If you are looking for a touch of artistic creativity to do up your home or add to your wardrobe, you need not wait for the handicraft fair.
Through the month of June, 30 artisans from 10 districts of Bengal are sitting in one half of the community zone under the Axis Mall flyover with an array of ware, from 11am to 9pm, and sometimes beyond.
Called Sonajhuri Haat, this is an initiative of Creative Bengal Foundation. “We are providing a platform for artisans and weavers to reach out directly to customers. We started this initiative in end-2020 with 18 artisans in Kestopur, enthused by the response to our initial project of selling masks. This was just after the actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death and the artisans had painted his picture on the masks. That project had given much-needed impetus to them when they were stuck jobless at home after the lockdown. Once fairs were allowed at the end of the year, we decided on a travelling fair. Since then, we have held this haat in Howrah, Hooghly, Burdwan, Midnapore and Murshidabad, other than Calcutta. This is the first time we have come to New Town,” said founder Rajorshi Das.
Sumati Murmu displays necklaces and earrings made of seeds of flowers.
Bikash Mal from Burdwan sells wooden wall hangings.
If the response in the first weekend is any indication, New Town is lapping up the fair. “Demand is fantastic. We had to stay open past 10pm as people kept coming, with some even spotting us from the car on their way home and stopping to purchase,” Das said.
The inauguration was done on Friday by Hidco managing director Debashis Sen and environmentalist Swati Nandi Chakraborty. “We have given artisans this space and arranged for their stay at the Rabindra Tirtha dormitory. We want an environment-friendly haat, like in Bolpur where Sonajhuri Haat takes place. They are also selling T-shirts with New Town motifs,” said Sen.
Chakraborty spoke up for shunning plastic and supporting local traditional artistry. “We have all heard of Lucknow chikan. Here you have Hooghly chikan on sale. This needs to be popularised,” she said.
Sari-seller Santu Dey of Shyamnagar has been getting lot of orders for customising T-shirts. He has drawn Biswa Bangla Gate, Metro Rail and hand-pulled rickshaw on his panjabis. On Sen’s request, he even drew last week’s train accident on a T-shirt.
Sati Haldar of South 24-Parganas has brought Goyna Bori, Nadu etc. Bikash Mal from Burdwan is selling wooden products. His ektaras of various sizes, priced Rs 100 to 450, and bamboo flutes, priced Rs 50 to 500, are selling well. He has mini tortoises with heads that wriggle on their own as also wooden clothesline clips, priced Rs 4 each, other than wall hangings and even a wall clock.
Sumati Murmu’s stock of necklaces and earrings are all made of seeds of flowers like Aparajita and Baijayanti.
“We would love to stay on beyond June in New Town if the response is so good,” said Das, whose trust also trains artisans.