From Recce to Revisit: Au Revoir Numaish

It is curtains down on Numaish at Nampally, and for many Hyderabadis that familiar ache has already set in. The All India Industrial Exhibition is not just an event on the calendar. It is a winter activity. If you grew up in the city, chances are you measured January and February in visits to Numaish.

The ritual rarely changes. The first visit is always a recce. You walk endlessly, make mental notes, compare prices, promise yourself you will come back. And you do. At least two or three more times. Because Numaish is never done in a day.

This 85th year felt a little different. With Ramzan just around the corner, haleem had taken over the grounds. Stalls from some of the city’s most iconic restaurants lined the food section, dishing out everything from chai and chaat to bajjis and biryani. But it was the sight of giant handis of haleem that drew the longest queues. The festive mood had clearly kicked in. Families were already shopping for Eid outfits, bargaining with unusual urgency.

And yet, in so many ways, nothing had changed. The same old Telugu devotional songs of Ghantasala floating into Kishore Kumar classics from a nearby stall. Music you may not hear all year, but somehow only feels right at Numaish. The chorus of vendors calling out to customers. The familiar stretch of Lucknow chikankari kurtas demand attention. Kashmiri traders insisting their saffron is straight from Pampore, their dry fruits the freshest you will find. Bottles of aloo bukhara and colourful hajmola varieties ready to sample!

There is the Cherlapally jail stall, quietly displaying the produce by inmates and neatly crafted handbags and home items made by the prisoners. The toy train still circles the grounds, carrying shrieking children and indulgent parents. The smell of popcorn hangs in the air. Friends pose for photos. Families argue over discounts. Someone always buys more than they planned.

Numaish has come a long way in 85 years. But at heart, it remains what it has always been. A little chaotic, deeply nostalgic, and entirely Hyderabad.