Accompanied by his wife and other family members, besides UT Adviser Jagdish Sagar and other UT officials, the Administrator visited each of the 60-odd stalls put up by craftsmen from all over the country and evinced keen interest in the crafts items, artefacts and wares on sale at the fair. He also spent a lot of time keenly watching the performances of folk artists at the fair.

More than 60 craftsmen from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orrisa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Chandigarh are participating in the 10-day fair, which has been organised by the North Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala.

The tastefully decorated stalls in a village-like ambiance had some speciality craft items on display and sale, which included bamboo and brass items, Gujarati shawls, Jaipuri rajai, Thanjavur paintings, Namdas, Phulkaris, Kashmiri shawls, paper machie, handloom items, terracota, block printing ladies suits, leather work, Punjabi juttis, lac bangles et al.

The main feature of the Kalagram Crafts Fair was that the craftsmen from all over the country were selling their items directly and there were no middleman and they have been sponsored by all the Zonal Cultural Centres of the country.

Folk dances, including the Samai dance from Goa and Salembattam dance depicting the martial arts of Tamil Nadu were performed before the Administrator, while other dances such as Bihu dance of Assam and others were performed later. The chief guest also announced a grant of Rs 11,000 to the folk dancers. The fair will remain open till March 7, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.