Dastkaar bazaar at Dilli Haat

You first went along, clutching the tussar pallu of your mother’s saree. By the time you carried a college ID, you knew the potter who came every year by name. And the last few years, it’s a race against the girls at work — who gets to the bazaar first, for first dibs on its hand-crafted goodies.

It’s a long daisy chain of reminiscence — one even lohar Haji would be proud of. You’ll find him beating out his brass at the workshop that showcases artisans in action every winter at Dilli Haat, at Dastkaar Nature Bazaar. And it’s in honour of such long memories that 25-year-old Dastkaar has the elephant for its mascot at this year’s Nature Bazaar.

Inspired, you go on to jostle through the crowds, to fill your bags. With beaten brass and woven beads. Butterflied kites and bottlegourd spoons. Softly space-dyed stoles in the many colours of the Indian earth.

In the central court, the elephant looms in every cast. Curling a coir trunk. Nodding a dokra-domed forehead. Winking little eyes out of a potter’s lamp. Tusks slashing across Orissan palm-leaf sheets in patachitra art. Tail a-twitch as toy and trinket.

Gather yourself a herd of handicrafts.

Dastkaar Bazaar, Dilli Haat, Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi; tel: 4629365, 6119055. On till Dec 31. Prices from Rs 35 up.