Lavi fair gets off to colourful start

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 12

The four-day International Lavi Trade fair started with traditional fanfare at Rampur, 132-km from here, with State Horticulture Minister Vidya Stokes inaugurating the 300-year-old fair.

The Lavi fair is one of the biggest trade fair and unlike other fairs, no religious legend is attached to it. Prior to the Chinese aggression in 1962, a large number of traders used to come to the festival with their goods, including dry fruits, pashmina jackets, boots and other goods, but in spite of the revival of the trade with China, not much Chinese goods are hitting the fair.

Trading of pinecones (chilgoza), dry fruits, apple, pashmina shawls, rajmash, spices and other goods are on the display but the volume of the articles is not huge.

There are a few buyers for the sale of “chamurath”. This year about 90 chamurath horses were brought (70 by local people from Spiti and 20 from horse breeding centre at Lari).

The local organisers attributed it to high purchase prices of horses.

The Lavi fair is considered the biggest trade fair in North India and is being celebrated for more than 300 years and in the old times, Rampur was the entry gate to routes towards Kinnaur, Tibet, Ladakh and Afghanistan. Even till date, many goods such as wool, dry fruits and other products are bought and sold through this trading destination.

Many traders from all parts of the country come here during November to lure customers and popularise their art and craft. People participate in this fair with horses, mules, pashmina, colts, yaks, chilgoza, namdas, pattis, woollens, raw semi-finished wool and other dry fruits produced in the state are brought for selling.

Inaugurating the fair, Vidya Stokes said it was a symbol of the civilisation and reiterated the resolve of the government to preserve the culture, customs and traditions so that the youth could be associated with these in present era of globolisation.