A 6 days festival was organised by the Government to commemorate Republic Day and arouse our patriotic spirit. It was a unique endeavour showcasing the crafts / food / culture from various parts of India. Aptly named BharatParv, here is what we saw.
Surajkund International Crafts Mela 2016 – An event that manages to pull craft enthusiasts, shutterbugs, foodies, foreigners as well as the general public. The aesthetically done up fair ground – with various colourful canopies, festoons and other ornaments that are installed during the fair, can not but permeate the mind and uplift the spirit.
Two annual book fairs are solid features of the events calendar in Delhi. The new year 2016 begins with the first one – New Delhi World Book Fair, 2016. What does it have in store for us – book lovers or not? Read on for a quick heads-up.
Krackerjack Karnival transformed JLN Stadium into a fairy land. The festival was one of the few events solely held for children. The cartoon characters like Chhota Bheem and others were available to meet and greet little fans. The fair had game shows, performances, workshops, rides, food and merchandise for children as well as their parents. In tune with the season, there were bits and pieces of Santa everywhere and it seemed that Christmas had an early start in Delhi.
The 15th Oz Haat Charity Mela was held for a single day at the Australian High Commission, Chanakyapuri. It was a fun filled pre Christmas event that comprised sale of Christmas decor, local handicrafts and food items. The visitors included Indians and foreigners who looked in awe at the crafts made by NGOs. The parking scene was a little messy what with the New Delhi Palate Fest being held at the adjacent Nehru Park. But, in tune with the Yuletide spirit, we did not mind that with this event, our Christmas celebrations started a month in advance.
The Ministry of Culture organized a weeklong festival showcasing India’s art, culture, food at the sprawling IGNCA. The whole area was transformed into a fairyland, an Indian fairyland. The food zone had exotic items from various parts of India. In fact, given the success of the event, this was extended by another day. The cherry on the icing was the live Sufi music concert by the Wadali brothers on the lawns of the IGNCA on the last evening.
The India International Trade Fair, IITF 2015, with its theme “Make in India” is a grand spectacle. It’s a reminder as to what a lovely synergy of traditional crafts and contemporary sciences we live in. With the theme symbol lion at every nook and corner and in most creative forms, we roar to the 35th Trade Fair.
We visited The Grub Fest (23-25 October 2015) on a Sunday afternoon that happened to be the last day. The organisers had assembled popular eateries, food, drinks, and some live performances under a single event. In fact, we saw the popular comedian Vir Das performing and singing as well! Given the myriad eating options, we tried bits of a lot of things and liked whatever we had.
We visited the daylong street food festival Zaika-E-Dilli at Nehru Park, Chanakyapuri where the organisers Thelewala brought together brought an assortment of street food mostly from Old Delhi. Consequently, got to have some simple but hidden pleasures like the fruit kuliey and the Rabri waali Kulfi in Rose flavour. While there is room for more variety, this was a great starting initiative by the Thelewala.
The Diwali Bazar organised at Blind School is back. The designers of Delhi and surrounding regions have assembled with their fare ranging from clothes, accessories, home décor items and food. Additionally, the Blind School stall carries a variety of candles, paper items such as pads, cards, gift tags and bags, all made by the inmates. The parking arrangements are much better this year since cars may be parked at Sunheri Bag, off Lodhi Road, that is close by.
We attended the Festival of Lights, a quaint Diwali Mela organized by Dastakar prior to the festival. Along with their regular crafts based items – clothes and ornaments, home accessories, ceramics, they had lamps and Diwali motif décor items. Additionally, a group of Rajasthani singers and dancers provided a welcome relief to the dazed shoppers as well as their disinterested escorts who had been forced to accompany them.
The dates for Blind School Diwali Bazaar for 2016 are 21-27 October. The timing for Diwali Mela are 10:30 am to 8 pm and entry is free for all. One can visit the Blind School Diwali Fair for their Diwali shopping. Diwali Gifts such as Chocolates, Diwali Decoration items, hand made Diyas, clothes, home accessories, art etc are available at the fair.
The Delhi Book Fair was recently held at Pragati Maidan during August 29 – September 6, 2015. It presented a wide gamut of books on a variety of subjects from publishers in India and abroad. Notwithstanding the warm and sticky weather, the fair registered a decent foot fall. In addition to the Book Fair, Stationery Fair and Corporate Gifts Fair were held concurrently.
Dastkar Desert Crafts’ Bazaar 2015 (20 – 31 August, 2015) was recently held at Kisaan Haat,, off Chhattarpur Metro Station. The exhibition involved sale of handcrafted merchandise from the desert regions of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Additionally, there were makeshift stalls selling regional food as well as cultural performances in the open amphitheater.
Sharbat Mela is a cool and very apt festival in Scorching Delhi Summer. A lot of small and big scale manufacturers of Sharbat, Kulfi and Shake mixes exhibit here and provide samplers for people to taste and buy. It’s a cool and fun way to beat the heat.
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