HYDERABAD: A three-day family festival got under way in Rani Bagh on Friday evening amid great fanfare.

The event features a grand musical night in open theatre with singers like Hadiqa Kayani, Saleem Javed, Ahmed Jahanzaib and Naeem Abbas Rufi scheduled to perform.

“It is really exciting to see this festival being held in this recreation-starved city,” said Mursaleen, who comes from a lower middle class family enjoying the festivities along with his family.

A nicely decorated reception has been set up next to the main entrance to Rani Bagh from the Thandi Sarak end. Occasional performances by dancers on drumbeats of Sindhi folk music welcome visitors.

As the festival was formally opened by Commissioner Asif Hyder Shah and Deputy Commissioner Fayyaz Jatoi, families in large numbers started thronging Rani Bagh, renovated seven years back at a cost of Rs150 million.

“We hardly get such kind of opportunities in this city,” said Bilal Anwar, a Sindh University student visiting Rani Bagh with his mother and sisters.

Hyderabad has lost its glory over the years and this is attributable to various factors.

The city offers very little to its residents in terms of fun and recreation.

Playgrounds and parks are non-existent. Students, both male and female, as well as children and elderly people were among the visitors packing the park.

Upkeep of Rani Bagh has remained a big issue ever-since its renovation after years of neglect.

Fountains in ‘Bara Dari’ (Abbas Bhai park) couldn’t be operated though efforts were made to make them functional. Only cleanliness could be ensured.

People believe that this festival is an attempt by the local administration to enable people to get rid of psychological tensions.

A grand flower show, a mobile book shop of the Oxford University Press, a Musharia, musical nights, cultural programmes and other events are part of the three-day festival.

Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2015

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