By IANS
New Delhi : The Pakistan pavilion at the Indian International Trade Fair (IITF) is a clash of contrasts. On one hand are stalls flooded with white onyx stone sculptures and on the other are multi-hued, bright and shimmering fabrics.
As one enters the pavilion, Clevedon, one of the participating companies dealing with onyx stone sculptures in Pakistan, welcomes you with its pristine white sculptures.
From dolphins, tortoises and horses to lamps, vases and telephones, even cutlery, the variety of the stone artefacts are many. And everything comes in every possible size!
Mohammad Aslam at the Clevedon stall said that he has been a regular at the IITF for the past six years. But selling the items is not his priority.
“Frankly, my focus is not to sell the items. My aim is to exhibit the new products and earn a good export deal, which we inevitable do when we are here,” Aslam told IANS.
“We also have a range of corporate gift items which we export to Japan and America,” he added.
The price range of the onyx stone pieces range from Rs. 100 to Rs. 30,000.
Arranging the saris and salwar suits in her stall, Nargis Sadab said that she has been coming to the fair every year since 1995 and has definitely seen a positive trend.
“I have a very dedicated clientele who come to me year after year. Besides this, I have also seen more and more people coming to the fair. They are eager to spend on themselves, indicating the country’s booming economy,” Sadab smiled as a woman skimmed through the variety of fabrics in her stall.
“I love her fabrics and make it a point to come here every year. You don’t get these fabrics in Delhi. For the best fabrics, I either shop in Dubai or come to Nargis’s stall,” the woman, who went by the name of Bindu, said.
The speciality of Sadab’s stall is that you get pure Mysore silk fabrics with pure zari work on it. There are other fabrics as well like chiffon.
“After all these years, I now understand my client’s psyche. I know what they want,” Sadab said.
Echoed Suraiya Waafar, a fashion designer whose stall similarly was decorated with a variety of apparel.
“Indians love bright coloured clothes. That’s why my stall is filled with bright reds, blues and pinks…all the colours which women love,” she said.
Besides clothes, Waafar’s stall also had a range of finger and toe rings.
“Opal, topaz, zircone…the rings are embedded with a variety of stones. The price range starts from Rs. 1,000,” she said.
And if you have had enough of clothes, accessories and decorative pieces, go ahead to the stalls selling spices which can give your food a different twang.
Biryani masala, haleem masala, nihari masala, tandoori masala…the list of spices is endless. Wahab Khan, one of the visitors in the pavilion said that the spices give the food an ethnic and traditional flavour and taste.
“I run an eatery here and every year get the spices from here in bulk. They give the food a different taste,” Khan said.