Khushhali Mela spreads happiness

Over 4000 residents from Kharghar and nearby areas visited fair over the weekend; the event is organised by Rotary Club of Navi Mumbai Sunrise and will continue till May 8
The 10-day-long Kharghar Khushhali Mela, organised by Rotary Club of Navi Mumbai Sunrise that kicked off on April 29, is witnessing huge crowd over the weekend. The fair was inaugurated by Panvel MLA Prashant Thakur. As the name suggests, the fair indeed has brought in a sense of happiness among the residents of Kharghar. The fair catches a lot of attention thanks to the bright lighting and fanfare; the fair also includes a number of stalls for various items such as FMCG products, kitchen appliances, handicraft, artificial jewellery etc. However, it is the stall erected by Micro Technologies which is being widely appreciated by all. The stall that displays a range of security solutions for home, car, mobile, shops etc. Besides, there is a widespread food court that has stalls selling everything from beverages to biryani. Reema Dedhia, a resident of Belapur who had been to the fair on Sunday feels that there should be more of such extravaganzas in Navi Mumbai. "The Khushhali Mela is a great place to visit; it is a fun place not just for grown ups, but for kids as well thanks to the kids amusement section especially created at the venue is. Moreover, the time of this fair is also best since kids have their vacation and they can catch up with some cultural learning and also make merry," she added. One of the stalls that attracted quite a lot of attention is the one which specialises in environment friendly artifacts and handicrafts made by rural artisans from West Bengal. The stall definitely stands out from the rest of the lot due to its unique appearance and great stuff. Somma Banerjee, one of the Rotarians and a resident of Kharghar is the owner of the stall. She elaborates, "My stall displays specialities from the interiors of West Bengal and they are mostly made by rural artisans. I have displayed here Patachitra from Midnapur, cane and jute items from Koochbihar and Malda, seed and grass jewellery from Shantiniketan, Birbhum, etc. The price range of all these things is from Rs 40 to Rs 400 and hence many people have asked for certain things from here." Senior Rotarian Dr Anil Bharadwaj appreciated the effort of both the young as well as the veteran members of the club for organising this grand fanfare. He mentions that its fun and adventure for them to conduct this mela since it is an opportunity to bring together people not only from Kharghar, but from across Navi Mumbai. He added, "This fair is a blend of different cultures, since there are entertainment programmes that display cultures from Maharashtra, West Bengal, Kerala, Orissa, Karnataka, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh etc. The response is amazing and we hope the response will be better with every coming year." He also appreciated the effort of members who have roped in small time vendors who have brought some innovative items for kitchen and building repair, etc. Dr R Rajaram, president of the club is quite content about the response that the fair has received this year. "We have got a sizable crowd this year, of course more than last year, since it was our first time then. The fair saw a footfall of over 4000 on Sunday which was a remarkable number indeed. The fair has been widely appreciated by all since it is not only a place where one can have fun, but an opportunity for a lot of shopkeepers to sell unique things which are rarely found in Navi Mumbai. From latest state-of-the-art technology to traditional item, the mela has a vast range of products," he added.

FAIR PLAY

> The fair catches a lot of attention thanks to the bright lighting and fanfare; the fair also
includes a number of stalls for various items such as FMCG products, kitchen appliances,
handicraft, artificial jewellery etc
> However, it is the stall erected by Micro Technologies which is being widely appreciated
by all. The stall that displays a range of security solutions for home, car, mobile, shops
etc
> One of the stalls that attracted quite a lot of attention is the one which specialises in
environment friendly artifacts and handicrafts made by rural artisans from West Bengal
> The stall definitely stands out from the rest of the lot due to its unique appearance and
great stuff. Somma Banerjee, one of the Rotarians and a resident of Kharghar is the
owner of the stall. It has Patachitra from Midnapur, cane and jute items from Koochbihar
and Malda, seed and grass jewellery from Shantiniketan, Birbhum, etc