FDDI Hyderabad Hosts Three-Day Footwear Exhibition

Hyderabad:Footwear traditions from across the country sat side by side on Friday as FDDI Hyderabad opened ‘Tales Below the Heels — India Design Language: Footwear Series’, a three-day public exhibition on artisanship, design culture, and the country’s long, uneven line of craft knowledge.

Visitors were welcomed into a space that placed Mojari next to Jutti, Pulla near Chamba footwear, and Kolhapuri beside the Bharwadi Desi Joda and Pabu craft, there celebrating footwear as cultural memory and contemporary study.

“This platform connects traditional craftsmanship and modern design innovation,” said Governor Jishnu Dev Varma after inaugurating the exhibition and speaking of how design draws strength from cultural roots.

The exhibition opened to the public on Friday and will continue until November 30.

Jayesh Ranjan, special chief secretary, called for deeper public engagement, and his comments appeared alongside those of artisans who spent the afternoon answering questions from students and visitors. The Governor spoke about indigenous design knowledge as India’s “global creative identity”, while Ranjan noted how FDDI and Pleach India Foundation have kept craft practices visible to a wider public.

Their remarks sat alongside observations from designers who described how each pair on display showed a clear line of training and technique, and how the exhibition helped students see the links between classroom lessons and living traditions.

Seven artisans from different states stood near their work and explained how each form is made. Several visitors paused to ask about stitching techniques or leather treatments, and the craftsmen responded with small demonstrations. Ranjan, speaking to the crowd earlier, said, “Such conversations strengthen the ties between education and industry, and his comments were met with nods from designers and faculty who have watched interest in Indian craft traditions rise among students.”