25th Handicrafts and Gifts Fair - 2008

Yesterday I had a chance to visit the great 25^th Handicrafts and Gifts Fair at the Indian Expo Mart, Greater Noida. I visited the place with one of my friends as she was owing a stall there. She was exhibiting Jute bags there and was part of the JMDC pavilion. For those who do not know what does this JMDC pavilion is I can say it is a sort of government affiliated. So, the people who are exhibiting their stuff under this banner had to pay less for the rent of a stall as compared to others.

I do not know about the exhibitors but I was there as a visitor only so can share my experience as a visitor. Although I know this fair is not open for the mass but still I was there. So, the first thing that came to my mind was that there is no place for the buyers, buying agents, press people and visitors to sit. The people who have come across miles to visit this fair are not being treated well. If you get tired then sorry no body can help, you do will not get a single chair to sit there! You have to keep on walking!

Another major issue that was visible to me was that there is no categorization in the Expo Mart. This means that if you are a person of textile or garments or just jute bags or any else then you can not just visit the specific stalls and see your stuff. You will have to walk around the entire fair and find out where are all your specific stalls! Because you will not find one specific sort of stuff at one place.

Secondly, although there is a temporary stall f Bikanervala but the scenario is not a good one. Imagine sitting outside AC in Delhi and that too after you are exhausted! Yes, this food stall is located in open and it is not covered. Can you have your lunch in the afternoon while Sun pouring down its heat on you? At least I could not, so in the entire day I just had a cold drink.

The food stalls that are inside the hall are also pathetic. I tried samosa and coffee from there but had to throw away the coffee into the dustbin and samosa into my stomach as I was too hungry!

So, overall I had a bad experience but let me tell you that the exhibitors are not to be blamed at all. I do not know who the organizers are but they should have spent some more time planning the entire event!