A girl looks at a bag at Saras Mela in Patna on Thusrday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Patna, March 10: Saras Mela, a handicraft fair being organised on the ground in front of DAV BSEB, Shastri Nagar, has been drawing visitors from all corners of the city.

Exquisite art and craft products from 14 states are on display at the fair.

Haryana jewellery has been the biggest draw for young girls. Deepali Nayyar, a DAV BSEB student, said: “I love these jewellery. They are ethnic and fashionable. I can wear them with both Indian and western dresses. I am really keen to buy some of these.”

The stall, no wonder, had a crowd of girls leaning on the counter to take a closer look of the ornaments.

“This is our traditional jewellery piece and it gives an elegant look to the lady. These have thick pearls attached to them with intricate brass design,” said Netra Pal, owner of the stall, pointing out that the price of jewellery is between Rs 200 and Rs 300.

Not just jewellery, all other items on display at the fair boast of an exquisite touch of tradition.

Handmade bags made by Bhopal-based artisans attracted many buyers. “Bags with jari work, tissue work, beat work and kundan work are also available in my stall. I have bags in different shapes: round, square, kishti (boat) and potli-shaped. The prices are between Rs 50 and Rs 800,” said Naresh Kumar, the owner of stall number 109.

A sitting stool, which gives the illusion of a sitting king and queen, is available in the stall of Shailesh Mishra. “This is the most sought-after piece in my stall. I have sold around 100 of them so far. These stools are made of camel leather and Gujarati clay,” Mishra said. He added that the price of the stool ranges from Rs 350 to Rs 700.

The stalls also have beautifully designed wooden cases, mostly coloured in red. The price of these boxes is between Rs 50 and Rs 80.

Stall number 8 has mangoes, aawla and garlic pickles to offer to the visitors. A large variety of jams, including litchi, jamun, and guava, awla sweetmeat and juice, aloe vera juice and cream are also available in these stalls. “All these are handmade products. We have taken special care to make all these,” said A.K. Singh, a city-based seller who has taken part in the fair.

Madhubani paintings, traditional onam saris, cotton kurtis, Banarasi silk, Kashmiri traditional wear and incense sticks were also available at the fair. Ranjana Singh, a homemaker who was visiting the fair for the second time, said: “I have come here to buy the incense sticks I bought from here last week. These sticks smell really good and are of best quality.”

The 12-day mela, which started on March 1, is coming to a close three days later.

Madhubani paintings, traditional Onam saree, incense sticks, cotton kurtis, Kashmiri traditional wear, Banarasi Silk are the other attractions of the fair.

So if you want something very traditional like madhubani paintings or ultra-traditional , this is the place to go and if you are slightest bit adverse to large crowds, make sure to come at the afternoon rather to come in the evening, People avoid to come in the afternoon, so one can catch to the crowd only during the evening when people prefer to come along with their family said a source.