30th Surajkund Crafts Fair, Faridabad, Haryana

“Journalist and professional sociopath A.A. Gill wrote, “If New York is a wise guy, Paris a coquette, Rome a gigolo and Berlin a wicked uncle, then London is an old lady who mutters and has the second sight. She is slightly deaf, and doesn't suffer fools gladly.” Delhi, then, might be an ageing tsarina: ruthless, capricious, avaricious, paranoid – and fond of bright colours, pretty trinkets, and sex scandals. Like all grandes dames, she's showy, cash-splurging, hard to love, easy to photograph. Or perhaps, given her recent reinvention, she's more like a nouveau riche socialite – exactly as above, but on Twitter. The whole city jingles with theatricality, bling and the so-bad-it's-good.”

– Elizabeth Chatterjee, “Delhi: Mostly Harmless” (2013)

Traditional meets capitalism

Inimitably gorgeous paintings, meticulously designed sculptures, dexterously crafted handicrafts, mouthwatering delectable snacks, brilliant explosions of traditional attires and dance performances, myriads of vibrant colors, spellbinding sights, dizzying aromas and the rush of shopping frenzy-induced happiness amidst a terrifying deluge of aimless humanity at the very boundaries of Delhi – Surajkund Crafts Fair is back in its 30th edition and, quite gratifyingly, there doesn’t seem to be an end to the enchanting extravaganza of traditional handicrafts, matchless heritage and mouthwatering food on offer. And if the several kilometer-long traffic jams leading to-and-fro to the event location (especially on weekends!) are any evidence, the millions of spoiled-for-choice visitors thronging wide-eyed fascinated throughout the unbelievably enormous arena still cannot get enough!

I had previously been to the 28th edition (documented here – Pixelated Memories - 28th Surajkund Crafts Fair), and yet nothing could prepare me too for the incredibly immense crowds, the impeccably distinguished artistic designs and the delightful presence of at least a dozen traditional visual artists (“Behrupiya”) deviously attired in sparkling outfits and flawlessly masquerading as mythological divinities and traditional dancers.

This year, China-Japan and the newly-formed state of Telangana have been designated as the unique partner country(s) and theme state respectively for the enthralling cultural festival and consequentially present are several contingents of celebrated craftsmen-sculptors from these places to showcase their unparalleled artistic skills and cultural traditions.

Glitter glimmer - Dhokra tribal handicrafts (Chattisgarh)

Besides these, also in participation are craftsmen, sculptors, painters and handicraft merchandise traders from numerous other Indian states and countries like Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Seychelles, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Tunisia, Malaysia and Nepal – however, as the craftsmen from Seychelles pointed out, not every spellbound, bargain-hungry visitor is eager to purchase anything, and most of those wandering about are there just to absorb the impeccably vibrant sights, hypnotic sounds, vivid textures and multitude of tastes (not all of them mouthwatering or even worth contemplating upon though!) that the mesmerizing fair promises.

For the discerning, there are tremendously swamped craftsmen from Karnataka offering illustrious Bidri artworks (black copper very delicately inlaid with shimmering silver) and Channapatna toys (handcrafted wooden, painted with brilliant natural colors and polished to perfection), soft-spoken Japanese artists (enticing hundreds of selfie-seekers to wantonly click photos alongside gigantic kites imprinted with cartoon samurais), polished-looking Onyx traders from Pakistan (with massive vases almost as high as me!), conscientiously hard-nosed craftsmen from Chattisgarh offering consummate Dhokra artworks (thoroughly-detailed tribal figurines produced by pouring molten metal in baked clay casts), muscular Rajasthani traders with bristling mustaches lining the arena with exquisite cloth puppets in myriads of sartorial choices and accessory designs, diligent painters from Maharashtra selling the celebrated tribal Worli paintings depicted on earthen wares and showpieces, very kindly old ladies from Malaysia selling otherworldly beautiful handmade paintings and intermittently delving into impromptu drawing-painting lessons for little kids, and, among others, bored Bengali craftsmen stocking coarse jute accessories and simplistic decorative tapestries and religious figurines.

