A fair to celebrate the exquisite heritage of Indian handlooms and handicrafts
1st-15th February 2008

West Bengal  Tourism At A Glance

From the serene sea beaches to the fabulous Himalayan destinations. from the mangrove swamps to lush green tropical forests. from arts & crafts to politics and philosophy. from museums and galleries to wildlife and adventure sports. and from artists and entertaining performance to sportspersons and nobel laureates. West Bengal is a land of variety of natural beauty and passionate people.

Fish, incredible variety of cuisines, people, monuments, art and cinema, cricket and soccer - all are intrinsic parts of beautiful Bengal.  Bengal's breathtaking diversity is apparent in its geography, cultures, aesthetics, politics, festivals, arts & crafts and philosophies, but it is upto you to explore and discover it further.

The Hills

Darjeeling, the queen of hill stations, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik nearby.  And a romantic ride by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways trains... An experience to be stored in memory forever.

Breathtaking Beaches

The coastal-strip of West Bengal, stretching from the Gangetic delta to the border of Orissa has several beautiful sea resorts -  Digha, Shankarpur, Mandarmani, Junput, Bakkhali, Frazergunj and Sagardwip, with flat golden beaches, rows of casuarina vegetation and pleasant weather all round the year.

Bewitching Wildlife

West Bengal's wild life thrives on a fascinating diversity of terrain.

Sunderbans:  It owes its name to Sundari trees. It is full of trees like Genwa, Dhundal, Pssur, Garjan and Kankra.  Inpenetrable Goran trees between 1.8 mtrs. & 3.6 mtr high cover almost the entire region.

Dooars: It stretchs 130 kms. long by 48 km. wide where nature has lavished all her bounties.  Here, the river Teesta and her innumerable tributaries crisscross unending stretch of virgin forests.

Jaldapara: Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary is situated n Alipurduar near Jalpaiguri.  This sanctuary was constituted in 1941 for the protection of Wild Life, particularly one-horned rhinos.

Mesmerising Museums

Museums uphold national heritage and promote international understanding.  West Bengal pioneered modern museum development in India with institutions like the Asiatic Society (1784), the Indian Botanical Gardens (1787) and the Indian Museum (1814) - institutions that are among the oldest in India and still functioning in all their grandeur.  The other important institutions are the Academy of Fine Arts (1933), Asutosh Museum of Indian Art (1937), Birla Planetarium (1962), Nehru Children Museum, Rabindra Bharati Museum (1961), State Archeological Gallery (1962), Victoria Memorial (1903), Zoological Garden (1875) and Carey Museum (1818).

Charming Handicrafts & Handlooms
The eternal legacy of Indian culture has brought out extraordinary artists out of its people. Imaginative and spontaneously creative, each artist has a uniqueness of his or her own.  This expression has found embodiment in the time-honoured masters of art and artifacts of West Bengal.  Here are the breathtaking worlds of the weavers, potters, metal-craftsmen, shell-artists, painters and carvers in wood, bone or stone.

• Artistic Leather Craft

• Brass & Bell Metal

• Cane & Bamboo

• Ceramic

• Clay dolls 

• Dokra

• Horn work

• Jute Products

• Masks & Puppets

•  Paiper Mache

• Sandalwood Carving

• Artistic Weaving, Printing & Painting

• bluchari Saree and Daccai, cotton sarees and Jamdani

•  Neddlework & Embroidery.

Awesome Fairs & Festivals
There is a saying in Bengali: "Baro Mashey Terota Pabon", which means, literally, that in a year of 12 months, there are 13 festivals. The following fairs and festivals comprise just the tip of the proverbial festive iceberg.

Gangasagar Mela: A three-day fair (mid-January) on Makar Sankranti, at Sagar Dwip, where lakhs of pilgrims take a holy dip at the confluence of Ganga and Bay of Bengal.

Jalpesh Mela: On Shivratri (February-March), a month-long fair is held at Jalpesh for Lord Jalpeshwar near the old Shiva temple.

Vasanta Utsav: Students of Vishva Bharati University welcome Spring with songs, dances and throwing colourful Aabir on each other.

Naha Barsho: Bengali year starts from Baisakh (mid-April) with new clothes, flowers, prayers and shopping.

Rathayatra:  In the weeklong Rathayatra (June-July) at Serampore, people pull the ropes tied to the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra with great enthusiasm.

Jhapan: On the last day of Shravana (mid-August), a festival is held in honour of the serpent deity Manasa, with shows of live snakes on open platforms.

Durga Puja: Images of the ten-armed goddess are worshipped with great fanfare in ancient houses and Pandals for five days and then the images are immersed in the river.

Jagaddhatri Puja: Jaggaddhatri Puja, held in Kartick (November) is special at Chandannagar. Images of the goddess are tall, pandals are spectacular and the illumination is unique.

Poush Mela: In the month of Poush (end-December), a grand fair is held at Santiniketan, which consists of cultural programmes with folk music, dance, theatre and Baul songs.

Year Theme State Gate/ Commemorative Structure No. of Craft persons Visitors visited the Mela Click for more information 1987-88 Mela Starts Chaupal       1989 Rajasthan Shekhawati wall mural 204 1.75 lacs   1990 West Bengal Vishnupur 171 2.00 lacs   1991 Kerala Kottayambalam Gate 224 2.00 lacs   1992 Madhya Pradesh Bastar 231 2.79 lacs   1993 Orissa Muktesvara gate 244 4.66 lacs   1994 Karnataka Hoysala Welcome Gate 242 7.10 lacs   1995 Punjab Ram Bagh Palace gate 274 8.51 lacs   1996 Himachal Pradesh Maheshwar Devta Temple 278 2.33 lacs   1997 Gujarat Gujarat Gali 249 2.96 lacs   1998 North Eastern States The Rang Ghar Mini Pavillion 244 3.46 lacs   1999 Andhra Pradesh Char Minar Gate 312 4.51 lacs   2000 Jammu & Kashmir Dargah of Shah Hamdan 357 5.05 lacs   2001 Goa   348 3.93 lacs   2002 Sikkim                  413 4.74 lacs   2003 Uttaranchal   378 5.00 lacs   2004 Tamilnadu   317 2.77 lacs   2005 Chattisgarh   347 3.56 lacs   2006 Maharashtra Trimurti-from the world famous Elephanta caves 269     2007 Andhra Pradesh