President Patil to inaugurate Surajkund crafts fair

Chandigarh, Dec 16 (IANS) The celebration of traditional Indian handicrafts will begin Feb 1 next year when the Surajkund crafts fair gets underway in Haryana.

President Pratibha Patil will inaugurate the 2009 edition of the Surajkund fair, Haryana's Minister for Tourism and Forests Kiran Chaudhary said here Tuesday.

Surajkund is located in the Aravalli range, about 10 km from south Delhi on the highway to Agra.

Held annually Feb 1-15, the fair first made its modest beginning in 1981. The event is now internationally acknowledged with scores of foreigners coming to see the best of traditional Indian craftsmen display their skills and art.

Chaudhary said this time, Egypt would be the partner country in the Surajkund Crafts Mela and would showcase its cultural activities and artefacts.

Surajkund (The pond of the Sun god) owes its name to an ancient amphitheatre sun pool, dating to the 10th century, located there. It was built by king Suraj Pal, a follower of the Sun god.