Surajkund

If you have never experienced a rural life or you terribly miss a perfect village setting in a city, then Surajkund is the perfect place to be. The name Surajkund literally means the lake of the god sun. As the name suggests, the place has an artificial lake built during the time of the Tomar Dynasty. Apart from attracting those rural-life enthusiasts throughout the year, this place has another charm. Every February, Surajkund comes alive with three magical words- culture, craft and cuisine with the beginning of Annual Surajkund fair. This fifteen days long fair starts from the first day of the month and attracts hundreds of fabulous artisans and craftsmen from all over the country.

                Usually, a day trip is enough to visit Surajkund. However, an overnight stay in one of the Haryana Tourism properties will enable a greater antidote to metropolitan hassles. A beautiful well manicured resort welcomes you as you head towards the rocky hillock. Lots of greenery around the large Kund (tank) will provide you a contrasting sight but the view will surely take your breath away. Sun soaked stairs of the tank is indeed a perfect place to sip a hot cup of tea in a winter morning. In summer, the time comes to a halt as you lie beneath a huge tree and stare at the clouds in the sky. But, during the fair, the serenity of this place changes in to hustle-bustle as every nook and corner is filled with fun, activity and business. This fair intends to create a rural ambience for the foreign as well as domestic tourists that in return can create a market for these rich art forms of the country. 

USUALLY, A DAY TRIP IS ENOUGH TO VISIT SURAJKUND. HOWEVER, AN OVERNIGHT STAY IN ONE OF THE HARYANA TOURISM PROPERTIES WILL ENABLE A GREATER ANTIDOTE TO METROPOLITAN HASSLES. A BEAUTIFUL WELL MANICURED RESORT WELCOMES YOU AS YOU HEAD TOWARDS THE ROCKY HILLOCK. LOTS OF GREENERY AROUND THE LARGE KUND (TANK) WILL PROVIDE YOU A CONTRASTING SIGHT BUT THE VIEW WILL SURELY TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY. SUN SOAKED STAIRS OF THE TANK IS INDEED A PERFECT PLACE TO SIP A HOT CUP OF TEA IN A WINTER MORNING. IN SUMMER, THE TIME COMES TO A HALT AS YOU LIE BENEATH A HUGE TREE AND STARE AT THE CLOUDS IN THE SKY.

                Situated at a mere 8 kms of distance from South Delhi, Surajkund is a perfect outdoor retreat with a good connectivity to any other Indian city. Delhi, Faridabad and Gurgaon are nearest places to reach Surajkund. Surajkund can be reached by bus from Delhi and other nearby towns or you can take your own conveyance. But, watch out for the heavy traffic due to this mela (fair). For other travellers Delhi is the nearest airport and the New Delhi is the nearest major railway station. There are many resorts on the Delhi-Faridabad highway to stay over the night.

                As the cold winter breeze of January starts receding, this place gears up to welcome the travel enthusiasts from all over the world and they just swear by the charm of this exotic experience. The Surajkund fair showcases different crafts items from different states as well as other neighbouring countries along with the widest range of exotic cuisines, folk dances, theater and music. The ballad of folk minstrels, authentic fragrance of Indian cuisines and sight of colourful handicrafts can be a wonderful experience to your stress stricken souls. Every year, the fair takes up a theme state and thus promote its tourism. This year, the theme state is Rajasthan. So, this year, get ready to witness this great fusion of art and culture that will showcase the handiwork of artisans from different participating states.

                This month, indiaah..! brings out the essence of such a great experience to our readers. Read on and keep trotting.

Crafts
                The fair displays a wide range of handloom and handicraft material such as Banjara and Bunni embroidery of Gujarat, phulkari embroidery of Punjab, lace and crochet from Goa, sandalwood and rosewood carving of South India, kantha work of West Bengal and North Eastern states, chikan work of Lucknow, chikri woodcraft of Kashmir and many more traditional craft forms. The Sri Lankan and the Nepal stalls are a plethora of art and good bargain. The fair is a sort of heaven for the shoppers and an entire spectrum of buyers, with their hands laden with bags is a common sight at Surajkund. This indeed, serves as a boon to these art forms that otherwise face a threat from the machine created work. And if you are too choosy about your pick then designer boutiques are also there to help you with the buying. Fashion industry's big names from Ritu Kumar, Rohit Bal to Anamika Khanna have stalls at the fair and sell amazingly stylish stuff. But, most of the buyers prefer the 'good old' street shopping. Apart from these crafts to adorn your living room, jewelleries from different parts of the country can actually make you go weak on your knees. Different terracotta and oxidized jewelleries sells for reasonable sum and they are very unique.

THE SURAJKUND FAIR SHOWCASES DIFFERENT CRAFTS ITEMS FROM DIFFERENT STATES AS WELL AS OTHER NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES ALONG WITH THE WIDEST RANGE OF EXOTIC CUISINES, FOLK DANCE, THEATER AND MUSIC. THE BALLAD OF FOLK MINSTRELS, AUTHENTIC FRAGRANCE OF INDIAN CUISINES AND SIGHT OF COLOURFUL HANDICRAFTS CAN BE A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE TO YOUR STRESS STRICKEN SOULS. EVERY YEAR, THE FAIR TAKES UP A THEME STATE AND THUS PROMOTE ITS TOURISM. THIS YEAR, THE THEME STATE IS RAJASTHAN -THE INCREDIBLE STATE OF INDIA.

Cuisines
                Now, who doesn't want to pamper a tired body with some lip smacking delicacy, especially, after some tough shopping? Well, the array of different cuisines can make it difficult for you to choose. Your tummy will be full but your soul will be left wanting more. Traditional Indian food along with Afghani, Tibetan and Chinese platters fills the air with the aroma of different spices. So, if you are there to have the best time of your life than go ahead and test the exotic cuisines from Kashmir, Punjab, West Bengal and Sri Lanka. Sarso da saag with makki di roti (Punjab), dal bati (Rajasthan), saffron pulao (Kashmir) and parotta (South Indian) are some of the traditional Indian food we recommend. Some sweet dishs such as rasgullas from West Bengal and peetha from Assam are some perfect treats to your tongue. And don't forget to pack some sweets from Andhra Pradesh for home, if you want to relive the great Surajkund mela later at home.

Culture
                There is more to this fair than being a wonderful shopping experience. In reality, it is the perfect blend of different cultures. Speaking of the great Indian belief- unity in diversity, we can see Surajkund as the epitome of harmony and fusion of culture. The festival is highlighted by the folk dances and musical evenings, organized at the open-air theatre called natyashala. Fifteen days long performance of these different folk dancers from different places can be enthralling as well as relaxing. Folk theater, music and old Indian magic come alive together in Surajkund as the people present watch these performances with awe. Bihu (Assam), Chau (West Bengal), Bhangra (Punjab) and other dance forms of different states like Nagaland, Gujarat and Manipur can be as enthralling as the food and shopping at the event. Snake charmers from Madhya Pradesh, tattoo artists from Jharkhand and magicians from Kabul are just a few examples of diverse strata of art andentertainment.

                The Haryana Tourist Bureau organizes conducted tours from 36, Janpath, New Delhi. Buses are also available from ISBT (Anand Vihar and Sarai Kale Khan, New Delhi) from time to time. Hence, get set, hit the road and live the joyous moments at Surajkund.