Kolkata's Connect With Subhas

Just a few days back I had been to Teghoria to visit my aunt who was hospitalized after a mild stroke.

A bus to Barasat (INR 11) and another bus to Teghoria (INR 14) – As she was in Critical care unit the visiting hour was limited to just 30 minutes. With others in the queue, I could see her just for a few minutes.

On my way back home, I noticed a fair – Subhas Mela near Madhyamgram Chowmatha. I always have a spark of joy when I see Fairs. When I was in Kerala we attended a fair because we had time before boarding our train. We attended one in Pondicherry. Now we have Kolkata Book Fair going on. During Saraswati Puja we are likely to have one more in our locality. 

I made a mental note that the last date for Subhas Mela (Mela means fair in Bengali) is 6th February. Subhas Chandra Bose's birthday being on 23rd January, this fair starts around that time.

So I chose this weekend to visit the Fair.

The Stalls

It was not over crowded. Immediately after I got in, I noticed the food stalls selling sweets and fries. It had mountains of Jalebis, Groundnuts, Goja etc. I chose to look around first before we eat or pack something from here.

There was a huge range of crockery in more than one stall and most of the transparent cups, which is my personal favorite, cost just INR 30.

It was a fair and I was just hoping to see some handmade local stuff. However to my surprise, the fair had stalls promoting school admissions, cooperative banks or selling kitchen chimneys, Sarees, home furniture, artificial jewelry, Carpets, beautiful sandals made out of Kalamkari cloth.

It had the usual joy rides including the merry – go –round on a giant wheel.

We spent some time exploring the stalls. We just picked up a ladle, a basket and a door mat for my sister. We picked some sweets for ourselves.

Cultural Program

This fair goes on for nearly a week however I am not aware if there is social program everyday. On the day I visited, there were some artistes on the stage. We saw some Karate specialists followed by other programs. We could hear the announcements as we wandered through the stalls.

You  get Goja for INR 30 for 200 Gms which is usually INR 50 for 180 Gms in local malls.

The Food Mountains

The Colorful Stalls

This Hints At The Mood Of The Place - That is the Ghoogni Counter

There were stalls with different items in that particular stall for just INR 15 and INR 30.

Everything Here Was INR 15 Only - Most Of The Items At least

The Karate kids were up on stage. We just happened to watch them for a couple of minutes.

The Seats Were All Occupied - That Is The Standing Crowd

Somehow I do not have the patience to watch programs in a Fair.  

So It Was Not Just Local Stuff..Some Other Names Too

This is unique about Kolkata winters - a series of fairs. So which one do I cover next - The ongoing book fair?