Indian Fair in Yaroslavl (2015)
India goes beyond the boundaries. India expands beyond its limits. On Friday, March 29, a part of India came to the Russian ancient city of Yaroslavl with a trading expo “Dear India” that will remain opened till April 6th 2015.
Pleasant and original aroma of traditional incense sticks, colourful kurti and scarfs, Indian carpets, wooden carved tables, cabinets, mirrors, drawer units, jewellery boxes, hair oil, tooth paste, soaps, masaala, tea and many many other goods are presented at this trading fair.
Everywhere there are elephant statues and souvenirs of all the possible sizes, colours, and made from various materials: redwood, wood, stone, marble, steel…
At the entrance a silver statue of Ganesh welcomes everyone to the Indian market.
This time Indian fair offers a lot of furniture items made from redwood. Every piece, should it be a four-leg or one-leg table, a stool, a chair, a pier mirror or a drawer, has an intricate carved floral ornament decorated with golden string or thread and golden leaves, flowers or elephants.
I can’t say prices are low. I would rather say they are at least three times higher than in the country of origin of all the goods. However, those, who are not going to visit India, can afford to take something unique as a memorial gift from this bright country.
For instance, the cost of one packet of these snacks is 150 roubles (Rs. 162, or $2.6).
And a small box of Soan Papdi (250 g) is 300 roubles (Rs.324, or $5.2). It is not cheap. But it is very tasty. And if you have never been to India before, there is nothing bad to allow yourself spend little more to try something new.