A sneak peek into making of art & artisans at handicrafts' hub

Kolkata: For the first time this year, the Rajya Sabala Mela — the annual handicrafts fair organised by state Self-Help Group and Self-Employment Department (SHG and SE) — will have a dedicated hub where visitors will witness artisans live as they manufacture handicraft items.

All the items available in the mela will be on display in the hub and people will be able to purchase directly from the hub and also from the shops in the fair.

The mela that will kick-off at Central Park in Salt Lake from Friday will continue till December 8.

"The prospect of sale of a handicraft item goes up when people can see on their own the toil and the skill that the artisans put to churn out such items. This will be a big platform for artisans to attract customers with their products," a senior official of SHG and SE department said.

Rajya Sabala Mela is the annual handicrafts fair that serves as a platform for self-help groups and small-scale entrepreneurs to exhibit and sell their goods.

There will be over 3,00 stalls and two Karigari haats in the mela. The products that will be sold include baluchari, jamdani, zardozi and boutique sarees, terracotta items of Bankura, including dokra crafts of Bishnupur, burnt-clay home décor items, leather bags, artificial flowers, zari work items, orchids, bamboo and cane items, waxworks, shola items , muslin items, tulaipanji rice, Chaau masks from Purulia, mats from Medinipur, and various other handicraft items.

"The food-loving Kolkatans, while visiting a fair, hardly miss the opportunity to tickle their taste buds by savouring food items. We have a wide variety of delicacies that will surely satiate their cravings. Snacks items prepared from fishes procured from Moyna, Pithe Puli prepared from Dheki Chata Chal of North 24-Parganas will be the special attraction," the official added.

The special fish item on offer will be Gandharaj Cutlet while the sweet items includes Bhapa Pithe, Puli Pithe, Ras Bora to name a few. State Fisheries Department had adopted the Moyna Model, named after the village of Moyna in Purba Medinipur, as a flagship model in 2017. Using the model, river water is channelised to ponds for fish cultivation at a brisk pace. The highly-successful Moyna Model of fish cultivation has been adopted in the district of Bankura by the state Fisheries Department.

There will be performances by well-known folk artistes every day during the mela.