Buyers lap up stuff on offer at Adivasi Mela in Odisha capital

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Feb 2:

The popular Adivasi Mela that began  at the Adivasi Ground in the Odisha capital on Republic Day drew huge crowds on Sunday.

Sunday being a holiday, state and Central government employees thronged the tribal fair with their family members to have a taste of tribal lifestyle showcased at the fair as well as buy stuff from a wide range of household products, especially forest produce like honey, tamarind, turmeric, varieties of mustard seeds, medicinal herb Harida, spices, whole grains and pulses grown by tribal farmers sold here.

The day recorded the highest sales turnover till date since the beginning of the Mela this year, said organizers of the annual event.

Beginning with kandula, kangu, gangei, jandiri, badni and other typical crops grown by tribals, green gram, turmeric, tamarind, black gram, cowpea and millets were the highest selling items at the fair.

Exotic tribal herbal medicines, roots, stalks, leaves, oils like neem and karanj were the other hot selling items at the fair.

Stalls selling woodwork from Kalahandi, articles made of horns from Gajapati, lac articles of Nabarangpur, iron articles typically handcrafted at blacksmith furnaces from Chattisgarh and dhokra items from Dhenkanal attracted a large number of buyers, among them the members of the modern city dwelling generation who  have little exposure to such works of art.

Jhuna, a resin collected from sal trees used during pooja in Hindu households was a product in great demand. The product was also being marketed under ‘Asal brand’ in the Forest and Environment stall at the fair.

Saura , Kondh and Oram dancers from Gajapati, Phulbani and Sundargarh enthralled audiences with their performances in the evening at the open air auditorium in the mela venue.