Lure of the bazaar

Mumbai is set to have its own haat, which promises to be one up on Delhi's

It's been a long wait, but things finally seem to be moving for Siddharth Kak of Surabhi FORCE (Foundation of Research and Cultural Exchange) which has been given the go-ahead to set up a Mumbai Haat "" a rustic-flavoured traditional bazaar.

While this would broadly be modelled along the lines of Dilli Haat, Kak has far more ambitious plans for it.

The Mumbai haat would include a Living Heritage Centre (LHC) to showcase the essence of India. So, a visitor can experience a boat ride along the ghats of Benaras, or relive a slice of Mughal history through a virtual reality set up.

The state government has given the go ahead to the project which will be a public-private partnership. The government will invest Rs 2 crore in the the project and also provide the land for the haat and the LHC.

Kak said that the ministry of textiles has given its approval to the plans for the haat and food court, which would be spread over 5-6 acres. The entire project including the LHC will cover 28 acres.

The total investment in the project will run into a couple of hundred crores, says Kak, though the haat and foodcourt would require between Rs 10-15 crore.

With the recnt entry of Jindal Foundation's Sangeeta Jindal on the board as a trustee, fund raising for the LHC should receive a fillip, since she has been actively involved with the Kala Ghoda and Mumbai festivals over the last few years.

Kak says that the haat would be a revolving festival of crafts with artisans coming in from all over India with a two week rolling time.

However, there will be special emphasis on Maharashtra. The food court will have varieties of street food of the sophisticated kind.

Apart from this, the centre will also host folk theatre performances and design and craft workshops on a regular basis.

"We want the LHC to be a place to experience India through entertainment. The idea is to do what no museum can do by being a highly interactive platform which will appeal to people across all age groups," says an excited Kak.

Interactivity ranks high on his priority list with plans to have a system where visitors can access all the info they need at the click of a mouse. A robust system could go a step further and allow you to craft your own jewellery online and see the artisan give it shape.

For now, Kak is impatient to begin work on the project once the paperwork is done so that the haat can be functional by the end of 2007.