SARAS Aajeevika Mela 2026: A fair of crafts, courage, and change, how it has emerged as a capacity-building platform
The winter sun had just begun to soften over Gurugram’s glass towers when the gates of Leisure Valley Park in Sector-29 opened to a different kind of skyline, one made not of steel and glass, but of handwoven silk, bamboo craft, spices, songs, and stories. Office-goers slowed their steps, children tugged at their parents’ hands, and the familiar corporate rhythm of the cyber city gave way to the hum of folk music and the scent of freshly cooked regional food.
The SARAS Aajeevika Mela, 2026, had arrived, turning the urban landscape into a living canvas of rural India. This national-level fair (from February 10 to 26) feels less like an exhibition and more like a journey across the country. The event brought together over 900 women entrepreneurs from 28 states, representing Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
With more than 450 stalls organised across state pavilions, the mela is described as a “Mini India” that presents region-specific products rooted in local traditions and artisanal skills.
Visitors encountered Pashmina shawls from Kashmir, silk textiles from Tamil Nadu, embroidered poshaks from Rajasthan, and bamboo crafts from Assam, alongside regional foods, handicrafts, and cultural performances. Beyond its cultural vibrancy, the mela illustrates a structured market linkage model within livelihood promotion frameworks. It demonstrates how curated urban exhibitions can enhance income opportunities, enable direct-to-consumer sales, strengthen brand visibility for SHG products, and promote women-led micro-enterprises within a formalised marketplace.
A structured capacity-building platform
Beyond its commercial dimension, the SARAS Mela functions as a structured capacity-building platform. At the Knowledge and Learning Pavilion, women participate in workshops on packaging, branding, proposal development, and digital marketing strategies. Dedicated sessions on logistics and transportation management equip them with the skills to distribute products efficiently across domestic and international markets. Collaborations with e-commerce platforms and awareness initiatives around the E-SARAS portal are designed to extend market access beyond the fair's duration, ensuring continuity in sales and enterprise sustainability.
As evening descends and the mela lights illuminate the park, the fair emerges as a microcosm of rural enterprise and collective aspiration. Visitors depart with handloom textiles, crafts, and regional foods, and with inspiring stories of mentorship, entrepreneurship, and community-driven innovation rooted in tradition and shared prosperity. In a fast-paced urban setting, the SARAS Aajeevika Mela creates space to recognise the labour, resilience, and livelihoods embedded in each stall.