For the denizens in Hyderabad, it’s a shop till you drop situation! With only days left for the Eid-ul-Fitr, the religious fervour as well as the shopping frenzy was at its zenith in the historic city of Hyderabad. While mosques, elegantly illuminated with lights through the length and breadth of the city, were crowded with devotees round-the-clock, the bazaars and markets roared with the hustle and bustle of thousands of shoppers till the wee hours.
While the mosques echoed with the recitation of holy Quran first in Taraweeh till midnight and then the Tahajjud prayers that start around 2 am, the areas around the major places of worship bustled with crowds. Such is the rush that many important intersections witnessed traffic jams even in the wee hours.
Apart from the traditional markets from Madina to the historic Charminar, dotted with the dazzling shops of clothes, bangles, pearls, jewellery, perfumes, crockery and roads packed with push carts, the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad now boast of more than a dozen other shopping areas.
“Earlier this was restricted to the Pathargatti but now the entire city seems to be up incurring huge revenue all the night”, said Makhdoom Mohiuddin, said the owner of a prominent mall of readymade garments.
“People observe Ramzan as a month of spiritual training with piety and solemnity. But it is also now turning into a month-long festival as people relish the peculiar Hyderabadi cuisines and go out for shopping as part of the preparations for Eid”, said Ghousuddin, who owns a shop at laad Bazar, famous for bangles. Mehdipatnam-Toli Chowki stretch in the western part of the city, Dilsukhnagar in the eastern corridor apart from Ameerpet and Kukatpally and Chandrayangutta have emerged as the major shopping centres with their own big malls and showrooms.
The entire stretch from Madina Circle to Charminar gives a breathtaking view with a flood of colourful lights. The historic monument of Charmina and Mecca Masjid, one of the biggest in the country, all decked up provide a magnificent backdrop. Such is the rush of the shoppers that the main arterial road has now been closed for vehicular traffic.
“This is the time for us to enjoy the blessings of Allah”, said Rafiuddin Hashmi, who was on an annual visit to his hometown from Saudi Arabia.
In a new addition to the rich culinary scene of Hyderabad, a company has organised a big food festival in the new city under the quirky banner of “Old City and New City”.
One can taste a wide range of delicacies starting with the traditional Hyderabadi haleem to comparatively less explored Patthar Ka Gosht, Patthar ka Murg, Kareli Kababs, Quail, Gurda, Paya and what not.