The Union Ministry of Minority Affairs on Wednesday organised the 31st “Hunar Haat”, the “Kumbh of Kaushal Kuber” and “Braj Raj Utsav” at Vrindavan (Mathura, UP) to provide a platform to the country’s talented craftsmen, artisans and culinary experts.

Inaugurating these events, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the artisans and craftsmen of “Hunar Haat” were strengthening Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”.

According to an official statement, Adityanath said talent was not restricted to any caste, creed or religion. The Prime Minister had given us some “mantras” during the coronavirus pandemic period and worked with the resolve to save the life and livelihood of every needy.

The Chief Minister pointed out that the handicrafts and craftsmanship of India were centuries’ old. These should be respected and made more inclusive.

Adityanath visited “Vishwakarma Vatika” in “Hunar Haat” and garlanded the statue of great freedom fighter Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh. He also had different traditional foods while sitting on “Khatiya” in “Mera Ganv, Mera Desh”.

On the occasion, well-known film personality Hema Malini said artisans and craftsmen from every part of the country were present at “Hunar Haat”, promoting traditional cultural heritage of the country.

Besides “Vishwakarma Vatika”, “Circus” will also be displayed at the “Hunar Haat”, organised at the Kumbh Mela Ground, Vrindavan (Mathura, UP), from 10 to 19 November, where Indian Circus artists will perform spectacular diverse traditional entertainment shows.

About 400 artisans, craftsmen and culinary experts are participating in ‘Hunar Haat” in “Braj Raj Utsav” in Vrindavan. Artisans and craftsmen from more than 30 states and UTs, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Nagaland, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu-Kashmir, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have brought their indigenous products made with wood, brass, bamboo, glass, cloth, paper, clay, etc, at “Hunar Haat”.

Traditional vegetarian foods from various parts of the country are also available at “Hunar Haat”.

Renowned artists such as Annu Kapoor, Kailash Kher, Suresh Vadekar, Puneet Issar (to perform the Mahabharat show), Sadanand Biswas, Anoop Jalota, Bhajan singer Usman Mir and singer Rani Indrani will present various cultural and musical programmes every day in the evening at “Hunar Haat”.

More than six lakh artisans, craftsmen and others associated with them have been provided employment through “Hunar Haat”.

“Hunar Haat” is also available at virtual and online platform http://hunarhaat.org and GeM portal.

The next “Hunar Haats” will be organised at Lucknow (from 12 to 21 November), Pragati Maidan, New Delhi (from 14 to 27 Nov), Hyderabad (26 November to 5 December), Surat (10 to 19 December) and again at New Delhi (22 December to 2 January, 2022).

“Hunar Haat” will also be held at Mysuru, Guwahati, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Patna, Puducherry, Mumbai, Jammu, Chennai, Chandigarh, Agra, Prayagraj, Goa, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Kota, Sikkim, Srinagar, Leh, Shillong, Ranchi, Agartala and other places in the coming days.