At one end, you will find people bargaining with vendors over prices on various articles and then your attention is drawn towards the colourful amusement themes and a step further you would find a family enjoying snack brought from their home.
This is the scene at the 72 All India Industrial Exhibition, popularly known as Numaish in the local lingo. It's been many years since it was first organised in the city and it still continues to draw crowds from across the State.
“Numaish is one of the characteristics of Hyderabad. The ambience here is unique and it is one of the best options to spend quality time with your family,” says Raghunandan, a visitor.
Electronics, garments, crockery, toys, handlooms, handicrafts – name the article and you will find it in one of the stalls in the exhibition. This year about 2,500 stalls have been put up by traders from across the country.
For women, who are planning to deck up their houses for Sankranti festive season, there are many stalls, that offer carpets, mats, cushions, bed sheets, pillow covers and other decorative stuff. To attract visitors, many stall owners have put up one-day schemes offering a set of double bed sheet and pillow covers for Rs. 200.
Then there are crockery stores from Uttaranchal, Himachal and different Northern States. For those willing to purchase some garments, there are plenty of options in the form of Kashmiri silk sarees, Pochampally sarees, Gujarati dress materials.
Make sure to visit the MEPMA stores to buy pickles and other household items and the Prisoners stall to purchase some fresh vegetables cultivated in Cherlapally jail. When you get tired roaming around the sprawling ground, there are many food stalls, including haleem, chat, pop corn and not to mention the good-old sugar candy to rejuvenate.
However, the popular stalls from Pakistan and Iran that used to be a main attraction at the Numaish are missing this year. There are many reasons, including visa norms, etc. for their absence. But this year already, 1.75 lakh visitors have turned up at the event till Saturday. Last year, over 21 lakh people visited the place during all the days and had good time, says Gangadhar Rao, Secretary of the Exhibition Society.
