KARACHI: Dawn Lifestyles Expo — Pakistan’s biggest and much awaited annual event focused on enhancing the lives of consumers — opened its doors to general public on Friday.

With strict security measures in place, Expo Centre Karachi managed to attract a large number of visitors at the exhibition which will run till Sunday.

Companies and brands displaying their products at the mega event expect a decent footfall and hope that the venue will be thronged by thousands of people in the next two days.

Almost all top brands of Pakistan are participating in the event. With stalls ranging from good old Rooh Afza to travel insurance, builders and foam mattress companies, it’s clothing and food and beverages stalls that are offering some good competition.

A number of stalls at the venue are selling export quality material at 50 per cent off. Same is true for bedding and homes accessories.

Talking to Dawn, Mrs Muzaffar said she visits the exhibition annually and has been able to get great discounts, pointing towards the bags of t-shirts and dress shirts she bought for her husband and sons. “Dawn expo is a great outing for families.”

Though many visitors focused on clothing and food stalls — with an open air food street featuring an assortment of well-known eateries from all over Karachi — the curious few could be seen lurking around this impressive display of rare Pakistani stamps by the Pakistan Philatelic and Numismatic Society.

The society acts as forum for discussions among stamp collectors as well as a marketplace for sale and auction of these gems.

The collection on display included Rs2 and Rs15 stamps commemorating the 100 years of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1999), Special Olympics International (1991), Islamic Summit Conference featuring Afghan Refugees (1981) as well as hundreds of letters from decades ago before SMS and email took over. If you want to introduce your children to history and the wonderful world of stamps, then the display is a must visit.

Talking to Dawn, Nauman Ahmed, a teenager, described the exhibit as fascinating. “I inherited my grandfather’s coin and postage stamp collection,” he said, adding that he was glad to know that there were many likeminded people interested in stamps.

Amongst the hundreds of stalls, there is one by Darakhshan Naeem, a wheelchair bound lady who runs a handicrafts centre. Called Darakhshan Handicrafts, the stall has some of the cutes booties which make excellent gifts for new born babies, pearl key chains, and as assortment of knick knacks.

A stall set up by Karachi Traffic Police’s Traffic Driving Licence Branch attracted a lot of visitors seeking to renew their licences. The surprisingly polite and courteous staff — led by Police Inspector Asad Sheikh and Sub-Inspector Hyder Ali — willingly answered all queries and guided citizens as well as issued on the spot learners licences.

Islamic Design House, a branded store featuring imported abayas, hijabs, burkinis and prayer mats attracted a lot of fashionable hijabis. The only downside was the price — with an abaya costing over Rs6,000. Though the sales staff insisted that the pieces were imported and well made, the potential buyers said that the local market offered more designs at a much more economical price.

The Pakistan Poultry Association’s stall was mostly empty but the active promotional staff gave away pamphlets and brochures to anyone who passed by. Though the literature being distributed is excellent it would be great if a representative could explain the health benefits of a protein enriched diet and the importance of eggs. Maybe a live presentation on the spot to groups can enlighten the citizens about the best available source of protein — eggs and chicken meat — which have been facing negative propaganda by WhatsApp conspiracy theorists.

Overall, the three-day expo offers a lot of fun and bargains for those who attend. Over the weekend, the dog show and the open air food street are two good reasons to visit the expo.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2018