Industrial exhibitions occupy an important place in the life of a nation. They present a visual reflection of the progress made by a country or group of countries in the industrial sector. They educate the people about the level of progress achieved by the industry. They are a source of inspiration to the young entrepreneurs who are yet to set up their own industry. They are a source of fun to children and a source of education to the students.
Industrial exhibitions are normally held in big cities in our country so that maximum number of people may visit and benefit from them. They also provide us amusement and recreation. They exhibit the progress made by the country in different spheres.- Young boys and girls feel inspired to work hard and produce quality goods for the country at a reasonable cost.
Since Delhi is the capital of India, a number of exhibitions are held here every year. In fact, a big exhibition ground has been earmarked for national and international exhibitions. This ground is known as “Pragati Maidan”. It is located near Purana Qila. It has been a venue for many industrial fairs, world fairs, etc. At Pragati Maidan, huge permanent structures have been built for the purpose of holding exhibitions. Beautiful gates have also been constructed here.
Image Source: .jetro.go.jp
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Sometimes exhibitions are also held in other grounds available in Delhi like the Ferozeshah Kotla ground, the Ram Lila ground, etc.
The last time I went to Pragati Maidan was to see an industrial exhibition in October 2003. A number of countries participated in this exhibition and displayed the industrial goods produced in their countries. Industrially advanced countries like the U.S.A., Russia, U.K., Japan, etc. had put up huge pavilions to exhibit their products. They had brought big and small machineries all the way from their countries to show the progress made by them in the industrial field.
The Indian industrialists too had built impressive pavilions for the exhibition of their goods. The state Governments and some public sector units like BHEL, HMT, ONGC, etc. had also setup their pavilions to showcase their achievements in different fields of industry. A large number of foreign countries joined this exhibition. It was an international exhibition.
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The Trade Fair Authority of India which had organised this exhibition expected lakhs of visitors from all over India and other countries to visit this exhibition. It was an excellent opportunity for the Indian industrialists to introduce their goods to foreign markets through this exhibition and earn valuable foreign exchange.
I went to see this exhibition on a Sunday along with my parents. There was a great rush of people there. The exhibition had been inaugurated by our Prime Minister only a week ago.Thousands of visitors had attended the inauguration ceremony. This included V.I.P.s like Ministers, Ambassadors, representatives of trade and industry, etc. First of all, we bought tickets and entered the exhibition grounds through the main gate. The gate was tastefully decorated. We visited many pavilions. We saw a number of goods and machines exhibited there. Each pavilion had displayed charts giving technical data of their products. Besides, attendants and guides were moving about to explain to the visitors the salient features of their products. The American, Russian and Japanese pavilions were the best. They drew huge crowds. They did brisk business by booking orders for their products on the spot.
In the midst of the exhibition ground was a large lake. There was a beautiful restaurant on a specially built island in the lake. We did boating in the lake. All around the lake there were hundreds of stalls and restaurants serving refreshments to the people. A mini circus and a magic show were also on. Children were enjoying an elephant ride. We enjoyed a swing on a giant- wheel. It gave us a bird’s eye view of the whole exhibition complex.
It took us nearly four hours to have a hurried round of the exhibition. It was now 8.00 P.M. We were very exhausted. At night time, the exhibition looked like a fairyland. It was tastefully illuminated. We had seen many new things. We had seen a robotlike automatic machine from Japan, which performed many tasks. We also saw a computer from U.S.A. It gave out a complete horoscope of a person within a few minutes. Chinese goods were not only very good but also very cheap. They were selling like hot cakes. We hired a taxi and came back to our home. One visit to this industrial exhibition was thus very educative and thrilling.