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0 comments | Thursday, January 31, 2008
















The 22nd Surajkund Crafts' Mela opened at the usual venue of the outskirts of Delhi near the Tughlakabad Range today (1.2.08). The fortnight long (1st to 15th Feb) annual feature of the Haryana Tourism, running successfully for the last 22 years, the Surajkund Crafts Mela has been a platform for the ethnic and grassroot artisans, craftspersons and artists from all over the country who display their wares and performing art directly to the public, eliminating the role of the middleman.

I have vivid memories of the first day of the First Surajkund Mela of the series that was held in 1986. Driving on my bike with a friend, on the hilly and serpentine road running through a protected forest sanctuary from the Tughlakabad range to Surajkund was an event I have still not been able to forget. As the Mela had not been publicised much, there were more artisans and artists and Mela officials than the public.

Now after 22 years the scene has changed drastically. The final count of crowd that used to be a 'few thousands' during the fortnight now ends up in 'many lakhs'. The stretch of the drive that used to be a country side is not suburban any more. And so have changed the artisans. Now you have a feeling whether are they really ethnic and come from the grass root level ? Cell phones which at that time were seen being used only by Captain Kirk and his deputy Spock in the episodes of Star Trek, are now a handy gadget of the artisans and craftspersons who keep talking to their contacts back in their State to send more material as they have unexpectedly sold all that they had on the first day itself . The bottom line is that the Surajkund Crafts' Mela has come a long way !

Somewhere from the Fifth Surajkund Mela, a trend started to dedicate the mela to a Theme of one of the States of India. Since then almost all States have showcased their theme once. This year the theme of the Mela is West Bengal. And the Mela was inaugurated by Union Minister of External Affairs, Pranab Mukherjee.

A suggestion to the Surajkund Mela authorities. Set up a couple of ATMs near the venue of the Mela so that the public can draw money when they run short of cash. I have myself faced this problem a couple of times and had to visit the Mela again the next day only to find out that the article had already been sold. C'mon let's welcome the technology side by side with the ethnicity !!

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2 comments | Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Back then, when Delhi was limited to the municipal boundaries of the walled city of Chandni Chowk with the localities of Paharganj, Sarai Rohilla, Roshanara Bagh, Kishen Ganj, Subzi Mandi and Sadar Bazaar outside it's precincts. Villages of Tughlakabad, Mehrauli, Palam and Najafgarh were the far far flung suburbs of Delhi and Shadara and Gandhi Nagar in the East were the only colonies beyond Yamuna connected with the Bridge of Boats and the Yamuna Bridge (Lohe ka Pul). These two bridges were the main passage possibility for the commuters coming from the other side of the river and working in Delhi. Tongas and the Harley Davidson 750cc engine fitted four-seaters used to ferry between Old Delhi Railway Station and Trans-Yamuna (Jamna paar as it is called in the local dialect of Delhi - the other side of Yamuna) South, to the Purani Dilli or the Old Delhi, connected by Minto Road, was Cannaught Place and beyond that it was all forest with cluster of villages existing since their establishment during the rule of various Dynasties. Back then, when the roads and places still had their names from the colonial and medieval period............... back then, when annas was the prevalent currency after rupee .................... back then, when coca cola used to sell at four annas (!) ......................back then, when tongas and bicycles were the mode of transport of the common man................... back then.................... when Vespa, the Italian two wheeler company, was gaining entry in India .................... back then when 'traffic', 'pollution' and 'security' were the terms unheard of.................... back then when one could climb till the top storey of the Qutub Minar ................. back then when Bimal Roy's Sujata at Odeon and K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam at Plaza were heading towards their jubilees................ back then when Raj Kapoor's 'Sab Kuchh Seekha Hamne', Dilip Kumar's 'Koi Pyaar Ki Dekhe Jaadugari' and Dev Anand's, 'Khoya Khoya Chand Khula Aasman' and Ganguly Brothers' 'Babu Samjho Ishare', were getting popular on Radio Ceylon's Binaca Geet Mala ................ back then, when DLF had started selling plots in South of Delhi and DDA was nowhere on the scene.................. back then, when Delhi's city transport was known as DTS (and later DTU)................... back then, when trains were still pulled by the steam engines .................. back then, when Delhi was mostly Punjabi and 'hindustani' dominated................. back then, when V.K. Krishna Menon was the Defence Minister under the Prime Minister Chacha Nehru.............back then, when the new American Embassy was opened in Delhi..... .................. back then, when Burmah Shell, Esso and Caltex were the oil companies selling petrol at Rs.2.00 per gallon !!)................... back then, when Pragati Maidan was known as Exhibitions Ground............... back then, when Delhi's Zoological Park came into existence near the Purana Qila...back then, when India had only sixteen States..................back then, when domestic flights in Delhi used to land at and take off from Safdarjung Aerodrome.................back then, when Murphy and Philips were the popular brands for the radios.................back then, when villages of Delhi had no electricity and sewage system..................back then, when HMV's gramophone was the household music system.................... back then when angeethi or chulha used to be the source of fire in the kitchens.............back then when telephone numbers used to be in four digits................back then, when PIN codes had not come into existence................back then, when Eisenhower, the 34th President of USA visited India...........back then, when medium of publicity used to be the local munadiwala.............back then, when the kalaiwala, the manjiwala and the pinjau used to be a common site in the colonies...................back the, when Delhi used to stop and stand up to observer silence for two minutes at 11.00 am on 30th January.................back then, when barbers discussed politics with their customers while cutting their hair................... back then, I started observing Delhi around me.