Handicrafts mela a crowd-puller

rajkot: as saurashtrians celebrate the end of a long dry spell it's only natural for the resilient kutchis and people of the rest of the state to partake in their joy. of the three major fairs in the city, the one organised by the gujarat government's industrial extension cottage programme (indext-c) gives rural artisans a platform to showcase their talent and make their creations easily accessible to the masses.for hirabasar marwara of bhirandiyara village in banni and eight other artisans from quake-hit kutch, the ongoing fair has come as an opportunity to piece their shattered lives together. "this year we have decided to provide stalls free of cost to kutch artisans," says h m pandya, senior officer (programme) of indext-c. marwara admits he has had to suffer losses in terms of skilled workmen and infrastructure, but encouragement from the government and masses has given him the strength to start from a scratch. "the leather fancy work, embroidered footwear, mirror work, yokes, mukhwas, wall pieces and bedcovers for sale here range between rs 25 and rs 1,100," he says. apart from the exhibits from kutch, visitors can choose from terracotta artefacts from kheda, handloom bedsheets from nadiad and embroidered ones from banaskantha, bamboo and wood work from rajkot, including the rare 'meenakari' furniture, patchwork and patola saris, tie and dye fabrics, brass decorative pieces, white metal and stone jewellery, puppets, papier mache articles, acrylic wooden cut-outs, scroll slippers, besides bags, hammocks and jewellery made of jute. till two years ago the handicrafts fair was part of the janmashtami mela at shastri maidan, but differences with the lokmela samiti, which organises the main fair, over the location of the stalls led the organisers to request the rajkot municipal corporation to allot an alternative site. the quiet and comparatively clean ambience of the race course venue seems to have done the organisers a lot of good. "earlier, we were allotted 50 stalls and charged rs 60,000 for the same. here, we have put up 80 stalls this year and have paid the corporation only rs 19,000," says pandya. on an average 10,000 people visit this fair daily. "this is a better response than what we used to get at shastri maidan," he says, adding "only people interested in handlooms and handicrafts venture here". since the middleman is eliminated, the prices of most of the artefacts is reasonable. so, if you're in the mood for shopping, more importantly, far from the madding crowd, then the ongoing handicrafts mela (open till august 15) is the place to be, if you can make it to rajkot.