Colors of the handmade khadi, radiance of the silky banarasi, Dazzle of the mirrored Khachhiwar, spicy smack of the Punjabi chaat and parathas, the original taste of the sour and salty makki ki raab, sweetness of the American corn, chhaach, lassi and almond milk in kulhad, the hand crafted pots, the embellishing articles of mud, frames, antiques and god idols made of wood, the classy bags, baskets and wall hanging articles of the jute, the heritage embroidered jackets and leather jutiyas, the colorful paper lamps and mashy pots, the paintings of brain teasing’s gods and the riddles, the ancient clocks, swords and armor, the ancestral songs, nukkads, kal beliya, gair and ghoomar, the caricatures and portraits of highly skilled artists, the block printed and bright cotton kurtas, the handmade clothes, flowers and bouquets, the brick and sand streets, the museum of the finest and delicate paintings from all over the country.
If you find yourself standing in the middle of all of these, then you are in one of the best fair festival of India, The Craftsmen Heaven, Rajasthan’s pride Shilpgram. Spread in area of 70 acres, Shilpgram is located 3kms to the west of the city of Udaipur near Hawala Village and makes the scene every year end since 1985. This roaring and hustling carnival is gifted by the West Zone Cultural Centre to enhance and aid the talent, skill and hard work of a craftsman not just from Rajasthan but from all 28 states of India. To reach the masquerade, you can easily find buses, auto rickshaws, carts etc that will directly take to the main archway of shilpgram. A low cost ticket or a pass will allow you open to whole of the fair till the day’s end.
At the main entrance, you will find a stage set for your welcome, where some traditional dances like kachi ghodhi, ghumar and gavri will flabbergast you. You may find numerous and diverse stalls to make you lick your fingers but you will also find a 365 days open restaurant not so far from the main archway where you will find almost every Indian exotic and scrumptious meal like daal baati, makki and bajre ki roti, raab, kadhi, besan gatta etc to overflow your belly with nourishment.
The Shilpgram Festival will mainly pledge you in hand loom clothes, ornaments and handicrafts carved of infinite materials. You may grease your hands all day in small emporiums which will never stop to delight you and force you to spend your money but at the end of the day, the festival will come to life to rejuvenate you with some never-before-seen performances and put you on your toes before you leave to put the day at rest. These astonishing and breath-taking performances start at 6p.m. to 8.30pm.
The inaugural day is known as The Welcome day where the chief guest commences the main stage ceremony and welcome performances are produced. Then after, the rest of the evenings are named after the theme and affair of the day. The show consists of folks and dances of different states, carried and executed by the residents of the particular state of which the folk is of. The festival lasts usually for 10 days till the last date of the year. For the year 2012, the carnival starts from 21st December 2012. Being a part of this lovely culture, one should definitely visit this festival and get memories of lifetime. This will surely rejuvenate the cultural spirit in oneself and make it a worthy experience.
Post By: Lakshya Sukhija