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Last-minute Eid shopping rush buoys up Lucknow markets
The markets in Aminabad, Nakhaas and Nazirabad are decked with food and fares, selling everything from Kulcha-Nihari to sate the taste buds to Kolhapuri shoes for the celebratory attire.
With Eid-ul-Fitr just a day away, festivities and celebrations echo in the air. Markets are a buzz with activity till late hours, as people stock up on Eid essentials.
The markets in Aminabad, Nakhaas and Nazirabad are decked with food and fares, selling everything from Kulcha-Nihari to sate the taste buds to Kolhapuri shoes for the celebratory attire. Anisha Waris, a college student and freelance translator here said, “The things I looked forward to for Eid have changed over my 18 Eids in Lucknow.” Waris had moved from Kolkata to Lucknow at the age of six, where most of her extended family lived, and has been spending Eid yearly with her cousins ever since.
“When we were younger, the countdown to Eid was for presents, new clothes, good food and Eidi that we used to receive from our elders,” she said. “Five years of saving up Eidi bought me my very first camera!” recalled Waris. However, she said that the aspect of sharing wealth and donating food was what drew her to the festival as an adult. “Now I ejoy giving my little cousins a little bit of money on Eid, and watch their faces light up with the same excitement we used to feel when we were young,” she said.
Speaking of Eid shopping, one of the most notoriously crowded and renowned is the Nakhaas Market here, resplendent with glittery bangles, bright salwaar suits, final missing ingredients and more. And on the eve of Eid (the awaited ‘Chand Raat’), this street is choc-a-block with people celebrating , dressed up to mark the last day of Ramzan . In view of the large crowds that gather at Nakhaas Market in Old Lucknow, the traffic police have announced that normal traffic will be restricted from Nakhaas Tiraha to Charak intersection from 3:00PM onwards till the end of the festivities.
As the aroma of biryani, sewai, and shahi tukda waft through the streets, sweets, jaggery, meat, and spices, as well as new trends in ethnic wears fly off the shelves on the last few days before Eid. The glitter ff flamboyant outfits hanging in store displays and fragrances of classic dishes of Eid, keep the city spell bound as they end of Ramzan draws near. Shopkeepers in Aminabad share that the last week, particularly the last day before Eid tends to bring the highest sales. “Bulk buyers prefer to make purchases by the second or third to last day, but last minute shoppers will descend in throngs on the final day, trying to grab all they need in one trip,” said a sweet shop owner here. “On a few occasions over the years it has happened that our shelves have been wiped clean, and we had to make a fresh batch for my own family’s Eid celebrations!”
