Puncham Bazaar- The Annual Exhibition!

Trends N Style

oi-Denise Baptiste

By Denise Baptiste

Friday, June 10, 2011, 14:20

It has been 35 years since Rani Poddar, the brain-child behind “Pancham", a socio-charitable women"s organization, hosted the first ever “Puncham Bazaar", an annual exhibition and has successfully come a long way since. This year the Puncham Bazaar, held at Hotel Taj President, Cuffe-Parade, was inaugurated by Prof. Smt Radha Sankaranarayanan, wife of His Excellency,Honorable Shri K. Sankaranarayanan, the Governor of Maharashtra.

At the Puncham Bazaar , Mrs.Sankaranarayanan spoke passionately about the upliftment of women in India through education and self employment. Amy Billimoria Wasim pressed with the artefacts on display and was in great spirits.

Rani Poddar proudly states that this annual exhibition is created, designed, organized and executed exclusively by and for women. In addition to this, the Puncham Bazaar works closely with NGO"s with a special focus on handicrafts. Be it cutlery, crockery, artefacts, furnishings or designer garments, you will find it all here. Abha Singh and Dolly Thakore also spent quality time at this exhibition.

Founded in the year 1980, Rani Poddar, has been at the forefront of social initiatives and charitable activities throughout her life. In its tenure of 35 years,“Puncham" has been instrumental in building nearly 11 cold drinking water fountains in Mumbai, besides helping the Indian Cancer Society and the Association for the Blind.
In 2009, the Times of India group recognized and acknowledged Rani Poddar for her outstanding social contribution by conferring the“Angel of the City"award. She also received the prestigious“Udaan"award as a woman of substance at the hands of Ashok Chavan, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Viren Shah and Madhsudan Kumar also made their presence felt at this Puncham Bazaar exhibition.