Yards of cloth spread across, stalls encompassing array of products from across the globe, a dazzling variety of jewellery and perfumes, mountain of dry fruits and a sea of people at the newly built ITPO complex in Pragati Maidan on Sunday.
The 42nd India International Trade Fair opened to the general public Sunday after five days dedicated to business visitors only. The trade fair is hosting over 3,500 exhibitors from more than 20 nations along with Indian states, housed in 14 halls of the complex. And shoppers can visit the fair, on till November 27, between 10 am to 5.30 pm.
Notably, this is also the first time the Bharat Mandapam has been opened to the general public, ever since its conception.
Noting the differences from the old Pragati Maidan complex Nipun Agarwal (33), a civil engineer with TATA said, “This place is poles apart from the old Pragati Maidan. I’m interested in infrastructure and they’ve done a fantastic job.” Accompanying him was a PR professional Anya Gupta (31) who was excited to check out the food stalls and apparel stores. “As someone who likes to keep her house nice and pretty, I’ll be shopping for some home decor too,” she said.
Vrinda Arora (23), a journalist, who was accompanying her family to the fair said, “I visit the fair every year with my family and this time the crowd is pretty less in terms of the first day of the fair.”
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However, not everyone was happy with the changes brought in by Bharat Mandapam. A disappointed Rajesh Kumar (57), who came all the way from Agra, said, “I’ve been visiting the fair since 1981. It’s become totally commercialised and looks like a shopping complex now. I don’t see any of the traditional goods in the state stalls anymore.”
For the younger crowd, the fair is platform to explore, shop and learn. Niyati Arora (15) expressed how excited she was to see the international stalls at the fair. “I’d be really happy if I found a stall selling Korean and Japanese products,” she said.
Suraj Saini (18) who had come to the fair on a school excursion from Jhajjar said, “I really enjoyed eating at the food stalls.” For his friend Anshu Ranga (18), the Haryana exhibition was the most interesting.