Colors of Surajkund - Channapatna wood toys (Karnataka)

Also in attendance are several hundred more merchants dealing in vibrantly multi-hued utensils, glittering hookahs, appealingly-patterned textiles, enviably intricate religious sculptures, temptingly fearsome tribal masks, delicate ornamental glass lamps and accessories, tantalizing papier-mâché accessories and hundreds of thousands of types of scintillating jewelry adorned with glittering beads and shimmering sparkles. Until last year, there were unmanned drones and numerous helicopters flying high above the immense premises for security purposes; impressively this time, the prime attraction available for joyrides are several helicopters conspicuously twirling about very low overhead and banking and swerving midair with dazzling impunity!

The only drawbacks, as far as I can gauge of course, are the gastronomic avenues – the overall quality of the assorted savories as well as the unsurprisingly exorbitant prices (a glass of jaljeera for Rs 50, a smaller-than-the-smallest Domino’s pizza for Rs 200!!). Thankfully, the marvelous handicrafts do make up for everything. Five hours and a couple of thousand rupees later, clutching a heavy bag of finely polished Dhokra artworks and wonderfully bright Channapatna toys, I was already planning on items I shall be purchasing the next year!

Learning - A Malaysian artist tutoring children about how to paint

How to reach: Surajkund is located in Faridabad, approximately 8 km from south-east Delhi. The nearest metro station/bus stop is NHPC on the arterial Mathura road. Free to-and-fro shuttle services are available between the fair arena and NHPC, Badhkal Chowk and Badarpur metro stations. Interstate buses and autos also ply throughout the day along Mathura Road and one can get down at Badhkal/NHPC and avail a shared auto from there. If driving from Delhi, one can access Surajkund past the Karni Singh Shooting Range near Tughlaqabad.

Entrance fees: Rs 120/person (Rs 60 for senior citizens and college students upon showing photo ID card; free entry for girl students and children below the age of 10 years). Tickets are also available at 31 metro stations including Badarpur, Neelam Chowk Ajronda, Escorts Mujesar, Badhkal, Tughlaqabad, Sarita Vihar, Rajiv Chowk, ITO, Mandi House and Central Secretariat.
Photography/Video charges: Nil
Time required for sightseeing: 3-4 hrs

Relevant links -
Nearby attractions - Pixelated Memories - Tughlaqabad - Adilabad - Nai-ka-Kot Fortress complex

Organizational details about the annual fair - Pixelated Memories - 28th Surajkund Crafts Fair

Another amazing place to shop for handicrafts and textiles - Pixelated Memories - Dilli Haat

Suggested reading - Wikipedia.org - Behrupiya

28th Surajkund Crafts Fair, Faridabad

After staying in Haryana for almost 22 years, I finally visited Surajkund crafts fair – that iconic Mecca of unparalleled art, captivating handicrafts, vibrant hued textiles, unsurpassable heritage, striking paintings and mouthwatering food that comes alive annually every spring in the rocky outcrops designated as Aravali Hills at the intersection of state boundaries of Haryana and Delhi. Set opposite the ancient Surajkund water reservoir (now dry), that was a site for both religious congregations and monarchic attempts at achieving immortality through massive architecture, in a super-vast multileveled arena conceived and built for the very purpose of hosting it, the annual occurrence draws hundreds of sculptors, weavers, artists, painters, merchants and cooks, the last being not so skilled as the rest, and millions of visitors and patrons. The arena – barren rocky outcrop flanked as far as one can see with stunted, thorny trees interspersed by wide pathways and majestic gateways designed after various ancient temples and tribal constructions throughout the country – becomes a whirlwind of colors, textures and faces.

Welcome to Surajkund!

