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The 22nd Surajkund Crafts Mela, showcasing the diverse art, culture and crafts of the country, began at Surajkund on 1st Feb, amid colourful performance by traditional dancers and reverberating sounds of drum beats and folk music.

The 15-day fair, inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, will have West Bengal as the theme state.

Sprawled over 25 acres of land, the fair showcases the finest handlooms and handicrafts traditions from around the country and abroad in a typical rural setting.

About 350 national and state award-winning artisans from different states and craftsmen from SAARC countries and Brazil are participating in this year's fair.

Sixty-one artisans are representing West Bengal to highlight the rich traditional art and crafts of the state.

"The mela acquired a unique place in the calendar of national and international events," Mukherjee told a gathering.

Welcoming the craftsmen, he said congregation like the Surajkund Mela, apart from providing a platform to artisans, also offers an atmosphere to share ideas without any inhibition which "creates an impacting human interest".

"These contacts strengthen the courses of civilisation," he said.

Quoting Rabindranath Tagore, Mukherjee, said the "craftsmen are the persons who are silent builders of civilisation."

Noting the emergence of the mela as an important tourist destination, he said tourism is going to be an important part of India's economy.

He said the Centre would put greater emphasis on tourism in the 11th Plan period.

Famous for its splendor, the fair is organised every year from 1^st to 15^th February by the Haryana government in association with Union Ministry of Tourism.

Over the years, the fair has gained international recognition and tourist from various parts of the country and abroad come to Surajkund to witness this gala event.

Cultural programmes and rural cuisine are also part of the fair.

Earlier, Mukherjee was given a traditional welcome.

He also interacted with the craftsmen from West Bengal and appreciated their artifacts.

He was seen taking keen interest in 'Apna Ghar' where a mud hut modelled on those found in the Purulia district in West Bengal has been erected.

A family from a village in Purulia will stay in the hut during the fair to showcase lifestyle of rural people.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Minister of State for Tourism, Haryana, Kiran Choudhry and Tourism Minister of West Bengal addressed the gathering.

Hooda, said the fair brought Haryana on the international tourism map besides providing finest traditions of Indian crafts.

West Bengal Tourism Minister Manabendra Mukherjee thanked the Surajkund Mela Authority for giving the opportunity to showcase the state in the mela.