Mrs and Mr Hooda visit stalls at Surajkund Mela

By Haryananewswire

CHANDIGARH, FEB 13

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today visited 27th Surajkund international Crafts Mela and went to different stalls. On reaching the Mela, he was received at the Dasara Gate by Mrs M. Satyawati, Director of Karnataka Tourism Department. He was offered a turban and a bouquet as a mark of respect. The wife of the Chief Minister, Mrs Asha Hooda also accompanied him. Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr Chhatar Singh, Principal Secretary, Haryana Tourism, Mr Vijai Vardhan, Managing Director of Haryana Tourism Corporation Mr Anand M. Sharan, Director General, Information, Public Relations and Cultural Affairs Mr Sudhir Rajpal and other officers were also present on this occasion.

First of all, Mr Hooda went to the national flag stall. After that he visited the stall of silk sarees. In the nearby stall, the weavers were weaving the cloth on a loom. Mrs Hooda took keen interest in their work and took some information about their work. He also visited Karnataka Tourist Information Centre. Then, he went to stall of Punjab where Mrs Hooda saw the hand embroidered suits.

Later, Mr Hooda went to Afghanistan stall and saw the world famous carpets and also the jewellery of Afghanistan. At the Sri Lanka stall, Mr Hooda enquired about the traditional dress of Sri Lanka. At Pakistan stall, he took interest in the artefacts made from onyx stone. He also visited stalls of Congo, Namibia and Nepal.

In reply to a question by media persons, Mr Hooda said that this Mela presents a picture of mini India, where we can see variety of arts, crafts, dances, songs, food and dresses at one place. Besides India, the artisans and artists from 20 countries are also presenting their craft products and artefacts at the Mela, which gives the Mela an international look.

On this occasion, MP Mr Avtar Singh Bhadana, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries Mr Jaleb Khan and Ms Sharda Rathore, Principal OSD to Chief Minister Mr M.S. Chopra, Media Advisor Mri Shiv Bhattia, Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism of Karnataka, Mr Arvind Jadhav were also present.

A number of dignitaries including the Governor Mr Jagannath Pahadia, Speaker of Haryana Assembly, Mr  Kuldeep Sharma, former Central Minister, Mr  Venod Sharma were present at the lunch hosted by the Chief Minister.

A cultural programme was presented before the distinguished guests, which included different dances from Karnataka, Bihu dance of Assam, Siddigoma of Gujarat and folk dance of Haryana, besides the dance items presented by the artists of Namabia, Tajikistan, Guinea, Congo, Egypt and South Africa.

On Tuesday evening a fashion show was organised by Khadi Gram Udyog based on the theme ‘Unity’ at Natyashala. About 14 models walked the ramp and there were six rounds, which reflected the culture of the states namely Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Kashmir. Kyrgyzstan artists performed in khadi outfits.

While on Wednesday evening, there was a Haryanvi cultural programme, which was applauded by a jam-packed audience at Natyashala.

Tomorrow, an Exporters and Buyers Meet will be conducted in association with Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts, so as to facilitate the possibility of exploring the business opportunities for the exporters and craftspersons both.