The international fair, held every year from February 1-15 and organized by the Indian government’s Department of Tourism (Ministry of Culture and Tourism) in collaboration with Haryana Tourism, aims to depict the uniquely vast diversity of Indian art forms and heritage in a landscaped visibly rural setting besides providing a platform to select artists and craftsmen, distinguished and often awarded for their ingenious skill and artistic innovation, to interact with patrons and sell their wares from the over seven hundred hut-like stalls in the premises without any middlemen – it is a much grander, more sophisticated and more amplified version of the Dilli Haat which does the same, but in much smaller premises, throughout the year (refer Pixelated Memories - Dilli Haat). For security reasons, public transport like autos and buses have to drop visitors considerably away from the arena and the parking is located even further away (thankfully we had access to the VIP parking!) – yet if the continuous crowds consisting both Indian and foreign tourists and numbering in hundreds moving to and fro between the fair grounds and the drop point are any proof, the charm of the fair refuses to thin out during its entire duration and the merchandise never ceases to attract and amaze even more visitors!

Arts, handicrafts, food, culture and photography!

The place of honor is of course Haryana’s, since the state hosts the event every year, and many of the dance and cultural performances draw from the state’s impeccable tastes and interesting history, but alongside another state and a foreign country are designated as a unique theme state and partner country respectively for the cultural festival and requested to send in contingents of artists and craftsmen to showcase their skill and artistic traditions – this year, the positions were accorded to Goa and Sri Lanka and apart from Haryanvi dancers and performers, there were many hailing from the theme lands. Sri Lankan flags fluttered jovially as they surmounted the numerous vibrantly painted makeshift gateways lining the arena pathways as representative of Sri Lankan art and culture while posters and thick placards embossed with colorful wavy flourishes and “Go Goa” tourism campaigns identified the state’s enviable position and presence in this year’s celebration of art and crafts.

A taste of Goa in Haryana

For sale were literally thousands of exquisite items – colorful textiles originating from different Indian states, sculptures crafted out of stone and clay and painted brilliantly or inlaid very dexterously with colorful stones, unparalleled brass work, intricately carved woodwork and furniture still smelling of fresh varnish, cottage industry craftsmanship items like terracotta idols, paper mache stuff, sea shell decorative items and curtains, tribal masks and statues of pagan deities, ornaments and jewelry, Rajasthani puppets in myriads of designs and sartorial choices, glasswork lamps and ornamental accessories like kitchenware and vases, paintings sketched on cloth and paper and set in large wooden frames, beautiful idols of elephants, camels and birds adorned with glittering beads and shimmering sparkles – I cannot even begin to describe the variety of items for sale since it is so very vast – the photographer in me went crazy experiencing this delightful extravaganza of colors and compositions. The sun might have been shining brilliantly and forcing most visitors to seek refuge under the makeshift shops and counters, but not me! No no, I clicked to my heart’s delight and it seems like I shall be hopping to the fair again and again in the coming few years to click at the numerous sights and the heartwarming little sculptures and patterns!

Elephants!

And if that is not enough, the global affair seems to be a natural draw for circus entertainers and joy ride installations – with so many visitors around, why should they miss their chance to make a few extra bucks – in a considerably lower setting than the rest of the arena are set numerous rides, from the massive Columbus’ ship executing pendulum movements on their levers and the scarily thrilling Ferris wheels, to the small merry go rounds and hopping frog rides meant for the little visitors, the fair has it all. The “Well of Death” – where cars and motorcycles are driven by bravehearts on the vertical walls of a huge cylinder while from the top stunned onlookers gaze with their jaws dropping wide and their eyes shining with excitement – seems to be amongst the most famous attractions, given the nearly thousand-strong crowd teeming with amazement surrounding the area. My parents tell me that I’ve been to the fair once when I was still a toddler, I do not remember anything else except glimpses from the “Well of Death” that I enjoyed while being perched upon my father’s shoulders – of course I cannot place the glimpses in a setting or another fair, and have to take my parents’ words that it must be Surajkund. 

