Mominpura bustling with shoppers as Eid approaches

Nagpur: With Eid less than a week away, shoppers are thronging the markets in Mominpura to pick up clothes, accessories like footwear and jewellery and even dry fruits used for preparing sweets served on the day.
“This time we are fortunate that Eid is falling in the first week of the month and so we can spend on shopping of clothes for the entire family,” says Nahid Jaffar, a travel agency employee. Muslims of all income segments buy new clothes on Eid for the entire family.
Relentless heat during the day has kept many indoors but the shops in Mominpura are still crowded. “People are shopping during the day too as in the evenings hundreds of men and women come here for iftar,” says Mohd Shahid Parvez, owner of a men’s garment store.
Mominpura is famous for its food stalls set up here during Ramzan when people from other communities too arrive to savour the large variety of food.
The market is also throbbing with crowds of young girls jostling around the colourful stalls selling footwear, bangles, jewellery and other accessories.
“Girls and women want to stylize their dresses with matching footwear and accessories. We are selling necklace and earrings and of course bangles are a must buy during Eid for girls and women of all ages,” says Safir Ahmad of Bombay Fashion Stores, who has stocked up all the latest available items sourced from Surat, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
As tastes in fashion change, men and women now prefer lighter shades, less garish embellishments on the dresses and cotton fabric considering the heat.
“Mominpura shops sell very gaudy dresses which people are not preferring anymore,” says Nishat Fayyaz Ali, an entrepreneur who takes online orders for dresses.
“I am flooded with orders for dress material right since the beginning of Ramzan as tailors do not take stitching orders after the tenth roza,” says Nishat whose clientele is mostly the educated affluent class.
But for the lesser income groups, Mominpura is still the best bet. “There is a huge demand for Patiala salwars and ghaghras with zari work along with the famous Karachi suits which are of fine cotton and are designed with embroidery and lace,” says Arshad Rangoonwala, owner of M Aijaz Fancy Store.
For men, the craze this year is for ethnic wear. “Kurta pyjama and salwars are in demand. Though embroidery is not being preferred, cross patterns and in and out patterns with inverse designs are a rage,” says Parvez, who runs the Leader Store.
Mominpura also remains a shopper’s paradise for those looking for household goods. “It is a ritual to visit this place before Eid as everything that we require in our kitchens and homes is available here,” says Mumtaz Ali, a homemaker, who comes here to shop for crockery.