An event marking the three-year anniversary of an organic market was held at Gandhi Bhawan, Bhopal from April 1-3. Named 'Anant Mahotsav', it marked three years of ‘Anant Mandi’, an organic food market.

At Anant Mahotsav, there were several stalls offering organic produce and items of everyday use manufactured in a sustainable manner. While many stalls stocked grains, millets, oils and vegetables -- all cultivated without using harmful pesticides and insecticides, others had bamboo combs, bamboo toothbrushes, decorative items, handicrafts, handloom bags and many other products.

A live pottery-making workshop was also organised as part of these three-year celebrations. Apart from this, a Composting Workshop, Kitchen Gardening Workshop, Seed Conservation Workshop and a conversation with organic farmers was also held.

There were food stalls selling vegetable biryanis, dosa, sabudana khichdi, aam panna and freshly-pressed sugarcane juice. These saw a steady stream of visitors and grew increasingly busy as evening turned to night.

The organisers had also roped in musicians to keep the crowd engaged. After a performance of several famous ghazals by three classical performers, ‘Rutba’, a band singing mainly Sufi songs took over and regaled the audience. Despite initial hesitation, the crowd, majority of whom were young people, began dancing to the tunes of the live band and the celebrations lasted long into the night.