This isn't even a miniscule fraction of the crowd.

At sudden instants and without any premonitions, the arena would come alive with the sounds of traditional folk songs and the beat of drums and the crowds would rush towards the stages set for the dancers who would perform very short lived sequences and plays before heading back to their designated seats – given the meager size and height of the stages and the enormity of the crowd, very few actually are able to see, leave aside click, the performances, and sad to report I was never once amongst those happy few even though I stayed at the fair for nearly an entire day. Throughout the arena are thrown in numerous artists working on the go – calligraphists skilled in such nimble work that they can pen entire texts intricately on a single grain of rice and willing to exquisitely illustrate one’s name on the same, fine sketch artists, painters and henna artists; besides these there are the usual vendors offering lemon sodas, ice creams, cold drinks and candy floss.

Another elephant

Located amidst the usual art and craft counters are numerous stalls stocking pickles of scores of different types fermented in dozens of oil and spices preparations, teas and coffees of numerous origins and aromas, and “churans” (sweet and spicy preparations composed of several natural products like spices, seeds and flavors, meant to aid digestion and bowel movements). Every state also sets up a food stall that introduces visitors to the cuisine of the state and serves up a variety of local dishes – I tried the Goan pork curry served with bread and shredded onions – in my opinion, very overpriced for the quantity I received and not at all reminiscent of the delicious pork dishes I’ve had – in fact, it rather tasted of eggplant curry more than pork! But disappointment is usually what you savor when you go out on a limb to try another state’s renowned cuisine in your own state. 

Try some sweets

Following lunch, I bought a number of items to adorn my room with besides again embarking on a clicking spree. Before heading back home, don’t forget to visit the tourism and information kiosks set up by various states in the permanent chambers in a corner of the arena – besides looking at the numerous huge information panels and posters, one can also collect brochures detailing the state’s cultural and tourism highlights, cuisine, shopping details and historic legends. Done with the fair, I had really wanted to visit the Surajkund reservoir immediately opposite the entrance gate but half of the massive crowd, perhaps tempted by the sight of chiseled stone steps on which one can rest their tired ass – tired is what you are after spending a day at this cultural fiesta – had had that same idea much before me and the area was so stuffed with people that the lone guard on duty was facing trouble ushering them in. I decided not to increase his already disproportionate trouble, and though I was disappointed as I always am when I see a monument but have to leave without exploring and photographing it, I was happy too since I could go home earlier and dive into the hundreds of photos I clicked and write about this aspect of the city. Satisfied, now I am.

An artist from Rajasthan

How to reach: Surajkund is located in Faridabad, approximately 8 km from south Delhi. Interstate buses and autos ply along the arterial Mathura Road throughout the day - get down at Badhkal and from there take an auto going to Surajkund fair (they only go there while the fair is on). Alternately, if driving from Delhi, one can also access Surajkund from near Tughlaqabad and past the Karni Singh Shooting Range.
Entrance fees: Rs 70/person (Rs 35 for senior citizens and students upon showing photo ID card)

Photography/Video charges: Nil

Time required for sightseeing: 3 hrs

Nearby attractions - Pixelated Memories - Tughlaqabad - Adilabad - Nai-ka-Kot Fortress complex

Related post - Pixelated Memories - Dilli Haat
Suggested reading - 

1. Firstpost.com - Article "Surajkund crafts fair to begin Saturday" (dated Jan 31, 2014)
2. Hindustantimes.com - Article "170 Goan artists to display skills at Surajkund Mela" (dated Jan 28, 2014)

