Cultural events liven up trade fair

The second day of the India International Trade Fair (IITF) saw over 80,000 footfalls on Saturday as Delhites converged ay Pragati Maidan to spend their weekend.

The second day of the India International Trade Fair (IITF) saw over 80,000 footfalls on Saturday as Delhites converged ay Pragati Maidan to spend their weekend.

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"Today was the first weekend, so we expected this kind of crowd. Last year though the number of footfalls were marginally higher. We are expecting a lot of people on Sunday as well as the coming days of the fair," said SH Khan, senior general manager, India Trade Promotion Organisation.

Among the most popular stalls were the foreign pavilions and the one hosted by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research called 'Techno Fest' which is based on clean and green energy.

The crowd also enjoyed various cultural programmes. While Delhi, Bihar and Chhattisgarh celebrated their state days on Saturday, the Pragati Angan came alive with dance and music.

Students of danseuse Swapna Sundari performed Vilasini Natyam, a group dance. A chhau recital by Sangeet Natak Akademi, Gazal performance by Farid Ahmed Khan and a puppet show were highlights of the evening.

On Sunday, visitors at the fair can look forward to semi-classical dance performances by Nita Pandit, ghazal performances, saddhya dance by Santosh Nair and song performances by Mohammad Hussain and Ahmed Hussain of Jaipur. Shakuntalam has movie shows lined up as well.