A file picture of the 2010 edition of Karigar Haat, when it was last held at Central Park

Karigar Haat returns to Salt Lake today. The handicraft and handloom fair, that was held in the Central Park fairgrounds between 2008 and 2010, was being pushed around from one venue to another over the last few years as confusion clouded the new rules regarding the hiring of Central Park.

In 2011, the urban development department, that is in charge of the ground, hiked the fair ground rent by 50 times over the existing rate and minister Firhad Hakim had declared at that point that the grounds would not be let out to private organisations any more.

So while government fairs continued to be held on the grounds, private fairs like Karigar Haat had to look elsewhere. “Since we thought Central Park was out of bounds for us, we held the fair in BA-CA Park in 2011, the stadium in 2012 and last year we were forced to move it out of Salt Lake altogether,” says Sonali Chakraborty, secretary of Art Illuminates Mankind, the NGO that organises the fair. “But this year, department officials encouraged us to return to Central Park. Being a permanent fair ground, it has the best infrastructure and connectivity to hold such events.”

Karigar Haat will continue till November 16 and bring under one roof more than 150 stalls from around the country. The theme this year is “natural and eco-friendly utility products” and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) is getting around 60 such artistes to sell related products. There will also be katha-stitched saris, bandhej stoles, bamboo furniture, jewellery and terracotta items. The evenings will see myriad cultural programmes (see below).

Happy homecoming

On Monday, principal secretary of the urban development department Debasish Sen clarified that the fairgrounds are open to any party, government or private, that pays the fees. Before the 2011 restructuring, the rate was Rs 1,000 per day, charged for the first seven days of the fair, and Rs 500 daily after that. It was revised to Rs 50,000 per day.

The clearing of the air regarding the booking rules is music to the ears of private fair organisers. “One of the main reasons for discontinuing our Children’s Book Fair was that the department was not renting out the fair grounds to us, private parties. It is great to know we can rent it again. If possible we would like to hold the fair at the venue as before in January,” said Arun Bhuwalka of Bidhannagar Bikash Manch that used to organise the Children’s Book Fair.

On-stage action

Fri, Nov 7- Chhou dance, baul music, dhamsa, ranpa, puppet show

Sat, Nov 8- Japanese-born baul singer Maki Kazumi and group

Sun, Nov 9- Akash Fakir, Arman Fakir and group

Mon, Nov 10- Kirtan and baul music by Anandi Basu

Tues, Nov 11- Drama Rozana by Usha Ganguli

Wed, Nov 12- Sufi singer Moorala Marwada from Gujarat to sing songs of Kabir

Thurs, Nov 13- Fusion music by folk singers Anushree, Sukanti and        Moorala Marwada

Fri, Nov 14- Fusion music by singers Dipannita Acharya and        Moorala Marwada

Sat, Nov 15- Children’s Day celebrations with art workshop by the Russian artist Evgenia Nesterova and Ukrainian graphics designer Chaykovs’ka Ganna. They will teach illustrations of mythological characters.

A paper-cutting expert will come from Mathura to teach “Sanjhi”. This involves cutting out images from a single sheet of paper. There will also be woodcraft artists, Madhubani painters etc. holding workshops. While these are mainly for children, others are also welcome to attend from 1.30pm-3pm. In the evening will be fusion music by folk band Brahmakhyapa and Moorala Marwada

Sun, Nov 16- Fusion music by singers Lopamudra Mitra and Moorala Marwada