Come Celebrate the Fusion of Culture and Creativity at Jamia Bazaar 2013

– A two day exhibition kick-starts from 26th October

New Delhi, October 2013: The much awaited JAMIA BAZAAR is here again! A two day exposition at India Islamic Culture centre, the exhibition opens out the alternative, but spirited world of Jamia Nagar to Delhi’s denizens, besides offering an empowering stage to women entrepreneurs to flaunt their exemplary skills. The third edition of the Bazaar which kickstarts on 26th October, 2013, is being organised by the NGO – Centre for Equity and Inclusion (CEQUIN), an initiative of social activist Sara Pilot and Lora Prabhu.

Stocked with locally made craftworks for home furnishing, fashion accessories, clothes and festive gift items for the shoppers, and spiced up with mouth-watering cuisine from the undiscovered streets of Jamia for the foodies, the Jamia Bazaar is something more than just an ordinary fair. It has an emotion to describe, a tale to tell.

With a wide range of products to fit every pocket, visitors can enjoy shopping for embroidered kurtis and salwars, shawls, bags, jewellery, high fashion ware, interesting items for kids, home furnishing, lamps, candles and lots more, completely handmade by women artisans and designers. The exhibition will showcase an interesting fusion of high end fashion with grassroots artisan skill sets – a celebration of traditional art, evolving fashion and women’s entrepreneurship. 

DSC_0021 DSC_0092 DSC_0112 Jamia Bazaar Sara Pilot and Lora Prabhu Sara Pilot

There will also be a gourmet trail featuring hot biryani, melt- in- the- mouth kebabs, achari chicken, kashmiri  wazwan etc. A special feature will be the quintessential Flury’s Coffee Shop from Kolkata.

To add to the fun will be beauticians trained at CEQUIN’s Jamia centre offering guests on the spot services like mehendi, nail art, foot massage etc. Live demos of adda work, crochet, resham embroidery will provide the visitors a unique experience to observe the skilled labour that goes into creating extraordinary works of fashion and art. 

Sara Pilot, Chairperson CEQUIN on this venture, said,  “The bazaar opens a whole new world for these women living at the fringes of society, bringing to light their vastly neglected, but laudable talent and enterprise, thereby making a tremendous effort in uplifting the spirit of these women and the ghettoised communities of Jamia Nagar on the whole.”

The exhibition is being organised by women who are a part of CEQUIN’s Gender Resource Centre in Jamia Nagar in partnership with other local NGOs including Muslim Women’s Welfare Organisation, IIWA, Roshni Craft Centre, Azra and several others.

About Jamia Bazaar

The Jamia Bazaar has emerged as an excellent rallying point to bring together women collectives and other small non-profit organisations working in the Jamia area.The Muslim community of Jamia Nagar has been insular and ghettoised over the years. CEQUIN felt the urgent need to bridge this gap by showcasing the vibrant culture of Jamia  Nagar. In collaboration with the India Islamic Cultural Centre(IICC), women and girls have been able to step out of their closed community and showcase their handicrafts, cuisine and culture. The second bazaar in 2012 saw a 50% increase in participation and set to grow further in the 2013. The products created for the Bazaar have also seen a dramatic improvement in terms of quality and design.

The main purpose of the bazaar is to make the women confident and financially independent. It provides a market exposure to women and girls associated with various CEQUIN activities such as Vocational Training, Self Help Groups, etc. and serves as a convergence point. Initially families were reluctant to permit the women and girls to participate at the Bazaar. CEQUIN staff worked hard at convincing them. Over the last few years the number of participants have seen a steady rise.