Brikkho Mela brings a touch of green to the city

This yearly assembly of the nurseries brings plant lovers and enthusiasts a variety of exotic options -- medicinal plants, wood trees, local fruit trees, and of course various kinds of ornamental and flowering plants.

Dhakaites flock to the premises and buy to their heart's content and there is so much to see and experience. In fact, it takes an hour to just check out one-third of the fair. Each stall is beautifully decorated and there is an unseen competition as to who has the best collection.

"Every year I eagerly wait for the Brikkho Mela to start, and I drop by a couple of times within the month it runs. I hire pickups to carry my purchase; my Uttara plot is full of trees and plants I collected from the mela grounds," said Monsoor, an ardent gardener.  He has a fair bit of land even in this concrete jungle we call Dhaka and was seen busy making purchases at the fair.

"Arjun, which has many herbal benefits and is considered a minor timber in the wood trade, is one of my prized collections. Besides, I stumbled upon gorjon, famous for the wood and also considered an investment for people in rural Bangladesh. I collected a rare hijol or Indian oak tree, which is native to riverine Bangladesh," he adds.

Rashid, another gardening enthusiast, said, "I buy flowering and leafy plants for my rooftop and balcony garden. I just love green and cherish coming to the mela to see new additions and add to my collection."

The fair also sells many kinds of fertilisers, coco and bone dust, moss plant poles, gardening tools, etc. They have cells or booths to give you information and help you understand the nuances of gardening and plants. 

The government stall from Bangladesh Forest Research Institute, who is the main organiser, brings their technical and research knowledge to support and help all the nursery owners to implement the know-how at the field level. To give the ground a true fair-like feel there are interesting stalls selling various pickles, chutneys, and also rare local fruits like deuwa (monkey jack), bethfol (cane fruit), and lotkon (Burmese grapes).

The Jatiya Brikkho Mela 2023 is going on at the old trade fair ground in Agargaon and will continue till mid-July.