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Colours Of Deepavali

A walk through a colourful Deepavali-themed flea market at Chitrakala Parishat reveals the rich tradition of our country's art and craft



Ms.Manju explaining the process of creating her artwork


By Sneha Ramesh and Nishi Trivedi

Bangalore: Rangoli designs for the pooja room, bright lamps for the balcony, fancy thorans for the doors, and trays of delicious sweets! That's what comes to mind, when one thinks of Deepavali . All these and many more festival essentials come under one roof at the 'Bangalore Utsav' flea market, organised at the Chitrakala Parishat (CKP) here.

The utsav, on till Oct 20, has more than 50 stalls, put up by both wholesale and retail vendors from across the country. Not limiting themselves to festival essentials, the stalls have a variety of products including cosy Kashmiri shawls; linen bedsheets; brass idols and; wooden toys from Channapatna. There is something for everyone -- from stalls selling kurtis with Lucknow chikankari prints and jewellery, especially jhumkis, to saree stalls stocking light cottons from Tamil Nadu to Kashmiri silks. Customers and patrons have a dazzling, colourful array of handcrafted and beautifully-created products to choose from.

For art lovers, there are stalls that sell artwork from across the country. For those who appreciate hand-painted work, there are 'madhubani paintings' from Bihar, created using only flower and vegetable colours with careful strokes of matchsticks, in place of a brush; and 'pattachitra paintings', traditional and cloth-based scroll paintings from Odisha. Visitors found the stalls delightful. "It is a joy to see works from various parts of the country and to buy them. It not only serves my shopping needs but also adds a spark of happiness," said Vasantha, who enjoys visiting such flea markets.

Link between customers and craftspeople

The flea market is an opportunity for craftspersons to directly interact with customers. This benefits both parties. "This is the season when I can sell my work, the response this year has been very good," said Manju Jadhav, owner of a stall which sells lamps for Deepavali. She is also an artist and produces a wide variety of artistic lamps herself. The lamps range in price from Rs 5/- to Rs 2000/-. Traditional mud lamps and new-age decorative glass lamps, are all on show. Another popular stall is the 'chaya nisarga' stall selling traditional board games and puzzles. According to Anil Kumar, the owner of the stall: "These days, everyone is busy with mobile phones. With these games, we intend to bring them out of such addictions and help them develop social skills. These games also help spur imagination and creativity," he said. The various games sold include: 'pagade (a traditional game similar to Ludo), 'aadu huli' (another game traditionally played with shells), 'soma cube puzzle' (a solid dissection puzzle).

No utsav is complete without entertaining performances and food. In order to make the shopping experience much more entertaining, the utsav has an events area where different live performances such as: 'Gombe aata' (Oct 19, 5 pm to 7 pm), 'Yakshagana' (Oct 20, 5 pm to 6 pm) are held. Visitors can also feast on jowar roti and a number of dishes, while enjoying the show.

Though online shopping has been an easier option for many people, a large number of people still enjoy the personal touch of shopping in such flea markets. Such utsavs have turned out to be a great platform for small businesses to promote their products and at the same time, it is an opportunity for local people to see the charm of various traditional products. This flea market has created a festive atmosphere and energised people, making festival preparation a fun-filled activity rather than a hectic chore.


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