Bamboo Fans By Tribal Artisans For I-Day Invitees At Red Fort

New Delhi: Colourful bamboo fans will be offered to invitees, including ministers, parliaments and diplomats, during the Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort on August 15 as souvenirs.

To popularise tribal products, the Ministry of Defence has procured thousand such fans. The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED), which functions under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, supplied these for the event.

“We approached the Ministry of Defence with the request to let us supply pankhas. The aim was to promote the tribal product and also help the invitees beat the heat. The idea was accepted by the Ministry of Defence, and they placed an order for 1,000 hand fans,” said TRIFED Managing Director Pravir Krishna.

These bamboo fans have been crafted by the artisans belonging to the Mahali tribe of West Bengal. “It has tribal motifs on both sides. Each fan costs Rs 150 and all the money goes to the tribal people,” he added.

Following the Jatin Das’ exhibition in Delhi, TRIFED organised a ‘Pankha Festival’ at its showroom in the capital. Since then, the organisation has been showcasing these handcrafted fans sourced from artisans from all over the country through its 97 retail outlets and e-portals.

Meanwhile, Jaya Jaitly, founder of Dastkari Haat Samiti, an association of crafts people, said, “In 2014, during the Prime Minister’s speech at Red Fort, I noticed how those present there were fanning themselves with papers, booklets or pamphlets. Then this idea came to my mind.”

She has been persuading both the ministries since then.