Visitors at a stall in the mela on Wednesday. Picture by UB Photos

Oct. 19: Khar cleanses the stomach, heals cuts, washes hair, can be used to clean clothes, prevents leeches from clinging to you and sucking your blood.

No wonder then that there was a rush for the product at Helping Hands Mela, 2011 at a bank here, as Binu Das from Barpeta and Kabita Rabha from Goalpara looked on proudly.

The two women, associated with the Foundation for Social Transformation, had put on display 24 varieties of khar.

While more common varieties like amitar (papaya), kol (banana), which form a part of the meal for the khar khua Assamiya (khar-eating Assamese), were sold out almost as soon as they were brought, there were other lesser-known varieties that attracted many too.

“People are unaware that khar can be prepared from many sources. Hence, they demanded more of the common kol khar and amitar khar,” said Rabha. The not-so-common khars included those made from potato skin, elephant apple, water hyacinth, coconut fibre and hay.

Binu Das also brought out a booklet on the 24 varieties of khar — its sources, method of preparation and benefits.

Available within a price range of Rs 10 to Rs 40, a bank official said khar, apart from handloom and artefact products, had been a big hit in the mela since its opening yesterday. The fair was inaugurated by actor Indra Baniya.

Aiming to give an opportunity to non-government organisations and communities for selling their products, the mela will continue till October 22. This time, eight NGOs are taking part in the fair.

Branch manager of the bank, Sabry Ali said, “It is a charitable cause where we don’t charge anything from these NGOs. Instead, we invite more NGOs and communities to come forward and take part in this mela. We get in touch with registered NGOs that are involved in handicraft and artefacts made by the underprivileged.”

Despite being in the business for two years, both Das and Rabha said bottling khar was a hurdle. “We have to get bottles from liquor shops and sterilise it. We cannot use plastic containers, but at the same time, getting glass bottles is difficult and costlier. Khar should always be stored in glass containers as it lasts longer,” said Rabha.

Das recommended that kol khar should be used for washing all cotton and silk apparel. Instead of sending an eri and muga chador for dry cleaning, Das said, “All you need to have is kol khar. Washing eri and muga in it not only helps in enhancing the colour but also makes the fabric soft.”

Apart from the foundation, representatives from Sishu Sarothi, Nedan Foundation, Northeast Network, Dwar Jingkyrmen and others also participated in the mela.