It was a perfect children’s day out at Rangayana here on Sunday with ‘Chinnara Santhe’ (children’s fair) by camp participants of ‘Chinnara Mela’ on the go.
With everything and anything catering children’s needs was for sale at the fair with a high pile up of products out of which many were sold cheap.
A scene depicting a perfect market place with the only difference of children as vendors and purchasers along with few parents and other elders, the fair went on till noon from morning 10 am with a lot many transactions.
While many children had their items selling like hot cakes, few were seen drooping with no customers to buy their products.
Flowers and accessories, chats and juices, handicrafts and decorative items, greens and vegetables, stationaries and games, magazines and papers, junk foods and few healthy ones, the list perhaps would be a long one.
While few sold products with help of their mothers, some did it on their own, and a few had a partnership business. There was even the forgotten barter system in the fair.
With their own stalls set up on the premises of Rangayana, kids screamed on top of their
voice to attract customers. While some of them walked around to market their products, others shy were seen sitting in their stalls and selling out products to those who approached them.
Muskan N Sheik, daughter of Meharunnisa and Noor Ahmed, studying in third standard at Mahajana’s School complains that her father did not buy her bicycle and she would buy one on her own with the money she earns selling jasmine flowers and churmuri.
Jagathi of seventh standard of Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan School along with another camp participant Nisarga of CFTRI School sold golguppas which she likes and says she could nosh on the remaining ones after her sale.
While Shirish of St Mathias school sold lip smacking ‘uddina vada’ G Ramya of third standard at Kautilya Vidyalaya had mouth watering churmuri to sell along with buttermilk, banana and chocolates. P Bharat sold in his stall Mangalore bajji, butter biscuits and lemon ginger juice.
Neelankansh of sixth standard at Vidyavardhaka had tasty, healthy ‘gulkhan’ with banana with a choice of with and without butter in his stall and jeera juice to treat his customers.
Nishanth Karyappa of Mahajana’s School and Punam of Sacred Heart School of Hubli at their stall had fresh cut fruits and juice to sell.
As Supritha sold salad of sprouted grains at her stall, Anagha of fourth standard of Maharshi School sold sprouted grains’ pack.
G Vishrutha of sixth standard at Vijaya Vittala School had in her stall decorative items for house done by her artist mother Indrani.
Adithi and Nikitha of Kautilya Vidyalaya had their mother-made photo frames, garlands and other accessories to sell.
Amrith studying in fourth standard at St Joseph’s School had books, magazines and newspapers to sell, but was discouraged with no purchasers.
Few of them even sold coconuts, greens, vegetables and other items for which not much customers were attracted.
Vishwas of second standard at DMS School had accessories for girls to sell at his shop.
G L Darshan of seventh standard at Christ Public School had set up games of ‘rings in the pole,’ ‘game of cup’ and ‘ball and cup’ for which he gave away erasers, pencils and pens as prizes.
Most of them also had ready made junk food packets to sell which attracted kids which should have been more close to natural products, many parents opined.
Many kids clamoured for customers. Dramatic thieves and entertainers intervened in the fair. As children tried to protect themselves and their products from robbers, they danced with the entertainers.
Director of Rangayana B V Rajaram opined that the fair which has been a continuously organised at ‘chinnara mela’ makes children creative and they also learn the importance of trade.
“Among 350 camp participants about 250 have set up stalls. Children would know the interaction and participation in fair which are not much now-a-days,” he said.
While he appreciated presence of most of the mothers to help their kids, he said probably fathers were resting at home as it was Sunday.
He even said the general public should participate in such a creative event held just once in a year.
