BHUBANESWAR: A week-long fair National Tribal Craft Mela 2018 organised by Directorate of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute under the aegis of Ministry of tribal affairs here Saturday.
ST and SC development minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi, Development Commissioner of Odisha R Balkrishnan, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of ST and SC development department R Raghu Prasad and Special Secretary to state govt Akhil Bihari Ota among other dignitaries graced the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, Patnaik said, “14 states including Odisha are participating in this event. We are expecting a great response from denizens of the capital. It is a great platform for tribal communities to exhibit their talent.
More than 200 tribal artisans from 14 states such as Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Manipur Mizoram, Sikkim, Chattisgarh, Telegana, Gujarat and Odisha have participated in the event. Government organizations and NGOs like TRIFED, ORUPA, WORLD ACT, ANWESHA, MAHA SHAKTI FOUNDATION, SCSTRTI and ATLC also participated in the fair.
Handicraft items, handloom products, iron, bamboo products, pottery, Lacquer craft, tribal jewellery, dhokra art, sabai and siali crafts, tribal textiles and embroidery and tribal paintings among others were displayed at the fair.
The chief purpose of the fair is to preserve, promote and popularise tribal art and help artisans to look for better opportunities to develop their skills through cross- cultural interactions for commercial viability.
Satya Ranjan, a tribal artisan from Jharkhand, said, “It is a great platform for us to showcase our talents. We are also incentivised monetarily to participate in the event. We also get to interact with artists from various states which would also enhance our skill set. The fair would also help mainstream masses to learn a lot about tribal art and products. I cannot express my pride and happiness to be a part of this national-level event.”
Ota said, “We are expecting a huge gathering of tribal art lovers in the fair. We urge all tribal handicraft lovers to come forward and purchase tribal products. We are striving for the integration of the tribal communities into the mainstream. This platform is aimed at augmenting the process and bridge the gap between tribal communities and mainstream masses.”