29th Surajkund International Crafts Mela celebrated

The 29th Surajkund International Crafts Mela was celebrated from 1 February 2015 to 15 February 2015 at Surajkund, Faridabad.

The Mela showcased the richness and diversity of the handicrafts, handlooms and the cultural heritage of India.

The Mela was jointly hosted by Haryana Tourism Corporation and Surajkund Mela Authority in collaboration with the Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs.

Chhattisgarh was selected as the Theme State while Lebanon was Partner Nation for the Surajkund Mela. Sri Lanka was chosen as Partner Nation for 28th Surajkund International Crafts Mela-2014 while Goa was the Theme State for the Surajkund International Crafts Mela 2014.

The idea of hosting the Mela is to recreate a pristine rural ambience for foreign and domestic tourists, to show the patrons of arts and crafts of the skills involved in creative arts, to introduce crafts persons directly to the buyers, and to identify, nurture and preserve the languishing crafts of the country.

Every year a theme State and a Partner Nation is chosen. Theme State is chosen with a view to promote and focus the art, craft and cuisine of the theme State whereas Partner Nation is chosen to showcases the best of that nation’s art, culture, traditions and heritage.

For the first time in 2009, Egypt became the Focus Nation and the idea of introducing a country/nation as a Partner Nation was mooted. Thailand was introduced as the first Partner Nation during the 26th Surajkund Crafts Mela 2012.