The rich heritage of incredible India was reflected to the maximum in the 24th Surajkund Crafts Mela as the visitors from all over the nation and abroad could not resist visiting this magnificent display of handlooms and handicrafts. The Surajkund Mela has come of age and has become an embodiment of various arts and crafts of not only of our country but also the nations with matching crafts and traditions.
The cultural performances which accompanied these artistic displays enlivened the atmosphere of the Mela. Their traditional music resonated in the Aravali range and enriched the entire experience of visiting the Mela. The Mela had constantly tried to revamp itself, yet it held its traditional roots firmly. Nonetheless, the
Mela this year has proved to be a huge crowd puller. The craftspersons were enthusiastic to display their art and crafts and the visitors were more than happy to buy them. The foot fall had surpassed to an unmatchable number of 5.75 lakhs in the first 13 days and it was expected to reach well above the highest number of 7.04 lakhs of last year. There was a total business of whooping 10 crores till date as compared to 7.5 crores last year and it was anticipated that this will also grow in the coming days.
The artisans were encouraged to see the crowd swelling with each passing day and they were enthusiastic to display their arts and crafts. It was heartening to see a massive crowd each day who appreciated his art and were willing to pay the desired price for it, commented Prakash Joshi of work hut number 238A, Phad artist who was a National Awardee.
The Surajkund Crafts Mela was a butt of attention amidst the foreign tourists coming to India with a record number of 30,000 foreigners visiting the fair till today. It has become a much awaited event on the Indian tourism calendar and the inbound tourists were glad to get a glimpse of `Mini India’ through this Mela. The participation of 23 States on one common platform of the Mela showcased its versatility and diversity. The ambience of the Mela was what delighted the tourists the most. One could see that each and every entry and exit gate represented the cultural heritage of one of the states of India. Gate number one or popularly known as Shekhawati Gate was designed intricately with natural colours and represented the culture of theme state Rajasthan.
Ms. Christine who had come from London expressed that this was her third visit to the Mela in five years and she tried to schedule her visit to India in February so that she could visit the Mela again and again. She also added that the ambience and a wide variety of cuisine delighted her the most besides various display of arts and crafts. The foot fall of foreigners has tripled this year and a glimpse of their appreciation could be seen in the visitor’s book at Chaupal, the open air stage.
The Mela had become a perfect blend of various crafts, culture and traditions with the increased number of participation of foreign countries. One could see 31 craftspersons from various foreign countries with their cultural troupe one each from Thailand, Tajikistan and Egypt presenting a glaring display of cultural amalgamation. It was a treat to watch the dancers of Tajikistan dancing to the tunes of Bhangra and Gidha.
The functioning and the setup of the Mela was a subject of study for delegates from Sri Lanka and Kerala who wanted to explore the possibilities of organizing a crafts Mela of similar nature.
They were amazed to see the diversity and the grandeur of the Surajkund Mela and planned to converge various Small Scale Industries, artisans, craftsmen and sculptors from all over the nation to display their products, the idea which was quite analogous to the set up of the Mela. The Mela was packed today to its capacity with more than a lakh of visitors and they were amazed to see such captivating and enthralling display of art and crafts on a common podium.
The Surajuknd Mela Authorities were leaving no stone unturned to capture the magnificence of various arts and crafts and provide best of the services to the visitors. The display of arts and crafts accentuated with cultural performances and traditional cuisine mesmerized the visitors which left a broad smile on their faces. The vibrancy of the Mela could be judged by the fact that the cultural calendar and various competitions organized for school children were suited to the very best of the Mela spirit of modern India in a very ethnic environment.
The rural feel of the Mela grounds was so much appreciated by the foreign tourists that they preferred capturing each and every moment on their cameras so as to preserve it for the memory lanes of their life. The results of the photography competition were also announced today.
The first prize was bagged by Mr. Gurmukh Singh Salh. The second prize was given to Mr. Mukesh Sharma and the third prize was fetched by Mr. Indranel Bhowed. A consolation prize was also given to Ms. Asha Singh for her captivating performance in photography.
