A woman displays her wares at a kiosk at Tribal Exhibition and Fair on Adivasi Ground in Bhubaneswar on Monday.

A large number of people are visiting the fair that provides a platform to tribal people from the state to showcase their art. Representatives of all 62 tribes from Odisha, including 13 particularly vulnerable tribal groups, are taking part in the fair.

This year, the fair organisers had requested the sellers to enable cashless transactions, but most of the kiosks do not have the point of sale (PoS) machines or awareness about e-wallets required to make such payments.

Michael Kindo, a resident of Nabarangpur who has set up a kiosk displaying tribal artefacts, said most transactions at his kiosk were made through cash.

"Only a few people are using the cashless mode," he said.

Kindo said most tribal sellers have no idea about how to use PoS machines.

"One needs to have bank accounts for using the machine. Most tribal people do not have bank accounts," he said.

Another seller, Ramesh Padiami from Koraput, said bank penetration in the remote villages of Koraput district was abysmal. However, Padiami is happy with the response he has been getting from buyers at his kiosk selling spices and agriculture produce.

B.B. Dash, a central government employee and resident of Nayapalli, said products on sale at the fair were reasonably priced.

"Some products such as turmeric, jaggery and tribal jewellery cannot be found anywhere in Bhubaneswar," he said.

Delicacies such as mudhi mansa (puffed rice with mutton curry) and several varieties of pithas (rice cakes) are also on sale.

"Mudhi mansa is sold at some places in Bhubaneswar, but the taste is far from authentic," said Narayan Jena, a marketing professional and resident of Pokhariput area in the city.

Last year, business worth around Rs 3 crore had been registered at the fair. The authorities are aiming at doubling the figure this time.

 

Text by Sandeep Dwivedy

Picture by Ashwinee Pati