Suraj Kund International Crafts Mela 2023: Know About Date, Timings, Venue And Other Details

The city of Suraj Kund comes alive with the bright colours in people's attires, the festoons, the rhythm of beating drums, and the joyful participation of all the onlookers, during the first fortnight of February every year. First February onwards it is time for the Indian folk culture to be displayed in the Suraj Kund International Crafts Mela. Although this fair occurs every February every year, it had to be stopped in 2020 due to the Corona virus outbreak. The schedule was revised and the last annual fair was in Faridabad in 2020. The theme of this mela for the year 2023 is "India's Ashtalakshmi- the Northeast."

This event welcomes over a million visitors to the mela including westerners from abroad. The Suraj Kund is an assembly of all folk culture in one place including handicrafts and handlooms. It is the world's largest craft mela.

About Suraj Kund Crafts Mela 2023

A collaborative effort by the Suraj Kund Mela Authority & Haryana Tourism and union ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs, Suraj Kund has been chosen to be the host state. This year happens to be the 36th Suraj Kund International Crafts Mela-2022, where all the regions in India and 20 countries participate in the show.

Folk artists from all over the world present show at Chaupals, the open-air theatres inside the mela venue. Each evening in the mela, the Chaupal hosts cultural events. You can have an insight into some of the traditional heritage crafts which require skills that are fast fading away these days.

The food venue has varieties of cuisines, and entertainment areas, adventure sports and joy rides keep the visitor glued to the mela premises, especially the young crowd. This is an international level festival that had 20 countries participate in the mela wherein Lebanon was the partner and Chhattisgarh was the theme state.

Handlooms and handicrafts dyed in ethnic colours keep the visitors stunned and engrossed for hours. The two Chaupals and the evening recitals at Natyashala, create an atmosphere that reminds you of the time when life had a traditional and folksy feel to it. Amusement, adventure sports and joy rides have their demarcated areas that young throng to and enjoy the experience.

International Recognition

In 2013, the mela was recognised at the international level and was renamed as 28th Suraj Kund International Crafts Mela' . 2014 saw over 15 countries from European and African countries including SAARC nations participate. This year, for the upcoming Suraj Kund International Crafts Mela, about 20 countries are going to take part in the event and enthral the audience.