SARAS Mela/ Craft exhibitions

I am fascinated by exhibitions. What attracts me the most is the all kinds of things not found in regular stores, specialised shops or supermarkets. Things from the past and also newly experimented. Then there is the variety. Am aware that exhibitions can do away with the meddling of middlemen and almost never miss them.

The landscape of exhibitions has grown and become broader over the years. From being a government driven activity, it now has many private players who curate exhibitions. Activities, performances, demonstrations, food stalls have been added to make it a complete experience for the exhibition enthusiasts.

For the artisans, exhibitions are a combination of many opportunities, the most important being, direct interaction with the customers, getting to know the market demands, products that do well, and why, and to get immediate feedback. They also get future orders and connect with owners of shops, designers and other players. In exhibitions, they receive payment right away and not depend on the consignment model or on the middlemen. So it is not a surprise that, the artisans were one of the worse affected because of the covid restrictions during the pandemic as exhibitions were not held.

Having attended all kinds of exhibitions, small, large, exclusive, niche to the ones designed to attract middle income groups, I want to share my experience of SARAS (Sale of Articles of Rural Artisans Society) melas/ exhibitions which I have attended for over a decade in many different cities.

SARAS mela, started in 1999, has gained popularity over the years. What I recall as a keen customer are also the Gramshree melas organised by CAPART many years ago which had similar format of showcasing products made in the rural areas, handloom, handicraft and other agricultural and value added products like whole spices, spice powders, pickles etc.

For those first generations, who had moved from the rural areas to the cities because of jobs, these exhibitions brought to them products as was used in their villages and also held nostalgic charm and utility value. This section went to these exhibitions looking for baskets, brooms, spices, handloom textile and many others as these were brought ‘as is’ from the rural areas and likely to be authentic. There were also people who had not seen the rural areas of other states, like for example people from Punjab living in a city in Odisha. They went to see and experience a different rural. A lot of customers went because the prices were affordable as these exhibitions did away with the middlemen. Plus, with the travel, stall, and living charges being subsidised by the government, the products were always reasonably priced.

In exhibitions organised by private players which are also exquisite and extremely well curated, the displayed products are usually with much more and deeper design intervention. Entrepreneurs and designers team up to bring new products, make aesthetic changes to the existing products, integrate upcoming market trends, customer demands, environment friendliness etc etc. These products are a class apart and in most cases, much more expensive.

It has also been tried to provide certain permanent space to exhibitions where artisans could display their products round the year in rotation. Dilli Haat was started on this idea and since then many more has been tried.

My most recent experience of SARAS mela, Bangalore 2024

This exhibition had stalls from all the State’s national Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) initiatives.

Sturdy, user-friendly, and in many sizes and shapes, cutleries made from areca nut sheath are a true replacement for the plastic, thermocol or plastic lined paper/ leaf plates used in parties and events. They are completely biodegradable and safe as no chemical is used in its processing. I heard later that in the past, small babies were given bath in these sheaths, as there is a nice space created naturally as the sheath is wrapped around the trunk of the tree.

The two people at the stall, a man and a woman, enthusiastic but spoke no other language and did not have any phone based app for payment. This can be a real deterrent as nobody really carries cash and there is also the challenge of finding exact amount and change.

One woman was making decorative garlands from cocoons which I had never seen earlier. She tried to explain to me about the silkworm and how this cocoon is availed but again, language was the barrier.

With increasing popularity and push from e-commerce platforms about iron, clay and stone vessels, there were few stalls selling these. Many sizes, and quite neat. I heard customers asking how to use it and make it ready to keep on fire. Welcoming conversations.

There was a lot of textile. Not surprising as it is the next largest employer after agriculture. Urban livelihoods which were skills learnt new, like beaded and metal based jewellery, or food stuff like pickle and sweets etc.

There was a very well organised foot court, again showcasing cooked food from different states. There was ample space to sit and water points.

The newspapers reported that this exhibition had tremendous footfall. The domestic local markets hold hope for opportunities for products of the country which has so much to offer. The need is to all so take this bigger version of the mela, with multiple products to smaller cities.

