Toshali National Crafts mela to start from Feb 1

Bhubaneswar: The popular Toshali National Craft Mela organised by Handlooms, Textiles & Handicrafts Department will commence on February 1 at Janata Maidan.

The 17th edition of the mela will see artisans, weavers, from all over the country where they will exhibit their traditional and contemporary handicraft and handloom products.

The mela aims to offer an open forum to artists, artisans and
connoisseurs for interaction. It will also strengthen the position of the weavers and artisans who are economically derived by creating a market for their products as well as preserve and nurture the traditional art forms, handicrafts, and handlooms of India.

The Theme Pavilion of the mela will showcase the “Handlooms: Tradition & Trends”.

This year, 560 Artisans and weavers will participate in the mela, out of which 250 handicrafts artisans from different parts of the country are sponsored by Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) under National Handcrafts Fair Scheme. 50 weavers from different parts of the Country have been sponsored by DC (Handlooms). Similarly, 150 Artisans and 110 Weavers of the state have been sponsored by the Directorate of Handicrafts, Odisha, and the Directorate of Textiles and Handlooms, Odisha respectively.

This year, a food court having 25 food stalls will offer delicious multi-cuisine foodstuffs to visitors along with traditional Odia cuisine by exclusive hotels and restaurants. Out of these, some stalls are earmarked for Govt Organizations like Millet Mission, OMFED, and OTDC.

The mela will open every day from 02:30 pm to 09:30 pm.

The mela will host cultural programmes each evening between 6 pm to 9:30 pm, inviting eminent artists and troops from different parts of the country as well as the State. A fashion show will also be organized showcasing rich handloom, and handicrafts products of our state.

Last year the mela witnessed a footfall of 19 lakh people and Rs16.13 Crore businesses were achieved. It is expected that around 20 lakh people will visit the mela this year and products worth Rs 20.00 Crore will be sold approximately.

During the inaugural event, Life Time Achievement awardees of the handicrafts sector for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021 will be felicitated. Similarly, State Award for Handicrafts and Handloom sector for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021 will be given to eminent personalities.