With the winter days finally getting sunny again, it was a perfect idea to spend a day at 34th Surajkund International Crafts Mela at Faridabad, an hours drive from Gurgaon and if you are not a huge fan of a heavy crowd, Friday is definitely a good idea!
Background
First hosted in 1987, this fair was brought up to an International status in 2013 with increased international participation, with 20+ countries this year. The venue every year is Surajkund (‘Suraj’ – sun, ‘Kund’ – lake/ reservoir) in state of Haryana, India. Every year there is one theme state, this year been Himachal Pradesh.
Some logistics
- Dates – 1st – 16 February in 2020
- Timing – 10.30 AM till 8.30 PM, all days
- Accessible by local transport and person vehicles (with a large well-planned parking area)
- Tickets – available both at the site (and this time I noticed the ‘BookMyShow’ counter for online booking too!)
The Mela
The Mela spread over 40 acres of land with 3 entries and 1000+ work huts/ stalls can be overwhelming. So we tried to follow the numbers tagged to each stall to cover the grounds systematically and failed miserably because, the cultural activities, the colourful stalls and diverse craft continued to pull us in all directions.
Himachal Pradesh, being the theme state, you get to see a varied cultural and art exhibits from the states – Handicraft from woodwork to metalwork to clay work, Handlooms to fine dresses to woollen traditional wear! Equally matched was the handicraft work from other states.
Well, equally attractive (and more for me than my wife!) were the food stalls, ultimate satisfaction for my culinary longing. Variety of street foods from various parts of the country reinforced 🙂 by a huge buffet by Himachal tourism and IHM, to name a couple.
The other attraction/ crowd-puller were the cultural activities/ programs. Traditional music-dance-songs by the traditionally attired performers were enthusiastically joined by the visitors.
What Else
We missed the evening light & sound show and the fashion show… plan enough time to cover all ground and see the evening activities! Also, if you plan for some serious shopping, visiting towards the end of the season is a good idea, you could get good deals!
Well, this short writeup hardly does justice to this magnificent event of colours, cultural diversity and our rich heritage. So, I have put together a separate gallery with my photos (click here) and videos (click here) to make up for some of this.
So, if you haven’t yet visited, go now! If not, put it up on your calendar for February next year!
Very Informative…..Thanks
Couldn’t decipher which to appreciate more. The writer in you or the photographer in you. Both the skills are unparalleled. You’re really really adept with both, the pen as well as the camera
Thanks for the encouragement, Debojeet! Hope to provide you with lots more from my travel and exploratories …
आशीष,
बहुत ही रचनात्मक रूप से विवरण एवं चित्रो द्वारा प्रस्तुति।
चंद्रा
Seen the Surajkund mela with new dimension..
We will visit for sure this time…
I missed it this year, but coming next year I have my feelers on alert.!! What I love about this mela is that it suddenly transforms you into a rainbow of colors..!! Cliqs are superb, as expected from you.. Firantoo 👍😊
Very informative AK.
Thanks for taking me along with you , NICE writing Man. Photos we know it’s your passion but writing was something new to me.
Bye till we hear next time from you.
I missed visiting the Mela this year but with your pictures and narratives that void has been filled. Thank you for bringing the Surajkund Mela to us.
This blog is detailed, informative, structured and well organized when it comes to read and to connect.
Information is well placed in categories with images.
One can get all related content at one place.
Thanks Sir
What You did for sure is that u made us feel how can it b missed
Beautifully captured n framed article.
Very well written Asheesh, look forward to more of your travel adventure stories.
Nice Asheesh to see you in this rejunavated avatar.
Too good.
Seems you had very good time.
Photos are very nice and the short description too.
Keep going for your passion
Very well written & the photos are also very nice . Looking forward for more content from you . 😎👍🏼
Wonderful!
Wonderful piece! Look forward to read more blogs from you.
Excellent pictures asheesh , and the description for each picture is beautifully written. Keep up the good work .