Date: 1st to 15th January 2019
Venue: Dilli Haat, INA

We have written endlessly on Dastkar and its initiatives. And it never seems enough. They are back at Dilli Haat, INA  with the 33rd edition of the annual Dastkari Haat Crafts Bazar from 1st to 15th January 2019. Incidentally this is the 25th year celebration of Dilli Haat as well.

We could not wait till weekend and visited this fair last evening. It seems to be a gala celebration of Indian handicrafts it all its glory. The traditional Kutch embroidery by village artisans in Kutch and Bhuj rubbed shoulders with contemporary ceramic work by Andretta . The real made peace with the abstract and in some cases, there was a classic fusion. Like this beautiful blue ceramic cow from Khurja which looked like a dream.

We loved the half jackets and woven bed spreads at URMUL, the quirky wildlife block prints at Dastkar Ranthambore and the intricate Ajrakh block-printed stoles and fabrics at the various stalls. This list is endless though and if you want to decorate your home or yourselves in some cool Indian style, this is the place to be. No wonder, bunches of firangs were going crazy over the scarfs, quilts and ornaments available here.

Dastkar has partnered with Indonesia this year for Nature Bazar and a couple of stalls were carrying Indonesian Batik and Ikat items. There are Balinese dance performances in the offing too. In fact, the Bazar has a host of traditional artists perform at random. We saw Purulia Chhau dance from Bengal  while groups of Manganiya singers from Rajasthan broke into soulful numbers at another place. The music from their sarangi filled the air with a faraway feel.

Net-net this is a complete event filled with art, music, regular Dilli Haat food, colourful festoons everywhere and a lot of fun. You don’t need to be “arty” to enjoy this event. If you haven’t visited Dastkar Crafts Bazar before, do a new thing this New Year and cherish it for yourself.