HYDERABAD: As only hours left for Id-ul-Fitr to arrive, Old City’s shopping hub Charminar witnessed unusually large crowds.
The roads were jam-packed during the concluding week of Ramzan. All shops in the Charminar area were decorated with lighting. These shops remain open till dawn. The Ramzan season has the maximum sale of clothing to crockery, attars to perfumes, henna, bangles, footwear and artificial jewellery.
Starting from the end of Nayapul bridge, people were seen walking shoulder to shoulder. There are temporary shops which are put up on the pavements, and function halls were converted into night bazaars. The prices were said to be reasonable which attracted customers even from out of Hyderabad.
Arabian burqas were a special attraction at Shalibanda, and artificial jewellery and bangles at Lad Bazaar that start from Rs 20 and go up till Rs 1,000.
Sabina Shazan of Shazan Ethnic Wear said, “Gharara, pant style suits and lehengas are this season’s favourites, sales are good this year.”
Md Altaf Ahmed Bakshi, a fashion footwear seller, said, “This season, new styles are introduced, and the sale is at an all time high.”
Ayesha Sultana, a resident of Vanasthalipuram, said, “Without the shopping in the Old City, our festival is incomplete. Old City is a one-stop destination for all the Eid shopping.”
Syed Osman, resident of Bilalnagar, Kalapathar, “From curtains to doormats, we use everything new, the shopping for ladies takes at least seven to eight days. Even though people shop at other places across the city, at least one trip to the Old City is must.”
