“Poush Mela” is being hosted at Bengal Boi this year from January 14 to 17, daily from 3 pm to 9 pm. The fair features a carefully arranged selection of stalls showcasing handcrafted goods, traditional showpieces, and local delicacies, creating a welcoming space where artisans and visitors can engage in a meaningful exchange of heritage and creativity. Bengal Boi has played a thoughtful role in arranging and curating the overall experience, ensuring that the spirit of “Poush Mela” is presented with clarity, coherence, and respect for its cultural origins. Throughout the event, people from diverse backgrounds have gathered in a shared appreciation for Bangla’s diminishing crafts and the histories that continue to surround them.
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Among the artisans, Virendra Sutradhar stands out for his long-standing commitment to traditional woodwork. He has been involved in this craft for the past 40 years, producing the colourful Bengali wooden showpieces that have now become rare and are often seen only in fairs and melas. He explained that woodwork is his family’s livelihood, carried forward across generations for nearly 200 years, reflecting both continuity and deep cultural inheritance. His work has been displayed at the Sonargaon Museum, and he is also associated with Karupolli, Shop 19. At the fair, his son accompanied him at the stall and expressed enthusiasm about continuing the tradition, which added a personal and hopeful dimension to the exhibit.
In addition to heritage craft in its classical form, the fair also highlights creative efforts that bridge folk aesthetics with contemporary design. One such example is Bornika, a stall that blends authentic traditional motifs with modern presentation. Bornika was started by Dipto Acharjee, a student of Jahangirnagar University in Graphics and Fashion Designing. His accessories and designs reflect modern sensibilities while remaining rooted in traditional forms and visual language. Although his work is available through their Facebook page, customers are encouraged to place orders with sufficient time, as each piece is handcrafted by Dipto and his juniors, emphasising patience, skill, and attention to detail.
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Another significant presence at the fair is Adim, a shop selling cotton toys that many visitors associate with familiar Bengali retail spaces such as Aarong. These toys, however, are increasingly becoming difficult to find and are gradually moving towards obsolescence. Adim was established by a brother and sister who received formal training from the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries. Their initiative reflects a deliberate commitment to preserving a part of Bengali culture that is at risk of disappearing, and their stall communicates both nostalgia and purpose.
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Bringol contributes a different, equally important dimension to the fair by offering earrings, rings, hair accessories for braids, and bags inspired by rural practices once common among young women. These products are made by retired women who are connected to NGOs and who continue crafting both as a supplementary source of income and as an activity they value personally.
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“Poush Mela” functions as a cultural platform that brings together makers, stories, and communities while encouraging visitors to see craft not merely as decoration, but as living history. Such initiative by Bengal Boi can help reintroduce the essence of “Poush Mela” to a new generation in a manner that is accessible and dignified, while maintaining the rooted, rural character that has always defined the fair’s identity.
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