Times Global Village 2007

29th April 2007 5:30pm: Sitting idle after the exams, the idea of going to the ‘times global village’ hit me as an excellent one. For the uninitiated, this ad in the Times of India should throw some light on what it was all about:

“16 countries. 50 food stalls.
150 dancers. 900 shops.
1 entry ticket.
TIMES GLOBAL VILLAGE
Delhi hasn’t seen anything like the Times Global Village before! A month long extravaganza showcasing the best of the world in Delhi. From Czech crystals to African bead necklaces, from Pakistani cuisine to the best of the Thai fare, from Chinese dragon dancers to African drummers, this mega event has something for everyone. The centerpiece of the Dubai Shopping Festival for the last decade, it gives you food, shopping, dancing, entertainment, music, joyrides, arts and crafts, masti and magic, from all around the globe.
Adjacent to DND flyway, New Delhi
30th March-30th April 2007. 2pm onwards.
TOI, Delhi Tourism”

Being a foodie and shopoholic by nature, I grabbed my jingling money bag and cell phone and we were on our way. As we arrived the destination, the eyes glazed with the shimmering array of cars parked outside the venue. It was a cloudy Sunday evening and it seemed like the whole of the NCR was here to join in the festivities. Clutching the passes, we pushed our way through the crowd into the main grounds. The entrance was embellished with imitations of the many wonders that the world has seen. Taj mahal, Eiffel tower, the Pyramids of Egypt, Petronas towers, et al--- it was all there. “Good job” we say and move on. Right next to the entrance were three humongous stalls called Lifestyle, Interiors and Delhi. ‘Lifestyle’ was stocked with high-end stuff that only the upper strata could afford. The many sub-stalls were actually shops scattered all over the country clubbed together for this mega event. ‘Interiors’ dealt with the complex aspect of interior decoration/designing and some of the pieces, though prohibitively priced, were plain exquisite. ‘Delhi’, as the name suggests, was a huge conglomeration of Delhi’s most famous shops brought together under one roof.

Enough with the merchandize and we decided to eat. The food was a feast for the taste buds with Hyderabadi biryani on one side and Rajasthani food on the other. International cuisines were also available but people’s aversion to try out new food was apparent. I tried ‘tamarind juice’ from outside the UAE stall and the bittersweet taste (more bitter than sweet) lingered on even till the next day! After a whole round of biryani and kebabs and jaljeera and gol-gappas, it was time to check out the international good stalls.

African, Turkey, Czech Republic, Pakistan, UAE, UK, Thailand and China were some of the many countries showcasing their products. Each was trying to cash in on the things that made them unique and gave their country an edge over the others. Due to time constraints we were forced to miss out on a lot of stuff, but of the few things that we saw, something from Philippines caught my eye. The whole filipino idea revolved around customization and tailor-made goodies to please the customers. At Rs.120, one could get a colorful name-plate done with his name on it to be hung outside his private haven (read:room). An idea brilliant to the core… I wasn’t surprised to see the huge flock of ready customers willing to dish out the money and take back this customized piece from the other side of the world to flaunt in their respective homes. I got some name-plates made too… and went on to check out the other stuff. Well, if I go on to talk about the wares that were on display, blogspot would ban me for data redundancy! But in a nutshell, what I deduced was that for anyone with enough money in his hands and sufficient willingness to try out new things, this place was like a dream come true.

The event was laced with joyrides for kids and stimulated cricket pitches for the cricket buffs. Fun and merriment were almost tangible in the air. When we finally had to push off after it was quite late, we entered the mode of self-reprimanding for not coming here earlier. Like always, the blame was conveniently shifted to the ongoing exams. With hands full of shopping bags and tummies full to the brink, we slowly made our way back to our parked car…

Musing:

Though I don’t really like ‘the times of india’, this initiative deserves a virtual standing ovation. With enough advertising in their newspaper and glaring billboards at all major metro stations, the team ensured a heavy visitor inflow and an eventual rollicking success. Hats-off to the times team for a job (very) well done :)