Jatra Mela's journey

In a tungsten glow and hyped ebullience, Jatra, a celebration of folk culture and Bangladeshi traditions in the form of artistic clothes, accessories and furniture, hosted its newest venture, Jatra Mela. The grand opening of Jatra Mela, held on August 16, told the stories of nine local artisans whose spectacular creations filled the space of Jatra's Banani outlet.

Jatra Mela is an exciting collaboration between Jatra, a popular lifestyle brand, and authentic Bangladeshi designers and artisans. "The idea is to bring initiators and entrepreneurs of nine brilliant brands under a single umbrella and to celebrate their crafts for what they are. Eventually, we might reach out and feature more brands as we go on," shared Anusheh Anadil, Founder and Creative Director of Jatra.

Speaking of brilliant brands, the featured ventures specialise in designs, crafts, arts, fashion, accessories, pottery and more. Beloved household names in the world of lifestyle like Footloose, aspiring to create minimal footwear handcrafted individually by local artisans or 'muchis', is sure to attract any customer favouring comfort and quality. Prokritojon, dedicated to upcycling and promoting earth-friendly resources, will feature handmade handicrafts and fashion accessories with handspun handloom textiles.

Other brands setting up shop at Jatra Mela are Monokrome, an up-and-coming label championing minimalism and classicism in its cotton and khadi fabrics and quirky designs and Musarrat Rahman's creations. A fusion of tradition and modernism, Musarrat Rahman's designs consist of bespoke clothing with a handcrafted feel. Moreover, Chandana Dewan's Chondon displays vogue trends of apparels and accessories.

Kuhu, Ribana and Hand Touch are some of the other brands enthralling and exciting customers with their creative designs, handloom fabrics and organic soaps, along with Dew Crafts, a non-profit supporting local and international organisations.

A musical soiree of perfect symphonies from Shafi Mondol and World Funk Orchestra also accompanied the grand launch with food and beverages, compliments of Jatra Biroti, an organic and vegetarian restaurant of the outlet.

Adding to Banani's Jatra, Jatra Mela collaborating and displaying spectacular creations of lifestyle products is the latest experimental phase of the venture. And it's only slated to pave the way for more beginnings and more collaborations in the future.