This exhibition can be used to survey consumer trends which can help in the product mix, arrangements and get feedback. For example, I have been looking for a cap for the summer from our beautiful textile which are cotton and breathable and shades good for summer which were not available. And a sling bag which has a wide strap so that it does not pinch the shoulder and also has space for a water bottle outside of the main compartment of the bag so as to avoid damage if there is a leak.

These exhibitions also hold the possibility to discuss, showcase R&D outcomes. Environment friendly packaging, new product development, production planning, business planning, digital marketing, new apps and their usage, capacity building needs of the artisans and the people who handle the stalls, and so many of these can be communicated in creative ways since exhibitions have the artisans present and stayingthere. Beside selling, the exhibitions can facilitate interaction on much needed topics.

One of the most heartening observation was the large presence of women in the exhibition. Almost all of them were stall in-charges and were on top of the act of selling. Despite stalls selling similar products, they did not seem competitive and were watching out for each other, bringing food, taking over others stalls when they take bathroom or lunch breaks. There was an amazing sense of sisterhood and solidarity.

No plastic was used and cloth bags were provided to all the stalls. Just that the bags need to be made in varied sizes as a clay vessel or a necklace had the same size bag and it did not make sense.

I do believe if craft has to survive and flourish, that our environmental concerns, consumption patterns are to be addressed, it needs to be adopted by larger number of people. Only scale can bring about these results. One person carrying a cloth bag, eating organic, wearing organic, natural dye clothes, using public mode of transport, using public facilities, using local etc., can be a role model, but has minimal impact in bringing substantial change to the situation. We need certain critical volume to alter the course of mass production and consumption and issues related to the same, of unethical, unfair, unjust, unsustainable exploitative market practices that are creating massive destruction of the environment and institutions at multiple levels.

What would life be without Liberal Arts?

Many years ago, in a conversation with academic oriented acquaintances, someone said “what would life be without Liberal Arts”? I, an eternal student of humanities, inclined always towards Arts, wondered, do people really care? Is it the Brick, or the Wall or the Mural or the Graffiti or the Terrain or the Crafts or the Communities? Is Eiffel Tower the Lattice or the Height? Do people marvel at what’s buried under the serenity of a reservoir or at the dam? What is the footfall in a Mall as against a Museum on any given day?

The Berlin Wall

I know. It is not necessarily either or. It could be both. But if one were to pick? Where would the numbers be?

I re-visited this and many of my other notions in 2020. Pandemic induced reality check on Life’s goals, travel plans, bucket lists, assumptions.

And I concurred. “What would life be without Liberal Arts?”

George Town, Penang

Most of us have been grappling with the last ten months. No matter how often we travelled before the pandemic, where all we went, on work, on leisure or to run errands, that has changed for everyone. So, what filled that extra Time, besides the household chores?

Let’s begin with the memes. One a day, keeps the blues away. Plenty and you are forwarding the whole day! Have you noticed how creative they are? One image, few lines, two words and there, you cannot stop laughing!  Some spoons and plates, some poetry, quotes and jokes and I have to admit the air darkened with worries clears up to let some sunlight inside our heads. Not to forget the lifesaving OTT platform. Regional films, Hollywood, Bollywood, old forgotten films and serials. Films made during the world on pause. We were not just randomly flipping channels but searching, finding, watching and sending out recommendations. The complete process of savoring the investment in watching a film.

The books, unputdownable stories of history and romance and struggles. Between the lines are our current realities with the deep sighs.

To really wait for the newspaper. Not like a quick glance over breakfast or to kill time at the airport, but to really relish G Sampath and Santosh Desai, to chew every word, every idea and every conclusion slowly for its taste and aftertaste.

Did you get to read the poem by Kitty O’ Meara, “And the people stayed home…”, in the roots of a tree laden with stars, a human and animals living in peaceful coexistence? Won’t that be one of the best images to hold on to?

