Pune: Festive exhibitions go online to avoid mass gatherings

PUNE: The absence of large pre-festival exhibitions due to the Covid-19 pandemic does not mean shopping for goodies and gifts for Diwali and Christmas will get tough. Several annual pre-festival exhibitions, usually held around Diwali, have gone online this year amid restrictions on gatherings.
Parul Mehta, managing trustee of Ishanya Foundation that organizes Yellow Ribbon NGO Fair annually, said, “Our commitment to the cause has been unflinching for over a dozen years now and we didn’t want to miss this year.Hence, the online avtar of the NGO Fair,” she said.
Representatives of Seva Sahayog Foundation stated that the online fair will help them reach the masses. “Our products are made by underprivileged women. We are certain they will receive good exposure through the online exhibition,” a representative said.
Entrepreneur Arti Nirwan, who recently started a crockery business, said that online exhibitions help highlight small businesses. Nirwan has displayed her products at an online festive exhibition launched by Rotary Club of Pune Westend.
“I got the chance to display my products. I’m certain that I will get some sales,” she explained.
The popular online platform Pune Ladies too organized an online exhibition, Pula Bazaar Live, to help women entrepreneurs.
Designer Aarti Chauhan, who displayed her products at the exhibition, said, “We had half-an-hour to display our products. I started getting enquiries within the first five minutes of my session. People are still getting in touch with me. The online display definitely helped me tap onto a larger audience.”