In The Land Of Krishna: 'Hunar Haat' To Empower Artisans, Craftsmen In Vrindavan, Showcase Richness Of Braj Culture

Aiming at promoting Indian traditional art and craft, a 10-day mega event including "Hunar Haat", “Braj Raj Utsav” and “Kumbh of Kaushal Kuber” will be held at Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh on November 10, a step considered for ensuring economic empowerment of indigenous artisans and craftsmen.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be inaugurating
the event on November 10 at Vrindavan near Mathura. Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that “Hunar Haat”, a perfect platform to promote, preserve and provide markets and opportunities to centuries-old traditional and ancestral art and crafts of India, is strengthening the “Swadeshi” and “Vocal for Local” campaigns.

Naqvi said that in “Vishwakarma Vatika" in “Hunar Haats”, these artisans and craftsmen showcase live, how these beautiful handmade products are made.

“Circus” will also be displayed at the “Hunar Haat”, being organised at Kumbh Mela Ground, Vrindavan, Mathura from November 10 to 19, where Indian circus artists will perform spectacular diverse traditional entertainment shows.

Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad is organising the 10-day Braj Raj Mahotsav from November 10 in Vrindavan to promote the glorious Braj culture. Religious, traditional, folk dance as well as cultural programmes related to Braj culture will be organised during the event.

The Minister said that about 400 artisans, craftsmen and culinary experts are participating at ‘Hunar Haat” in “Braj Raj Utsav”. Artisans and craftsmen from more than 30 States and Union Territories including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Nagaland, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu-Kashmir, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala will bring their indigenous products made with wood, brass, bamboo, glass, cloth, paper, clay etc.

Traditional vegetarian foods from various parts of the country will also be available in the “Hunar Haat”.

Renowned artists such as Annu Kapoor, Kailash Kher, Suresh Vadekar, Punit Issar (to perform the Mahabharat show), Sadanand Biswas, Anoop Jalota, renowned Bhajan singer Usman Mir, singer Rani Indrani and others will perform various cultural and musical programmes every day in the evening at “Hunar Haat”.

Naqvi stated that more than 6 lakh artisans, craftsmen and people associated with them have been provided employment and employment opportunities through “Hunar Haat” in the last 6 years.

“Hunar Haat” is also available on virtual and online platforms — http://hunarhaat.org — and GeM portal.

People of the country and abroad can buy “Hunar Haat” products digitally and online also.

The next "Hunar Haat" will be organised in Lucknow (November 12 to 21), Pragati Maidan, New Delhi (November 14 to 27), Hyderabad (November 26 November to December 5), Surat (December 10 to 19), New Delhi (December 22, 2021 to January 2, 2022).

“Hunar Haat” will also be organised in Mysuru, Guwahati, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Patna, Puducherry, Mumbai, Jammu, Chennai, Chandigarh, Agra, Prayagraj, Goa, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Kota, Sikkim, Srinagar, Leh, Shillong, Ranchi, Agartala and other places in the coming days.

BJP MP Hema Malini, Uttar Pradesh Minister for Power Shrikant Sharma, Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, UP Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad Vice Chairman Shailja Kant Misra and other dignitaries will also be present on the occasion of the inauguration of the 31st “Hunar Haat” at Vrindavan, Mathura.