Like every year, this time too Dussehra festivities and shopping is incomplete without a visit to the famous nukkads of CR Park

It's been happening for 26 years now. And yet its attraction doesn't seem to be on the wane. Every year, the Capital's Bengalis (and also Punjabis, Gujaratis, south Indians among others) flock to CR Park to this fair, which marks the onset of the Durga Puja for many a religious (and shopaholic) soul.



The mela was started by the CR Park Bangiya Samaj, and began on a humble note. "Our aim was to promote local entrepreneurs," says Deepak Guha, executive committee member of CR Park Bangiya Samaj. And now this 21-day long fair boasts of more than 50 stalls in an area a quarter acre large. Another interesting feature of the fair is that most stall owners are women -- possibly to pay a tribute to the goddess. There are stalls from across India now. So one can find stalls from places like Kashmir, Orissa, UP and even south India. A couple of stalls from Bangladesh add an international flavour. State emporiums act as the special attraction.

Everything's there
Take a quick look at the stalls and you will find a wide range of items being sold. There is everything from saris to T-shirts, costume jewelleryu00a0 even upholstery and bedcovers. Saris of all variety -- silk, jamdani, Dhakai muslin, tussar, cotton are sold here.