Rituraj Mohanty to perform at Toshali Crafts Mela

Bhubaneswar, Dec 11: Singing phenomenon from Orissa Rituraj Mohanty, who made headlines by winning a national-level music reality show recently, will be performing at this year’s Toshali National Crafts Mela that will be inaugurated December 15. Artisans, weavers, painters and sculptors from across the country will also participate in the crafts mela, informed handloom, textile and handicrafts minister Snehangini Chhuria at a press conference here Thursday.

The 9th Toshali National Crafts Mela will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The fair will be held at Janata Maidan from December 15-27th. The handloom, textiles and handicrafts department in collaboration with the culture department will host cultural programmes each evening in which artistes from all over the country and also from the state will perform.

Speaking about the fair, the minister said this year the Mela will accommodate 300 handicraft and handloom stalls. The fair will see the presence of 161 artisans and weavers from different parts of the country apart from 139 artisans and weavers from all over Orissa. “The centre of attraction in this year’s mela will be a theme pavilion titled ‘Magic in Metal’ erected in the centre of the ground depicting the Dhokra craft tradition of the state and its making from start to finish,” said the minister. “The vision of the mela is to offer an open forum to artistes, artisans and connoisseurs for interaction.

Strengthening the position of the weavers and artisans who are economically deprived by creating a market for their products is also one of the motives behind organising the mela,” Chhuria added. The Union ministry of textiles is also collaborating for the event. State Institute for Development of Arts and Crafts (SIDAC) is implementing the mega-national level crafts mela. Handlooms, textiles and handicrafts department commissioner-cum-secretary Chithra Arumugam, joint secretary and chief coordinating officer for Toshali Crafts Mela Raja Parija and other senior officers of the department were present in the press meet.