareness now about what Jamdani is - about how to understand whether it is of good quality or not,” he said.

But for most of them, the trip to Delhi to take part in the trade fair has been fraught with tension, as the Indian high commission recently increased the time taken for processing visas.

“Earlier, we used to get a business visa within a day, now it has been increased by four working days,” said Muhammad Munir Hussain of Moushumi Jamdani House.

An official of Bangladesh’s Export Promotion Bureau, which facilitated the participation of their businessmen, confirmed that they did face problems over visa issuance as it took longer this time.

“Even though I have an official passport, officials there dithered over giving me a visa,” he complained.

Even after getting the visa, transferring their consignments through the Indian border post has been a nightmare for some of them.

“I had to pay a bribe of Rs.2,000 to the Indian customs officials at Benapole to get my goods across. I was travelling on the bus, so I couldn’t argue long as I would have delayed the journey for the rest of the passengers,” said Najma Akhtar, who had bought embroidered textiles to the fair.