GIG carnival -- a celebration of food, music, crafts

New Delhi

The three-day GIG carnival set to begin on February 5 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium has been curated by Gourmet Planet and is part of the 'Incredible India' campaign of the Tourism Ministry.

Among the delicacies included are those from North-East such as black rice, tiger prawn momos etc, Amritsari Chajju Ji ki tikki and parantha, Tunday Kabab from Lucknow, Rajasthani Kachori, Kuremal Ki Kulfi and Hyderabadi Biryani.

"Chaats from seven cities- Mumbai, Lucknow, Bhopal, Agra, Varanasi, Delhi, Kanpur are on the fare. Apart from this we have some of the best restaurants from the city's participating," says Sonny Walia, curator of the festival.

Walia says the eateries have been chosen with care to provide a eclectic gastronomical experience.

"For example we have a very popular eatery from Jama Masjid area, it is a legendary one and the owner has never ventured outside the walled city. Another restaurant owned by an Uzbeki family and there is another that specialises in biryani," says Walia.

Over 30 performing acts from across the nation catering to every kind of music ranging from Jazz and Blues to Ska, EDM, Electronica, Hindi Rock, Sufi and everything in between is also lined up.

The Coke Studio is set to performing a live set at the carnival along with The Karsh Kale Collective, Prateek Kuhad, Hamza and Mannu, Medieval Punditz besides others.

Rare craftsmanship on interactive display range from the traditional natural perfumes of Kannauj, Rogan art from Gujarat, stone pottery from Meghalaya, Jamdani work from Benaras, silver filigree work from Orissa, mask making from Majuli, leather craft from Pondicherry amongst a host of other traditional handicrafts will be shown in traditional artisanal works from across the country.

"We are featured on the Incredible India's website. At the GIG there is also a luxury crafts section emphasising on luxury Made-In-India brands that use traditional methodologies with a modern design aesthetic," says Walia.

Walia says after the inagural edition of the carnival, there are also plans to take it to other cities like Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow etc.