Kos Minar, Faridabad, Haryana

Ever conscious of ensuring the availability of public amenities in order to improve the living conditions of their subjects, the Mauryan rulers (ruled BC 322-185) often thought up of ingenious ideas to ensure the presence of several facilities & conditions for their well-being. The chief among these was the establishment of a major highway that connected the furthest frontiers of eastern India to Central Asia as far as Afghanistan & Iran via Delhi, Agra & Punjab. The highway curved & slithered its way through various megacities & small townships & helped maintain trade & diplomatic relationships with several nations including the far-flung Greek states. Dynasties of rulers came & went, first the Hindus lorded over the country, then came the Muslims, but the trade route maintained its status quo. In AD 1540, the Afghan Governor of Bengal, Sher Shah Suri overthrew the rule of Mughal emperor Humayun, became the Emperor of India & established the Sur Dynasty rule over the subcontinent. The five years that Sher Shah ruled over India were characterized by an overhaul of the administrative, financial, military, communication & postal system, as well as the provision & betterment of several civic facilities. Among one of the most popular & essential steps taken by Sher Shah was the construction of the Sher Shah Suri Marg aka the Grand Trunk (GT) Road which overlapped with the Mauryan trade route & connected Chittagong (in modern-day Bangladesh) to Kabul (in modern-day Afghanistan). Unlike the Mauryan road which was built simply by leveling mud, the GT Road was sturdy & usable in all weather conditions. Serais (inns) were built along the road for the convenience of the travelers, toll taxes were abolished & trees were planted on either side of the road to provide shade. Later in 1555 AD, when Humayun again gained control of India, he continued with Sher Shah’s policy of maintaining these arterial roads through state financing & protection. However it was Humayun’s son, Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (ruled AD 1556-1605) who understood the advantages these roads conferred to an emperor & began taking an active interest in their upkeep & ensuring that they remained free of brigands & bandits. The road was levelled out, its cursive bends were removed & replaced by straight stretches, shade-giving & fruit-bearing trees were planted for the convenience of travelers & merchants.

Most importantly, Akbar (& later his successors Jahangir & Shahjahan) continued with Sher Shah’s system of marking distances with Kos Minars (mile markers) & ordered their construction in 1574 AD. Kos Minar were 30 feet tall conical towers (a few were cylindrical too), very thick at the base, & were constructed every 1 kos (approx. 3 kilometer  along the routes that connected Agra (then Mughal capital) to Ajmer (via Jaipur) in west, Lahore (via Delhi) in north, Mandu (via Shivpuri) in south. Later this network of minarets was extended as far as Peshawar in the west & Bengal in the east & connected the provinces of Burhanpur, Agra, Amritsar, Multan, Lahore, Delhi, Jodhpur & Chittor. Fortified caravnserais furnished with fresh water reservoirs were built at every eighth Kos Minar. Trade flourished because of the establishment of these highways & the mile markers, soon the country side prospered too. Akbar’s chronicler Abu Fazl writes about these minarets in his magnum “Akbarnama” & tells us that Akbar decreed the construction of many of these minarets & these were primarily meant for the convenience of travelers & merchants, & were to act as beacons to lost & fatigued travelers.

The Kos Minar at Badarpur

The minarets must have been a magnificent sight for the weary travelers who would have been equally amazed by the minaret’s size & the Mughal’s & strength & reach. It was along the Kos Minars that military check posts & communication outposts were established, thereby boosting the efficiency of communications & surveillance. The outposts were meant to counter the threats of rebels, bandits & renegade generals & nobles. Official message-carriers & horses were kept stationed at Kos Minars. The rider carried an urgent message from one minar to another traversing several kos this way & finally breaking off his journey at one of the minarets where he either stopped to have rest & refreshments at the nearby serai, or passed on the message to another courier stationed at the Kos Minar who then carried it forward. The emperor as well as his generals changed horses at Kos Minars when travelling far & wide – a man sitting on top of the minaret spotted the incoming party even when it was still far away & had the horsekeepers prepare the horses for the exchange. Huge distances could be covered in short periods of time – it is said that the system was so efficient & extensive that once, to the surprise of his enemies, Akbar covered the distance between Gujarat & Delhi on horseback in 11 days & defeated his half brother Mirza Hakim & several other relatives who were plotting against him. In 1607, Akbar’s son & successor, Jahangir (ruled AD 1605-27) ordered the Zamindars of the area covered by the Agra-Lahore route to plant shade-giving trees such as mulberry at regular intervals. In 1619, he ordered Baqir Khan, the Faujdar of Multan, to establish Kos Minars in his city. Jahangir also had wells dug up every 3 kos distance on the highways & bridges constructed across rivers. Aurangzeb’s rule (AD 1658-1707) saw the number of serais to increase manifolds & there was one serai situate alongside every fifth minaret. The serais however were not always maintained by the emperor, but were often patronized by the royal family, powerful nobility, philanthropic individuals & wealthy merchants.

