Lad Bazaar is just about stirring from its slumber. A few shopkeepers have opened shutters; the staff is dusting, cleaning and preparing for the day ahead. It’s 11a.m. The world outside may be well into its work mode, but business begins in true Nawabi style in this part of the city.
The bright façade of the shops near Julu Khana Kaman are a contrast to the fading, dusty brown heritage structure behind them. Among these shops, a few stand out. You’d dismiss Mohd. Khaleeq Ali’s Al Madinah Collections as any regular store that sells readymade garments. Ali is placing a few mannequins in front of the store and hanging a few garments near the name board. That’s when we notice a small board Blue Sea Fishnets — claiming to be the sole agent for tuf ropes, nylon fishing nets and mono nets.
Nearby, there’s Meena Fishing Line and Siddiq’s Fishing store. In fine print, you get an idea of what these stores actually specialise in — fishing rods, hooks, reels and
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Blue Sea Fishnets, says its present owner Mohd. Khaleeq Ali, was started 60 years ago when Hyderabad’s many water bodies were thriving. “A lot more people used to fish then. My father established the store. We used to have many fishing hooks,” he says. Nets, he says, came to be used widely since the 80s.
The store began sourcing fishing nets with holes of different dimensions, from Mumbai. “These are all handmade, nylon nets. Some of these nets take three to four months to make. We get them in big bundles and cut them as per sale requirements,” he says, showing one net with medium-sized holes that costs Rs. 2500.
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Lakes in the city have been polluted and encroached upon over the years and monsoon vagaries have depleted them further. When sales began declining Ali began selling garments. “Since we’ve been around, those who want fishing nets know where to come. We don’t need to display the nets prominently,” he says.
A threat to the sale of these fishing nets also comes from Chinese-made nets, he points out. “Those nets are made of plastic, priced around $50 and are not durable,” he says dismissively. Ali has also seen many in the younger generation of the fishing community take up jobs in the IT and ITES sector.
Remember malls and high-rises across the city covered in nets during Telangana agitation prior to the formation of the new State? During that brief period, Ali saw brisk sales. “A lot more people began to supply nets to everyone. Those were pigeon nets,” he says.
Nearby, Meena Fishing Line prominently displays fishing twines and Siddiq Fishing ‘Articals’ (the typo is on their name board) stocks fishing rods and hooks in different sizes. As the store owner Md. Imtiaz arranges these hooks on the counter, a group debates the demand for fishing equipment. “Soon after demonetisation when all our businesses suffered, we had plenty of time. All of us could have gone fishing for hours,” one man quips. It takes a while for the guffaws to settle down.
What: Fishing nets, ropes, hooks and rods.
Where: Blue Sea Fishnets, Meena Fishing Line and Siddiq Fishing Articles, beside Julu Khana Kaman, Lad Bazaar