The Department of Textile & Handicrafts, Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh, has organized ‘Gandhi Bunkar Mela’, a National Handloom Expo, sponsored by the Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India. The national level expo is being held from 16th to 29th of December 2023 between 11am to 9pm at the Arunachal Bhawan Ground at CE Block, Salt Lake City, Kolkata (near CGO Complex). It will feature an exhibition cum sale of handicrafts from across the country, including the northeast and Arunachal Pradesh.
A total of 80 stalls have been set up with a wide range of crafts and handloom products. Participants have come from across the country to Kolkata in a bid to showcase their products at the exhibition. This includes a diverse attendance, including participants from Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya and of course, the state of West Bengal as well.
The formal opening ceremony of the Gandhi Bunkar Mela was held at 3pm on 16th of December 2023 in the presence of the Additional Resident Commissioner, Govt. Of Arunachal Pradesh in Kolkata, Shri Kajal Karmakar APCS, the former Dy. Resident Commissioner, Govt of Arunachal Pradesh, Shri Subhasish Nath and guests from the Weavers Service Centre Kolkata, represented by the Development Commissioner (Handlooms). It was also attended by Dr. Leki Wangchuk, the Hon’ble Chairman, Arunachal Pradesh Food Commission. The students of Arunachal in Kolkata presented electrifying dance and song performances in their traditional style.
Participants of the various stalls also put together a mesmerizing song, and in their respective speeches, thanked the Government for the initiative and the platform to showcase their talents. One of the participants also recognized the massive uplift that expos such as these have upon the small tribal craftsmen and weavers, claiming that it allows them to benefit from the marketing support that they otherwise would not find. The event was managed by Theism Events India and witnessed many people from Arunachal Pradesh who visited the handloom expo to experience a piece of home away from home.
On the first day itself, there has been a massive response to the Gandhi Bunkar Mela. Amid the wintry chills the people of Kolkata turned up in large numbers at the expo ground to take home a piece of khadi with them. Stallholders have expressed their happiness at the large turnout and are hopeful that the trend shall continue across the remaining days, ensuring that the expo turns out to be a grand success.
