Chandigarh 13th February, 2013 : Haryana Chief Minister Shri 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 Smt. M. Satyawati, Director of Karnataka Tourism Department. He was offered a turban and a bouquet. The wife of the Chief Minister, Mrs Asha Hooda also accompanied him. Principal Secretary to CM Shri Chhatar Singh, Principal Secretary, Haryana Tourism, Shri Vijai Vardhan, MD of Haryana Tourism Corporation Shri Anand M Sharan, DG I&PR Shri Sudhir Rajpal and other officers were also present on this occasion.
First of all, Shri 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. Shri Hooda also visited Karnataka Tourist Information Centre. Then, he went to stall of Punjab where Mrs Hooda saw the hand embroidered suits.
Later, Shri Hooda went to Afghanistan stall and saw the world fame carpets and also the jewellery of Afghanistan. At the Sri Lanka stall, Shri 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 mediapersons, Shri Hooda 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 Shri Avtar Singh Bhadana, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries Shri Jaleb Khan and Kumari Sharda Rathore, Principal OSD to CM Shri M.S. Chopra, Media Advisor Shri Shiv Bhattia, Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism of Karnataka, Shri Arvind Jadhav were also present.
A number of dignitaries including the Governor Shri Jagannath Pahadia, Speaker of Haryana Assembly, Shri Kuldeep Sharma, former Central Minister, Shri Vinod 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 & 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 crafts persons both.