The fifth edition of the Saras Aajeevika Mela, which featured over 300 rural craftsmen associated with Self Help Groups, concluded on March 5 after a 17 day show at the Noida Hatt. In addition to art and craft, there was scrumptious food from almost all the states of India and over 85 cultural performances.
An endeavour of the Union ministry of Rural Development, the Mela did not however see a sizeable crowd.
Some of the prominent items displayed at the stalls were the handmade cloth from Jammu-Kashmir, jewelry, handicrafts from Rajasthan, handmade bags from Gujarat, food products from Madhya Pradesh, wooden handicrafts from Punjab, Jute bags from Assam, Sikki craft from Bihar and many more.
At the food stalls, staple food from different regions shone bright. There were Vada Pav from Maharashtra, Litti Chokha from Bihar and Dosa to name a few.
Lalit Tyagi, who had a stall at the Mela, said, “I came here from Nathdwara in Rajasthan. Here we are selling jewelry, handicraft, and other decorative things. The cost of product varies from Rs 150 and goes till 2,500. Here at SARAS, it’s the government that has provided us everything. We are living at Bikaner House at Pandara Road. We were also given travel and dearness allowance for our convenience. Everything is taken care by the government. However, since the mela only resumed last year, the footfall isn’t that much. But the best thing is that an initiative is adopted by that government to help the self help groups and for that 5 percent of the profit is given to them for their betterment and overall development as whole.”
Sujata Bhattacharya, who came with her son Abhijeet from Mayur Vihar, said the initiative is “good”. “I appreciate the concept to encourage the SHGs and most importantly the women entrepreneurs. I think it will definitely help them to boost their moral and bring the best out of them. Furthermore, the fair was quite nice. I bought a few things for myself. The prices were also quite cheap and affordable too. I bought earrings and handicraft goods and I thoroughly enjoyed the Mela and will surely visit it next time,” she said.
Apart from the stalls, there were other activities such as talent hunt for children where they could perform various activities like singing, dancing and fancy dress competition. There was also a quiz competition for the adults. To keep visitors hooked, there was an open mic karaoke competition.
To make things systematic at the food court, a counter was set up for tokens.
Prajwal Sinha, a student at Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, said, “I really enjoyed myself. I always wanted to explore this kind of a fair and wanted to learn about different states’ culture. I think that it is a good initiative by the government of inclusion and diffusion of our diverse culture. As a foodie, I tried the Maharashtrian vada pav, Dosa from Karnataka and sweets from West Bengal.”
The Mela is an initiative by the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojna- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) by the Government of India.
Here is a visual trip of the event:
