KARACHI, Dec 25: Thousands of shoppers on Wednesday flocked to the Expo Centre where "All about lifestyles", an exhibition organized by the Dawn Group of Newspapers, entered its second day.

At least 144 companies are taking part in the three-day exhibition, which is coming from Islamabad and Lahore. The exhibitors have set up 165 stalls in all the four halls of the Expo Centre.

Social worker Jimmy Engineer brought 80 special children to the Expo Centre where they had loads of fun at the pavilion of the "Young World" before enjoying a light repast at the food court where at least 30 vendors were selling all manner of eatables, from deep-fried junk food to spicy biryani.

On his way out of the Expo Centre, Askari Hussain, a shopping enthusiast accompanied by his three family members, said he was going home for a little bit of rest. "But we will come back in the evening. You can see that all of us are carrying shopping bags. Actually one can shop for so many things under one roof that I think it is a good idea to come here again rather than go downtown for shopping."

A salesperson at a stall said real shoppers outnumbered window shoppers at the exhibition. "It is frustrating to dilate upon the merits of a product in front a person who is not interested in buying the product but is at the exhibition just to have a whale of a time. I can tell by the mannerism of a customer whether he is a real shopper or just a window shopper. And since we are offering huge discounts, people are making purchases."

A girl visitor said she was happy about the fact that only families were allowed to come to the exhibition. She added that as a result of this restriction, the number of men who made eyes at women buyers was significantly low at the exhibition. She said she had been shopping since morning and would return tomorrow (Sunday) to pick up a couple of things she was unable to lay her hands on.

Visitors evinced interest in the back numbers of Dawn put on display in the atrium. They admired the paintings and posters put up in the corridors of the Expo Centre. They thoroughly enjoyed the "Feline fiesta" contest in which cats won prizes in various categories, such as "best desi cat", "best whiskers", "best eyes" and, last but not least, "best owner look-alike".

"The all breed championship dog show" will be held on Sunday.