3-day Baisakhi Mela opens

Tribune News Service 

New Delhi, April 10

From the delectable cuisine of Punjab to its beautiful village artifacts and foot-tapping music - the Baisakhi Mela threw open the multiple facets of Punjab for the people of Delhi today.

As Punjabis all around the world mark the beginning of a new calendar with the harvest festival of Baisakhi, the three-day annual cultural celebration kicked off in Delhi at the Indira Gandhi Centre for the Arts. The festival is presented by Punjabi Academy and Department of Art, Culture & languages, Government of Delhi.

On the opening day of the festival, well-known Punjabi singers Shipra Goyal and Master Saleem (of Maa da ladla fame) regaled the audience with their performance.

In a setting that replicates a typical vibrant Punjabi village, the Mela puts different facets of Punjabi life on display. There is the best exotic food from Punjab and the most authentic arts and artefacts such as Phulkari, Nale Parande, bangles, inlaid wooden furniture and Punjabi Juttis are available at the venue. 

The festival is also enriched with beautiful cultural programmes such as gatka, bazigar, dhadi, naqal, gidha, algoza dhol and bhangra. The evenings are devoted to musical performances by Punjabi singers who showcased different facets of Punjabi music, from pop, bhangra to sufi and folk music.