bhubaneswar toshali national crafts mela once again brought alive the traditional crafts and cultural heritage of different states at the fortnightlong event that began here on tuesday the crafts mela is radiating with the colour cuisine and culture of india on the sprawling picturesque janata maidan in bhubaneswar chief minister naveen patnaik inaugurated the fair this year theme of the fair is ikat a heritage ethnic tie and dye fabric of odisha the process and loom techniques are displayed with live demonstrations on a theme pavilion tnn textiles handloom and handicrafts minister snehangini chhuria said the toshali crafts mela was planned in the line of the famous surajkund crafts mela to highlight the finest in handicraft and handloom traditions of the country and also to focus on languishing art and craft forms of the state it has been a huge hit with tourists as well this year the organisers are expecting around 13 lakh visitors to the fair and a business worth rs 15 lakh a rural ambience has been created in the mela ground spread across in an area of five lakh square feet with over 400 stalls every nook and corner of the mela ground is brightly coloured and decorated with traditional ikat motifs and designs a huge stage on one side of the fairground has been put up for cultural programmes starting from folk art to popular artists of both classical and popular genres would perform every evening we have put our best food forward to ensure that visitors would be able to recognize and appreciate the skills involved in creating ageold crafts said secretary of textiles handloom and handicrafts department chitra arumugam customers can directly interact with over 350 artisans weavers and those dealing in the business of arts and crafts in the fair she said the objective was to provide the crafts person with a platform from where he could directly sell his craft without the presence of middlemen traditional rural ambience of a typical village was projected near delhi for travellers who may not have the time or means to see an indian village a mini food festival is another major attraction of the fair where delicious cuisine and popular foods such as south indian chinese continental odia and punjabi are being served