Artisans Shine At Craft Mela, Draw Thousands

Nagpur: Nearly 40,000 visitors thronged the 32nd Orange City Craft Mela & Folk Dance Festival at the South Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC), which concluded on Sunday. Nearly 300 artists performed at the 10-day mela which also featured 138 stalls exhibiting handicrafts and textiles, alongside 25 food stalls offering a range of regional cuisines. SCZCC director Astha Godbole-Karlekar said the response shows the sustained public engagement with cultural events in the city. "Even on days with rain, visitors continued to turn up in large numbers," she told TOI.The concluding day saw a surge in footfall, with visitors making last-minute purchases at craft, handloom stalls, while also attending the final round of performances.National and state award-winning artisans from the country participated with a wide spectrum of traditional crafts. Organisers said the platform enabled interaction between craftsmen and buyers, while also providing visibility to art forms that are gradually disappearing. The final evening featured a curated line-up of folk and tribal performances, including Shankh Vadan from Odisha, Dholu Kunitha from Karnataka, Chhau from West Bengal, Ranappa, Ger from Rajasthan, Bardoi Shiklan from Assam, Mathuri from Telangana and Siddi Dhamal from Gujarat. Traditional performance forms such as Kachhi Ghodi, puppetry, bioscope shows and bahurupi acts remained part of the cultural event through the mela duration.Seven to eight folk groups performed each evening. The open-air venue hosted artists representing multiple states, while also providing a platform for local performers from Maharashtra and Vidarbha. On the concluding day, Karlekar felicitated Ashwin Dalvi, director of West Zone Cultural Centre, Udaipur, and former SCZCC director Deepak Khirwadkar.