Over the recent years, as Christmas cheer spreads, Bengaluru has seen an increasing number of special bazaars come up. These little pop-up stalls come and go quickly, selling knick-knacks, baked goods and everything imaginable under the sun, in many cases for charitable purposes.
The trend began with the United Charities Bazaar, the longest-running Christmas bazaar in the city. Participation was hit in the wake of Covid and the bazaar has been put on hold this time, aiming for a comeback in 2024.
Stephen Dass of proVISION INDIA, which has been organising the bazaar in recent years, said that it was not clear when exactly the phenomenon began, but that it seemed to have been going since the 1960s. Many older participants do not remember seeing anything similar before United Charities, which would make it one of the first such organised bazaars–not counting the more privately organised sales within clubs and smaller associations.
In contrast to the long-running United Charities Bazaar, other bazaars have come up in recent years.
Dass said, “It was started in the late 60s by a team of expatriate wives who wanted to raise funds for a few charities in Bangalore. So they started organising it on the premises of the Bowring Institute. Back then it was also known as the Bowring Sale. Over time, they took it to a larger venue, the St Joseph’s venue on MG Road, where it ran for several years.” In more recent years, the Bazaar has been held at Charles School in Lingarajpuram.
He added, “My father and our NGO had initially been at the Bazaar as participants. But in 2006-2007 they approached us to take over, as many of the women were ageing…. We allow only NGOs or enterprises that have some sort of benevolent service to take part. In the recent years we had also invited some home entrepreneurs. The average walk-in on the day of the event, which lasts one day, is around 4,000-5,000 people.”
According to Dass, most non-profits participating rely on the day to fundraise, with many of them selling baked goods, handicrafts and Christmas decorations.
Participation was hit in the wake of Covid and the bazaar has been put on hold this time, aiming for a comeback in 2024.
In contrast to the long-running United Charities Bazaar, other bazaars have come up in recent years. One of these was organised in Indira Nagar by the Defence Colony Resident Welfare Association, which for the first time decided to club its annual mela with Christmas celebrations and a party for children on Sunday. According to Naresh D’Mello, a member of the RWA, several stalls and a food court were set up, aiming to attract visitors from all over Indira Nagar.
“We wanted to do something to bring the whole community together…..our mela is usually held anyway around October or December. So far we have had around 500 or so visitors,” D’Mello said Sunday.
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