'Dastkari Bazaar' to promote local culture

With the arrival of new year, art enthusiasts will get to witness a melange of colourful textiles, traditional handicrafts as well as classical dance performances by artists from India and Israel. Maestros from the two countries will come together at the 32nd edition of the 'Annual Dastkari Haat Craft Bazaar' to showcase their cultural legacy while cementing cultural and diplomatic ties – a vision seen by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Israel.

The annual festival will take place from January 1-15, 2018 at Dilli Haat, INA. For the upcoming year, Dastkari Haat Samiti has collaborated with the Ministry of Textiles to organize the festival. It will create an interactive platform where around 200 artisans from India and Israel will exchange their skills and art while creating intricate art pieces that are significant of artistic legacy.

Five craft persons from Israel will work with their Indian counterparts from Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan to create beautiful art pieces. Under the guidance of two Indian designers, every craft person will combine common understandings and skills to bring out entirely new designs.

Apart from this, the Israel-India workshop, which will be held between January 2 and 14, will showcase fresh art pieces to the public. During the workshop, art connoisseurs will also get a chance to interact with artisans and watch their work in progress.

"This festival is a unique platform for our craftspeople to interact and share their skills with their foreign counterparts. Our vision is to bring back the original essence of Dilli Haat where artisans who don't get to display their work in New Delhi will get a platform to showcase their talent exclusively," says Jaya Jaitly, Founder of Dastkari Haat Samiti. The 15-day craft baz a ar will showcase a mix-bag of art pieces which will be created by Israeli artists in different art forms —papier mache by Vered Otmy, patchwork by Orna Shahar, embroidery in textile by Sassona Schits, paper cutwork by Janine Golbert and wire mesh by Nihad Dabeet. The bazaar will also touch upon the important aspects of the craft producers' life by showcasing myriad cultural performances including folk music from Rajasthan. The exotic tribal martial 'Chhau' dancers will be dancing as well as demonstrating the art of mask making from West Bengal. 'Pinguli Art' from Maharashtra, traditional weaving from Gujarat and flute renditions by a Varanasi flute player will also be certain interesting things to look forward to.