Planning to head to Charminar? Here is a travel advisory. Get mentally prepared for delays which can stretch beyond your wildest imagination. If it is urgent, start at least two hours before the scheduled time and if it is shopping, be ready to take the rough and tumble in your stride. Also be on the lookout for the nimble-fingered gentry. On the prowl are many wolves in sheep's clothing.
To say that there is a traffic gridlock is to stress the obvious. Vehicles don't move but inch ahead as the countdown for Id-ul-Fitr begins. All roads lead to Charminar and no route is free from traffic snarl-ups. Even the RTC is forced to terminate its fleet at Afzalgunj.
Frenzied buying
It might sound outlandish but you can stand at Nayapul and in no time find yourself near Charminar. The whirlpool of mass will just carry you along. Here everyone feels like a rudderless boat – helpless and at the mercy of human waves. The lanes around the monument are a swollen stream of humanity. The way Hyderabadis behave and buy will surely put even the big time shoppers in Dubai to shame.
The city is a melting pot of ethnic identities. And one can find people of all communities at the shopping paradise that Charminar is. Burqa-clad women, portly Sardarjis, salwar-suited Hindu aunties and trendily dressed Laila Majnus walking hand in hand on the Patherghatti stretch.
While shopping Hyderabadis are not lost to the culinary revolution around. Iftar over most try to shop and slurp. The moment they feel fatigued carrying the oversized bags, they drop in at Shadab hotel, Farasha or Pista House for a bowl of Haleem or a plate of succulent kebabs.
Hyderabad never sleeps - more so the areas south of the Musi days before the Eid. People shop as if there is no tomorrow. What do they shop? Just anything that takes their fancy. It is mostly readymade clothes that are up for grabs on the penultimate day. Women turn shopaholics and end up buying everything in sight. The maximum rush is found near the matching centres and roadside kiosks selling imitation jewellery. Of course the bulb-lit shops at Laad Bazaar are crowded as ever. Most try to match the clothes already purchased with the shimmering bangles here.
Colour takes precedence. There is a clamour for scarlet reds, parrot greens and bright yellows. Saree falls, petticoats, pins, combs, purses are up for grabs. As the night advances crowds swell by the minute and the torrent flows till the wee hours.
The whole thing appears delirious – hawkers crying hoarse and shoppers fighting for space. Even a drizzle doesn't dampen the spirits. The pace is feverish and the kharidari non-stop.