At the height of the Mughal empire, the highways spanned almost 3000-kilometers in total & boasted of hundreds of Kos Minars, however very few of these survive now - about 49 in Haryana, 10 in Punjab, 5 in Uttar Pradesh & only 2-3 in Delhi, a few have also been maintained beyond the border in Pakistan. Most of the minarets were lost over time to natural forces, disrepair, encroachments, wanton destruction & industrial & public space requirements. Many have been broken down & refurbished to act as godowns or shops. All the minarets broadly follow the same design – built of bricks & stones & plastered over with lime, they generally stood on a masonry base. For half of their height they were tapering octagonal in design, above that they were tapering conic topped by a hemispherical knob-like formation. The whole network of minarets was an impressive initiative, but individually the minarets were bare structures, possessing none or very little ornamentation or inscriptions along their circumference – red bands & mouldings with geometrical patterns demarcated the octagonal base from the conic portion, a similar pattern existed just below the top knob. They were meant to serve practical purpose & were certainly not the architectural beauty or visual delights that the other Mughal structures exemplified. The Kos Minar at Badarpur is no exception. Located on one of the road dividers close to the Badarpur Bus Stand, the minaret can be best understood by the following lines by from the poem “Ozymandias” composed by the English poet P.B. Shelley

"Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away."

Dwarfed & obsolete..

The 30-feet tall minaret dates back to Jahangir’s time & is now no more than 4 feet in height as a result of the repeated layering of the road around it. The minaret is one of the very few survivors of its species, & to ensure that it is not vandalized an iron-grille enclosure has been constructed around it. Gensets buzz nearby, the serais & the outposts that must have once existed close by have disappeared, there place has been taken up by a metro station, an auto stand & rows of shops. Buses, cars, trucks & lorries now ply instead of horses, camels & elephants on the road next to the minaret. A metro line & a flyover stretch across on either side of the minaret, marking perhaps the point where its vertical reach once extended to. More importantly, the people who pass the Kos Minar everyday do not seem to even give it a second thought, most of them are unaware of its purpose & cannot even begin to imagine that there were once hundreds more of its kind. The Government or the Archaeological Survey of India (A.S.I.) never executed a formal study of the Kos Minar’s locations, function or history, so I do not know their exact number (the British administration of pre-independence India did declare the Kos Minar as protected monuments in 1918 & carried out some restoration work, but it was soon abandoned after independence & the minarets left to fend for themselves. The British also actively repaired & maintained the GT Road). Even it is not clear how many of these minarets survive now & where. The minarets that were supposed to be repaired were given such a makeover that their historical character was lost to the layers of paint & plaster. This lackadaisical attitude of the authorities & the obscurity to which these minarets have been relegated becomes even more pronounced when one notes that with the exception of a few places, most of India & Pakistan’s major highways essentially run along the road that the Mauryas built & the Surs & the Mughals maintained. “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Location: Badarpur Border, Close to the Badarpur Metro Station
Photography/Video Charges: Nil

Suggested Reading - 

1. Lahorenama/Haroon Khalid - Kos Minar
2. The Hindu - On the meandering highway of history (article dated June 27, 2005)
3. The Tribune - Signposts lost in history (article dated Sept 10, 2006)
4. thefreelibrary.com - Travelling with the Mughals: a survey of the Agra-Lahore highway