Pictorial Post: A Battalion of Craftsmen armed with Creativity — Surajkund Mela

Vibrant colors, variety of items, absolute chaotic atmosphere, heat, dust, noise and thousands of people!! Let’s talk about one of the finest Art & Crafts Fest.

Moving up-north last year meant making a new list of must-see places for the calendar year 2018. Surajkund Mela was one of them. And I got my beautiful friend Pooja to accompany me in this exploration.

Mela is ‘a Fair’ in Hindi. Every year millions of visitors including international tourists visit this arts fair to witness the magnificent crafts festival. Surajkund is a place located around 8 kilometers away from South Delhi in Faridabad in Haryana state. It’s name comes from the ancient amphitheater or ‘Sun Pool’ that was constructed at this place in the 10th century AD by Raja SurajPal.

February Delhi winters brings you this Fair each year and in 2018 it happened between 2 Feb to 18 Feb. Spread across 40 acres of land with more than 1500 display shops it is one of the biggest crafts festival for people from across India to showcase their art and cultural exhibits.

Surajkund Mela was first hosted in 1987 and it is believed to have begun to promote dying handicrafts and cultural items of the country. Artisans and workmen from across the country participate in this fair. You can visit the official website of the Mela here. The ticket prices this year were INR 50. There are also discounting system available for senior citizens and school and college students.

One fascinating fact about this Fair is that each year the Organizers think of an Indian state to be chosen as the ‘Theme State’ of the Mela. Jharkhand was the theme state of 2017 Mela and Telangana was chosen for 2016 Mela. 2018 marked the 32nd Fest and the Theme State was Uttar Pradesh.

Another interesting fact about Surajkund Mela is that they have one Country partnering as a Focus Nation for that year’s Mela. Like Kyrgyzstan was the Focus Nation that partnered with Haryana government for the 32nd Surajkund Mela in 2018. The story is that Egypt became the Focus Nation in the year 2009 and since then each year one country is pegged as the Partner. Countries like Thailand, Lebanon, Japan, Sri Lanka and China have been the Focus Nations in the past.

So without wasting much time, let me take you through the Pictorial journey of what I could capture in the Surajkund Mela this year. If you have any further questions, please feel free to connect or leave comments below.

Hope the pictures have given you a fair idea of what the Mela is like. Do not miss visiting it next year, if you are close by!

Well, till next time.. just travel!

Cheers!

Sandy