Aadi Bazaars – A Celebration of the spirit of Tribal craft, culture, cuisine and commerce
Indian tribal craft finds an important place in the heart of every citizen, they mirror the lives of its creators – the tribal community. Every aspect of their culture be it dance, music, handicraft or cuisine is a treat to your senses, hence, supporting and safeguarding them is a certain way of safeguarding the cultural heritage of India. TRIFED through its brand Tribes India has ceaselessly strived to promote the traditional skills and craftsmanship of these tribals. The handcrafted products by the tribes are sourced from the interiors of the country and marketed through 119 outlets of Tribes India and through its e-commerce platform www.tribesindia.com this is in addition to undertaking and spearheading several schemes for the welfare and empowerment of the tribal communities.
Tribals have always been the marginalised section of the modern society when they actually hold an abundance of knowledge in plants, herbs and possess skills to craft the beautiful pieces of artefacts using ancient techniques. The recent outspread of coronavirus has further impacted their well-being by diminishing the earning opportunities for them. Tribes India taking advantage of tapering off of the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic and return to near normalcy, has organised several exhibitions of tribal products, also featuring cultural performances by troupes. This has received an overwhelming response by the audience and has led to the economic upliftment of the tribals by providing them a platform to display their skills and earn their livelihood. Considering the immense benefit it has rendered to the tribals, Tribes India has revived the exhibition of tribal art and craft in form of “Aadi Bazaar”.
A series of “Aadi Bazaars” are being hosted across different states featuring organic tribal products and handcrafted wares by the tribal artisans. One of these vibrant exhibitions have been recently inaugurated at Bhopal on 21st March 2022 and similar exhibitions are in the process of coming up at Ekta Nagar, Statue of Unity, Gujarat; Beach Road, Puducherry as well as Rourkela, Odisha. These exhibitions will help showcase the traditional art and handicrafts while bringing the cultural heritage, diversity and richness of Tribes of India in focus. The exhibitions like Aadi Bazaars play a vital role in socio economic development of the tribal population and help connect them with larger, unexplored markets. This almost 10 days long festival represents the basic ethos of tribal life and is an exhibition-cum-sale of tribal handicrafts, art, paintings, fabric, jewellery from more than 12 states of the country. At the Aadi Bazaars, visitors can sample the best that Tribes India and tribal artisans have to offer – from the famed Maheshwari sarees of Madhya Pradesh to the warm woollens from Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, from the various immunity boosting herbs and spices procured by the tribals of Tamil Nadu to the special honey and organic produce from North-east India; from the reputed Toda embroidery to the Moga silk from Assam and the Black Pottery from Nagaland.
These Aadi Bazaars are a part of TRIFED’s intensified efforts to improve the livelihoods of the underprivileged tribals, who have been majorly impacted in the past two years. They are helping to adapt Go Vocal for Local, a mantra in these troubled times, into Go Vocal for Local Go Tribal, TRIFED has been striving to ameliorate the condition of the distressed and affected tribal people by putting in place several path-breaking initiatives, in addition to its existing flagship programmes and implementations, which have emerged as a panacea and relief.
