Cultural ‘dhamaal’ at crafts mela draws big crowds on Sunday
Being a Sunday, city folks thronged Kalagram on Day 3 of the ongoing 14th Chandigarh National Crafts Mela. The 10-day cultural ‘dhamaal’ will see music lovers from the tricity witness a flurry of fascinating folk dances of various states.
Visitors enjoyed dance performances, including ‘kachi ghori (Rajasthan), ‘behurupiyas’, ‘nachar’ and ‘baajigar’ (Punjab) and ‘nagada’ and ‘been jogis’ (Haryana). They also clicked selfies with artistes.
The typical Punjab village created at the venue had the conventional spinning wheels, kitchen utensils made of copper and bronze and agricultural tools, ploughs, ploughshare, hand-driven ‘chakki’, etc., reminiscent of the times gone by. Women sporting traditional ‘salwar-kameez’ with colourful ‘duppatas’ and holding earthen pitchers at the village well enchanted the visitors. Terra cotta images of horses, elephants and other wild animals and wooden sculptures created during workshops could be seen placed all around the venue.
Food lovers had a gala time as they relished traditional cuisines at the food court offering a range of delectable dainties from Maharashtra, Bihar, Sikkim, Punjab, Haryana, Awadh, Hyderabad, Gujarat and so on.
Artisans and craftsmen from different corners of the country displayed a range of designer crockery, cutlery, fabric, woollens and other winter wear, artificial jewellery, carpets, rugs, mats, designer suits and sarees, Patiala ‘jutti’ for men and women.
“We owe a big thank you to the organisers for hosting the annual mela. The opportunity offers a glimpse of the rich cultural heritage of India. We also get an opportunity to interact with the artisans, which is a rewarding experience for us,” said Meenakshi, a Chandigarh government schoolteacher.
The singers of the evening were Bollywood legends Padmashri Suresh Wadkar and his wife Padma Wadkar, who belted out their hit numbers, turning the evening musical. They rendered their solos and duets and obliged fans by singing songs of their choice like “tumse mil kar na jaane kyon’, ‘megha re megha’, ‘meri kismet mein tun nahin shayad’ and ‘husn pahadon ka’.
