First day, first show at Domjur Utsav was a no-show with very sparse attendance. Preparations were still on and many stalls were yet to be occupied. A few had gathered in front of the stage where special guests like advocate and former mayor of Calcutta Municipal Corporation, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, former MLA Mohanto Chatterjee, advocate Sanatan Mukherjee and others had gathered for the inauguration of the sixth edition of the utsav on January 31. The fair, which is being held at Domjur Stadium grounds, will continue till February 8. 

However, even with a thin attendance, a special stall for Shaktigarher lyangcha, had a considerable crowd before it. A first time in the fair, many with a sweet tooth made a beeline for the stall that proclaimed that the sweet was a favourite with the late Tollywood doyen Suchitra Sen. Large tumblers full of lyangcha of different sizes and prices were displayed at the counter. The price varied with size from Rs 6 to Rs 20 and people stopped by to taste the delectable items or pack some back home. “I was amazed to see this stall when I came to the mela. I have never had lyangcha from Shaktigarh, but I have heard a lot about it. This was an opportunity to have it,” said Amrita Roy, a resident of Domjur. 

Pots and pans, knives, strainers, tongs, combs of various sizes and other useful knick-knacks sold from a stall. There was no dearth of toy stalls as several vendors hawked colourful toys at various places in the fair. There was a ten-rupee stall too where every item was selling for just Rs 10. 

Games and rides for children were at one end of the fair, but there were not enough takers on the first day. A few had crowded around a keychain stall where they could get their names engraved. The idea seemed fascinating as the man at the counter, pressed the lever on a machine to impress the name on a heart-shaped keychain. Fancy bags, purses and jute bags for ladies on display caught the fancy of a few college girls who were browsing through these. A few more stalls would come up in a day or two, including one for glass furniture. 

Like every year, Domjur Utsav had a theme this year too and it was the modern woman. Guests on the first day spoke on the theme, stressing on women’s security and respect in society. Various other programmes have been organised through the days of Domjur Utsav. A health check-up camp has been arranged everyday with doctors from different branches of medicine attending. Physicians for medicine, diabetes, orthopaedics were attending the camp on February 3, 4 and 5. On February 7 cardiologist Dr Soumik Basu and paediatric cardiologist Dr Dritabrata Das will be attending the camp in the afternoon. A blood donation camp, only for women, has been arranged on February 7 at the mela. “We have been organising the blood donation camp for women donors for the past two years and it has been successful,” said Ranjan Bhattacharya, the joint secretary of Domjur Samaswar, the organisers of the utsav. 

Among cultural programmes, local performers will present dance and musical programmes through the evenings. Students from local schools will also perform. Jatras were staged on two days. Calcutta’s Navaranjan Opera staged Paribartaner Pore Bouma Elo Ghare on February 2 while a local group, Angik Shilpisanstha, will stage Jat Mane na Bhalobasa today. The final day of the fair will be dedicated to composer Salil Chowdhury. His daughter, Antara Chowdhury accompanied by singers Arundhati Home Chowdhury, Sakkhar Basu and Sibaji Chattopadhyay will pay homage to the late music director.