Immersed with rich culture, immense art forms, foot tapping music and vibrant colours, the Surajkund International Crafts Mela this year embodies various arts and crafts not only of India but also of other nations. The theme State Chhattisgarh’s crafts made from terracotta, brass, wood, bamboo and wrought iron leaves one spellbound at the Mela. Here, an elephant weighing one quintal priced at Rs1.5 lakhs is attracting the attention of visitors. The craftsperson tells that this intricately crafted bell metal elephant took about one-and-a-half month to be made and about 15 men and five women to make it.
At the fortnight-long Crafts Mela, the craftsman Shivmangal from Balrampur has brought magical pitchers (surahi), lanterns and cooking pans. He says that our terracotta crockery is sturdy and whatever cooked in these utensils will taste better than the iron vessels. At another corner, the craftsman Bhubaneswar from Kondagaon is displaying intricately designed elephants, utensils (urns, tavas and dishes) and masks in terracotta at very pocket friendly prices. It is an art handed down the generations and Bhubaneswar making terracotta chimes says that his stuff is finding many takers.
The State awardee Daheshwar Verma of Om Wooden Art surprises you with his creations crafted from ‘Sagaon’ wood. From Ganesha to Mahatma Gandhi, he sculpts with precision and keeps the natural finish intact, and then places it on wooden base embellished with pieces of stone, marble or wood.
Paintings on Modi’s poems
Ajay Kumar Samir, a poet-cum-artist is exhibiting extraordinary creations at the Surajkund Mela. And, what makes his paintings special are that they are based on poems of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Displaying his water colour, pen and ink drawings framed with poems of Modi, Samir has been regularly putting up exhibitions at art galleries. “Through this Mela, I wanted to introduce serious art among visitors and connect with more people,” says Samir, a graduate of Fine Arts from College of Art, New Delhi. He got his real break when he made drawings based on former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee’s Hindi poetry. He says that my biggest achievement is that my drawings are on display at 7 Race Course, residence of Prime Minister.
He has also given colours to the poetry of known poet-writer Gulzar. “The jugalbandi of lyrics and brush is a unique combination. I try giving words, shapes with my colours,” adds Samir, who has his latest works along with books penned by Modi on sale at the Mela. His works are priced at Rs1,20,000-Rs2,50,000.
Indeed exotic!
Ostrich eggs… The largest egg of a bird forms the canvas for artist Issam Mirvat from lebanon. He has brought original ostrich eggs that are stacked in a basket and are catching many onlookers attention. He is enjoying it and likes to share that his passion of painting ostrich eggs happened many years back. “I use acrylic colour to paint monuments and flowers on the eggs. The art lies in carving these eggs, which takes one to three hours.”
He has further beautified these eggs by showcasing them in transparent containers and fitting a bulb or lED and it can be lit up too and used as decoration pieces to add to the look of the house. These are priced at Rs 1800 onwards.
Entertainment quotient at Chaupal
The Chaupal has always been the centre of attraction at the Mela, with visitors enjoying every bit of the national and international performances being stages by folk artistes. Audience enjoyed the folk dances of Chhattisgarh like Raut and Panthi, Bidhai of Madhya Pradesh, Kud of J&K, Ghoomer of Haryana, Kalbelia of Rajasthan by artistes of Zonal Cultural Centres and a musical performance based on women rights staged by students. The gyrating moves of the international folk dancers of lebanon and Tajikistan stole many hearts.