And the People Stayed Home

Music, the soul soothing nostalgic faraway land. When a song reminded you of a friend in college and you actually picked up the phone and called her to say “you recall that guy who went up on the stage in our college festival and dedicated this song to you?” You both rediscovered and dusted the friendship which you thought had gone redundant over the years. The old albums, or the pictures folder in your laptop, flashback to a family wedding, black and white images.  

Karaoke singing Heal the World or closing your eyelids to Andrea Bocelli’s Amazing Grace, listening to T.M Krishna or humming along Woh subah kabhi toh aayegi, while we waited for Science to deliver the vaccine, what has kept us going are these tiny little sparks of creativity that lifts the soul from despair, inch by inch.

Remember when the Titanic was sinking, and the band continued to play? (from a meme)

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Remembering the Lal Bagh Flower Show

Not surprised but disappointed. August 2020 would not host the Lal Bagh Flower show. Twice every year 15^th August and 26^th January, large sections of Bangalore waits for this event lasting for ten wonderful days,  to witness its flowers, trees, moss, lichen…Nature in its full glory.

I certainly attend one of the two if not both. Gradually, over a decade of living in Bangalore, finding my way around the city, I have come to form a pattern. I often take public transport to reach The Lal Bagh. The last trip was a pleasant ride in the new Namma Metro with a change from purple to green line at the Majestic station. I then walk to Lal Bagh and buy my entry ticket. I particularly like the bougainvillea canopied path and reach the entry area near the rock.  Having visited many times, I first use the facility of the buggies and take one round of the entire garden, filling my eyes with the resplendent sights. The tree’s eye view of the world beneath.

The oldest tree at Lal Bagh

I listen to the commentary of the bogey driver who double-up as guides, passing on oral history of the garden as they have heard, same every time, pointing out rare and old trees, the lawn clock, the bandstand, the lake and finally stopping at the glass house. I get down near the ancient rock formation and climb till the Kempegowda tower, pausing to get a view of the city from the top.

The rock formation and the Kempegowda tower

Descending I enter the bonsai garden wondering at this concept of dwarfing the magnificent trees! I then walk as I feel like, choosing paths that are empty.

Commissioned by Hyder Ali in 1850, completed by his son Tipu Sultan, The Lal Bagh passed through many hands, and each added to the garden what they thought would make it more beautiful or useful. From rare plants and trees, horticulture species, even vegetables have adorned the soil of Lal Bagh. This two hundred and forty acre garden has over a thousand species of trees some being more than hundred years old. Thankfully, despite efforts at commercialising this space, the changing leaderships influencing its character, it has managed to remain conservation inclined.

These shows also became an occasion to meet friends. We would sit on one of the benches or the grass and talk under the trees. Then eat at the stalls, or someone would have packed a snack and tea in a thermos or we would walk to MTR for a coffee or a meal. Both my parents and in-laws, sharing either an interest in walking or gardening would love the visit and talk about the flower shows years later.

The central glasshouse where the flower decoration is held was constructed in 1889-90 with cast iron from Glasgow, and was later extended in 1935 with steel from Mysore. Many schoolchildren from all age groups are brought in droves by their teachers. They obediently fall into a line, hands extended on the shoulder, walking in the midst of giant flower arrangements and sculptures.  Supposed to be an exposure to nature, plants, ecology, history, you name it, but most children walk by quickly as soon as the teacher clicks few photos and head to the food stalls. Such a wasted opportunity, I feel. The stalls are of all kinds giving fillip to local produce, I head to check out plants, planters, seeds and garden care.

Bangalore despite everything still has relatively kind weather, gentle to the trees and pleasant to its people. I have always come back with a feeling of gratitude for this amazing visual extravagance of nature and the simple but rare joys in an urban city.  Confined to home for over five months, unable to access most community spaces, theatres, musical evenings, malls, physical fitness centres, travel, I cannot wait to go for a walk and stand in queue to buy tickets for The Lal Bagh Flower Show 2021.

Hoping Nature has healed a little bit during this time.