Bengal Mango Mela and Handloom-Handicraft Expo 2023: Like every year this year too promises to be a fun-filled fiesta at the expo

DILIP GUHA, NEW DELHI: The annual festival of mangoes and handicrafts is kicked off the 9th edition of the ‘Bengal Mango Mela and Handloom-Handicraft Expo 2023’ promoted by the West Bengal government which begins on June 5, 2023, and will continue until June 19, 2023, being held at the courtyard of Handloom Haat, Janpath, New Delhi.

This brings the annual display of Bengal mangoes to the capital city once again. Visitors will also be treated to exotic delicacies. In comparison to last year, this year’s event will be significantly larger in scale as many new initiatives have been taken to showcase the crafts & culture of West Bengal.

The festival was inaugurated, in the gracious presence of— Dr.Subrata Gupta, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Food Processing Industries & Horticulture, Smt. Ujjaini Datta, Resident Commissioner, Government of West Bengal, And Sri Jayanta Kumar Aikat, IAS, Director, Department of Food Processing Industries & Horticulture.

Talking to this reporter, Dr.Subrata Gupta says “Farmers from six districts of West Bengal put up eight stalls at the fair, one can find uncommon varieties of mangoes like Champa, golapjamun, etc apart from regular common and famous varieties.”

He informed that mangos mainly grow in Murshidabad and Malda districts of WB with about 100 and 150 varieties respectively. ” We are now encouraging farmers of other districts like Purulia Bankura & Birbhum districts to also grow different varieties of mangoes by providing free seeds, fertilizers, saplings etc, and they are doing excellent and producing very good quality mangos at large scale.”

“Some of the varieties facing extinction which were earlier used to be found in farmhouses of Jamindars ( landlords), we are finding out options to collect seeds of those varieties, and encouraging and helping farmers to grow them also.”

“Here, the purpose of the Mango mela is basically meant for the farmers to encourage them to show cause the produce for marketing purposes and support them. In addition, Delhities will be able to taste delicious mangos” he added.

Much to the delight of mango connoisseurs, mangoes have been transported all the way from West Bengal to the Capital for Bengal Mango Mela. This festival has brought together a huge quantity of around 40000 Kgs of the diverse range of delicious Bengal mangoes such as Himsagar, Laxmanbhog, Lyangra, Fazli, Amrapali, Mahila, Kohitur, etc… from six different districts of West Bengal, namely – Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, Hooglily, North 24 Parganas & Bankura.

Visitors to the Mango Mela can choose a wide variety of mangoes available for sale, including unique GI-tagged types of mangoes also. It is noteworthy that this extensive selection of mangoes also includes the unique GI-tagged types of mangoes, namely MALDA LAXMANBHOG, MALDA KHIRSAPATI (HIMASAGAR) and MALDA FAZLI, which would be the main display at this festival.

West Bengal is proud to have the distinct GI recognition of handicrafts and handlooms like Bankura Panchmura Terracottah, Bengal Dokra, Bengal Patachitra, Purulia Chhau mask, Wooden mask of Kushmandi, Madurkathi, Shantiniketan Leather Goods, Shantipori Saree, Baluchari Saree, Dhaniakhali Saree. Many of these items will be displayed for visitors and are also for sale at the venue. This exhibition also features some of Bengal’s most popular GI foods, like Gobindbhog rice, Tulaipanji rice, Rasogolla, and Darjeeling tea.

The New Initiatives taken this year are an Exhibition zone on GI Tagged products of West Bengal, a Selfie zone and Photo Booth for visitors, Lucky draws for visitors, And Exclusive participation of Five Tribal Groups comprising 10 tribal artisans.

If there is anything that makes summer in India bearable is mangoes, this fruit has been an inspiration to those – from home-cooks to expert chefs – who love to experiment. The fruit has been used to prepare a wide range of dishes, from appetisers to main course to desserts, using the different varieties of mangoes found in Bengal, such as ‘Gulabkhas’, ‘Dilkhush’, ‘Amrapali’, ‘Langra’, ‘Fazli’, ‘Himsagar’, ‘Laxmanbhog’ and ‘Mallika’. An Exclusive Food zone comprises Wide range of Mango based special Bengali cuisine, Delightful Mango savory items, bakeries, pickles and other delicacies. Special Food counter for Original Mango desserts from MALDA district and Natural organic mango eateries from “Sundarini Naturals” from SOUTH 24 PARGANAS.

Apart from the Exhibition of GI Tagged products and food zone, the festival will witness a cultural extravaganza for the audience to be mesmerized as on the evenings of June 11 and June 18, 2023, musical and dance programs will be held.

While the first performance of ‘Shreekhol Sankirtan’ by Dr. Harekrishna Halder and Troupe, Kolkata, will be performed on June 11 at 6 pm, the next performance is titled ‘Shraddhanjali’, which is to be performed by ‘Le Rhythme’, New Delhi.

On June 18 from 5 pm onwards, ‘Folk Dance of Bengal’ will be performed by the ‘Shinjan’ group from New Delhi, the direction of which will be undertaken by Smita Chakrabarty. The next performance for this evening will be ‘Hum-Sufi’, which is to be performed by ‘The Rocking Sufi Sensation’ group from Kolkata.

The Mango the ‘king of fruits’ enthusiasts in Delhi can savor the flavors of this beloved summer fruit and support local farmers during the festive event.