Shopping in Kolkata | Kolkata’s Sonajhuri Haat — a slice of Santiniketan in the heart of New Town

The Sonajhuri Haat in New Town may remind one of the famous Sonajhuri Haat of Santiniketan, but the two only have the name in common. The haat in New Town is more like an artisans’ hub, where craftsmen from various parts of West Bengal gather every weekend, from Friday to Sunday, 11am to 9pm, for more than a month now, to showcase their products

Photos: Pooja Mitra

The mela has a permanent spot at the New Town Community Zone, right below the Axis Mall bridge. The decorated space is now home to khadi cotton saris, embroidered kurtis and artsy cloth bags. The apparel options alone leave you spoilt for choice

If you love accessorising, the hand-painted neckpieces, earrings, bangles, rings, dokra and copper statement jewellery items will make it hard to choose just one

The fair, or haat, which is an initiative by the Creative Bengal Foundation, has a huge collection of home decor items, baskets, vases, sling bags, laptop sleeves, wallets and more made of cane

Artworks, be it in the form of prints or sculptures of Indian deities create a milieu of colours in the fair. The price range of the clay artefacts start from Rs 100

The wooden products include trays, plates, spatulas, while the ceramic items have a plethora of options like saucer and plate sets, wind chimes, glasses, candle holders and more. The aesthetic jute juttis and chappals are quite eye catching too

The Sonajhuri Haat also has artists who paint on T-shirts and make patachitras. If you want to know what inspires them to draw a certain painting or make a figurine, they heartily indulge into a chat, giving you an insight

From ‘bori’ to ‘banshi’, the haat has it all covered. You can now find ‘goyna bori’, ‘narkel naru’ and ‘ektara’, all in happy harmony, waiting for you under one hub

The artificial flowers, soft toys remind us of all the fairs we've been to during childhood. Since the mela space is concise yet spacious, it is perfect for a quick family outing on the weekend with the little ones. There are chairs inside, giving senior citizens a chance to catch their breath, and food stalls for quick bites and sips. Right outside the haat, there is also a book stall on wheels with a good collection of Bengali literature that gives you books at a 40% discount

Wall decor pieces to wooden tables, designer clocks, wooden showpieces like owls, lawn chairs — if you are looking for an interior overhaul, you can browse through the many options here at the Sonajhuri Haat

With old Bengali classics playing, the haat is also where you find many stories. From candid camaraderie to quiet practice, you see the many sides of the artists, some of whom are from Nadia, Dhakuria of Kolkata, Midnapore and South 24 Parganas

At the gate of the Sonajhuri Haat, you will find candy floss stalls, ‘ghoti garam’ and balloons. An hour or two at this Friday-to-Sunday artisan collective is a quick outing that gives a feeling of being in Santiniketan in one of the fastest growing parts of Kolkata. You can also directly get in touch with the artisans on 90518 53130 to buy anything that caught your eye