Vasant Mela: A Spring Fair like No Other in Beijing

Dear reader, it’s in the air —can you feel it? As we approach mid-March and temperatures finally warm up some, it would seem as though spring is now imminent. We hope you enjoyed your Chinese New Year holidays, but we think you’ll agree with us: the more celebrations, the better! Are we on the same page? Then let’s rejoice together for a most special party coming to town on Sat 23 Mar, courtesy of the Indian Embassy —Vasant Mela!

Frankly, you should be scrolling down to the end of this blog post to find the QR code in the image to register. But wait a second! What's in store at the event? To find out more, we chatted with the Indian Embassy’s Director of Culture Centre, Dr. Vivekanand to find out more about what to expect for this year’s celebration. Read below!

Hi, Vivek! Such a pleasure to cover this event. First things first, could you give us a brief introduction to Vasant Mela?
Vasant Mela was first held in 2023. It was the brainchild of our Ambassador H.E Pradeep Kumar Rawat, who sought to expand the scope of the annual Holi celebrations to the scale of a grand mela (fair). The idea was to offer the participants a chance at an immersive experience in Indian culture. 

Thus, eventually we decided to have a venue hosting a series of activity areas for attendees to pick from and go with the flow of the event at large. On one side, the fair is bustling with all things Indian —activities, catering, experiences and so on. On the other hand, we will also have a continuous stream of Indian cultural performances appealing to different senses, all at the same time. 

It sounds like it's going to be an incredible day! Who can take part in the event and what's the spirit with which attendees should approach it? Is there any dress code?
Of course, it is open to everyone!! It is a two-way process: we get a chance to meet people who are already invested in Indian culture, and we also greet people who are respectfully engaging with Indian culture and everything it entails at the same time. Therefore, we strongly encourage a festive spirit and dress code for the event. The color of your attire is up to you! 

I will say we do have plans to surprise those participants dressed in Indian attire with exciting gifts. So, if you happen to have that one piece of Indian ethnic clothing that you are looking for an occasion to wear, this is your chance!! You may be the one who walks away with the best dressed person award.

We're pumped at the chance to indulge in all that delicious food again this year. Tell us more about the caterers for the afternoon. Also, what’s your personal favorite dish?
This year, we will have at least five Indian restaurants offering diverse delicacies from different parts of India. Apart from that, we will also have stalls from the Indian community based out of Beijing, as well as our own in-house stalls, managed by volunteers kindly offering their time for the mela. I would venture that both food connoisseurs and lay foodies alike will have a hard time choosing what to eat. It’s a good problem to have, wouldn't you agree?

All in all, we will count on representative stalls hailing from the East, West, North and Southern regions of India to ensure you don’t miss out on any of the diverse options. As for my favorite dish... Well, I have so many. But this time, I would like to challenge you with trying out “Idly”, a dish from south India, which I am sure some of our stalls are offering this time. 

Of course, there’s plenty more than food at an event like Vasant Mela. Care to tell us more about the highlights of the event?
Sure! Food is not the end-all be-all, even when it’s so sumptuous. The fair itself has so many other diverse things to offer, particularly by way of Indian handicrafts and an extensive display of Indian art and culture.

The fair will also feature products across the board including handicrafts stalls representing different regions of our vast country, as well as health and wellness stalls delving into Yoga and Ayurveda (traditional Indian wellness system). Needless to say, we will have henna stalls again, for your Indian style tattoos.  

Onstage with our cultural gala, much like last year, it will be a non-stop stream of dazzling performances showcasing a unique mix of music, dance, classical arts, festivals, yoga challenges, etc. I want to bring attention over to some of our participating, Chinese artists who are passionate about Indian classical arts, be it classical dances such as Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kathak, or musical instruments such as tabla and sitar. We are fortunate to have such exponents of Indian art and culture amongst us. 

Overall, this is quite the opportunity for a person who is curious to know more about Indian culture to have one-point access to the performances of all our cultural ambassadors. The stage will serve as a platform for both the Indian diaspora and friends of India to showcase their skills to a completely new audience.

On a personal note, we'd would like to add that we're am so impressed at all the cultural events that the Indian Embassy puts together over the course of the year. Is there any way to stay updated about them all?
Oh yes, we have many cultural events lined up throughout the year. We have at least one event every month, and in some months we will outdo ourselves with two or more. The next big event is the International Day of Yoga in June — same venue, but scheduled for the morning. Ayurveda Day is back this year, too, in our roster of regular events towards the latter part of the year. 

Last but not least, you may also look forward to our regular yoga classes by our yoga guru from India, as well as regular classes in Bharatanatyam & Odissi.

For anyone who is interested to follow our events, I would highly recommend that they follow us on WeChat and Weibo for regular updates. You can scan the QR code right below.

Vasant Mela will be taking place on Mar 23 from 11am-4pm at 13 Guanghua Lu (光华路13号). You can scan the QR code in the poster above to register, tickets are RMB 35.

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Images courtesy of the Indian Embassy in Beijing