Asia Bazaar: A drab affair of Delhi Tourism

Crafts on display at the Asia Bazaar, Delhi

I had got an email invite to the Asia Bazaar being currently held at the Nature Bazaar from 5th to 14th September 2014. As the invite said that besides Indian stalls from various states there would be handmade products from countries like Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam etc., I decided to go there on Saturday. If one wants to go there by Metro then the closest station is the Chattarpur Metro Station from where it is a walkable distance.

The event has been organised by the Delhi Tourism and besides the above-mentioned countries there were stalls from Kashmir, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

I was completely disappointed by the stalls from the Asian countries as it seemed that a formality of putting a stall has been done as very few items were on display and even the ones on display were either too jazzy and not very fashionable. The fashionable Pakistani ladies suit which are a craze among the North Indians were missing – what ladies suits were on display were not worth buying. Even on the Tajikistan stall I found that they had kept only stoles and not much else.

Even the food courts had not much on offer – there were probably 5-6 stalls only. I tried the spinach momos and the mutton momos at the Himalayan Cafe which were good though on the expensive side. There were supposedly some folk cultural performances from various parts of India but I did not see any performances going on during the time that I was there.

I hope that the next time Delhi Tourism organises something they are able to bring better craftsmen and products from these countries as these countries are so varied and rich in the crafts. Also wider publicity should be given to the events as I noticed very few persons had come even though it was a Saturday.