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An invasion in style

The Hindu Metroplus Lifestyle Show has been etched in public memory, write SOMA BASU and T SARAVANAN

PHOTO: K. GANESAN

CYNYSURE The trendy facade

It came. It conquered. It went. And all of it happened in style. An event that invaded the city for four days and left people awestruck.

That Madurai - dubbed as a conservative holy town - could ever be the venue of an extravagant lifestyle show was perhaps never given a thought. That was till it actually happened.

Yes, we are referring to the mother of all shows brought by The Hindu Metroplus at Tamukkam Grounds last weekend.

Eye opener

The four-day "never before event" has changed many a perception about the city and its people. It has also worked as an eye-opener for those in business who always dismissed the city folks for being low on materialism.

Tamukkam ground has been a witness to many exhibitions. But this time round, it was converted into a shopping mall under the cool comfort of two huge hangars spread over 3,600 square metres. Two-dozen giant generators poured in more than 2600 KVA of power to light up the show in a festive spirit and also make the vast expanse comfortable for the visitors.

The air-conditioned shopping arena, which displayed some of the best companies' best products also turned into a meeting ground for different cultures. No wonder then that 25,000 visitors turned up for the fair, with 10,000 alone on Sunday!

PHOTO G. MOORTHY

HARD TO CHOOSE Exqulsite designs

"The Metroplus Show has set the standards for all future exhibitions now. The striking range and good quality products along with the air-conditioned interiors will be a benchmark from now on," remarked Nicholas Francis, Director, National Academy for Management Foundation, Vizhiyagam, Madurai.

Busting the myth of being conservative, the city's residents actually showed up in their best and with all enthusiasm. The Rs.10 entry ticket, which was expected to filter the crowd, did not quite do so as people were willing to pay the amount for spending a few hours inside cool environs and among an array of dream products that set the pace for life, adorn homes and define lifestyle.

Even the international participants or items from China, Malaysia, Thailand, Kenya, Pakistan, Singapore, Italy and Tanzania drew as much crowd and interest as did the domestic products ranging from furniture to furnishings, exotic perfumes to imported jewellery and fabric, luxury bathrooms to modular kitchens, latest appliances to hi-fi techno-gadgets, ornately carved marble pots to photo frames and high end home entertainment products.

"Though we heard that Madurai in southern Tamil Nadu has the potential for a trade venture, we were really amazed to see the merchandise potential of the city. Not only did we receive a fair share of committed purchasers but there were detailed enquiries too which will surely translate into purchase later," quipped Sharabjit Singh, owner of the stall, which had exquisitely designed mirrors.

Sold out

The stall of Karachi-based Mohammed Iqbal selling semi-precious onyx stones statues and artefacts had the owner on the run. In fact, his stocks ran dry on the last day. "My items are expensive, yet I am deeply impressed with the sales here. It has been a total sell-out but more than that, I made many friends," he said.

If the dainty Peshawari rosewood items, particularly the bottle-shaped cask, which can hold a mini bar and costing Rs.75,000, caught the public's fancy right at the entrance of the exhibition, then deep inside several chic and ethnic furniture items costing Rs.100,000 and above too retained people's interest.

Some innovative products like multi-cord binder which can bind all the messy cluttered wires and cords at home and office and make the workstation a presentable place, a portable mini refrigerator of two litres capacity, Thai handicrafts or Tanzanian woodwork - they all pulled an impressive crowd.

"The concept behind Metroplus Lifestyle Show needs to be appreciated. The idea, design, lay-out, products all were fresh, new and never seen before. The air-conditioned comfort provided to visitors deserves rich encomiums. But for the narrow aisles, everything was perfect," P. Suriyanarayanan, a chartered accountant, pointed out.

"The show was amazing. You could feel and see the stamp of class all around. I updated myself on several trendy articles. This fair should be a regular feature, Madurai public deserve it," responded P. Shanmugasundaram, drawing master, Al Ameen Higher Secondary School.

Impressive contests

If the mini-contests were another attention rivetting feature of the show, then co-sponsors RmKV beat them all. It put on display one of its prized silk sari containing more than 1,50,000 colours and asked the participants to predict the correct number. Well nobody could guess the exact number - 1,57,500 - but the contestant closest to the figure - Lavanya Madan of K.K.Nagar who said 1.57 lakh colours - walked away with a silk sari of her choice worth Rs.15,000 absolutely free!

For the first time in their appearances in the Lifestyle Show they had sold a `Koorai Pudavai' or `Muhoorta Pudavai' (sari worn by the bride at the time of tying mangalsutra) over the counter.

"Generally, such saris are purchased only on auspicious days at auspicious time," quipped a sales person.

The stall of this silk giant was a replica of one of the sections of its mega showroom in Chennai and the visitors could be seen appreciating the effort of setting up a loom too where a skilled weaver gave demonstration and explained the process of making the wondrous saris.

No wonder the company brought a well known India-born, Canada-based architect, Susee Papinazath, to do their stall.

The main sponsors of the show, Samsung, too were all glee at the end of the fair with genuine purchasers for their refrigerators and LCD Plasma screens all costing more than a lakh.

The ambience created by the organisers will remain in people's memory for long in this entertainment-starved city. No wonder then, people did not mind waiting in serpentine queues to have a look at the quality event.

"The show has been a revelation. Such events are a rarity in the city and The Hindu must ensure its return," chipped in another visitor.

Those who missed the show and those who did not are already waiting for the next one to happen!

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