Patna, Jan. 30: Saras Basant Mela organised on the premises of IAS Bhavan by the IAS Officers’ Wives Association today was not only a great day for charity but also for the residents of Patna to let their hair down.
The fest, which was inaugurated by chief general manager of State Bank of India Jeevan Nath Narayan, was host to an array of stalls. Apart from the stalls put up by the wives and children of the IAS officers, there were stalls of Kashmiri goods and dress materials.
Sunita Prakash, a resident, had put up a stall of dress materials at the fest. The items, titled Aradhana and Aakriti, were based on separate themes. “The saris and kurtis at my stall are based on different themes. While some are hand painted on, some have block prints on them.”
She also had notebooks to complement her items.
Geeta Gupta, another resident who had put up a stall, said: “Putting up stalls at such festivals has become a habit with me. The crowds appreciate my items a lot, too.” Gupta’s stall had materials with hand appliqué work and Mithila paintings. Sujata Jaiswal offered knitting and crochet works for the kids today.
The fest, that had 60 stalls, was organised for charity, said the association’s president Paromita Saha. Secretary of the association Mridula Prakash said: “We come up with such events to collect funds which we utilise throughout the year for various charitable purposes.”
Most of the youngsters present at the fest had put up game stalls. Shlok Kumar and Sonam Lal, at the stall Bowling Alley, were busy explaining the rules of the games to the persons interested. Lucky Dip was another such stall.
If shopping and games are taken care of, can food be left far behind? The wives of the IAS officers took care of that particular aspect. Delicacies like sizzlers, kebabs, biryani, gajar ka halwa, golguppas, panipuris and momos were all there at the festival. For dessert, handmade chocolates were also up for grabs. They came in different colours and themes like Bunny Basket, Baby’s Day Out, Almond Divine and Chocolate Bouquets. Abha Gupta was the person behind all these delights.
The fest was finally concluded by R.R. Sharma, chief manager of Canara Bank, and S. Rana, deputy chief manager of Indian Overseas Bank.
