It was an exhibition showing the recent progress of Maharashtra in various fields. The exhibition took up nearly half a kilometer on the riverside. A strong corrugated-tin sheet fence ran round it. There were long, winding queues near the ticket windows.
Our first impression on entering the grounds was that the whole vast area looked like a veritable fairyland. Every nook and corner of the exhibition had artistic and beautiful designs. At the gate there was a gigantic statue of Shivaji Maharaja. The gate was ornamental and constructed beautifully. The vast space was decorated in bright and gay colours and lit up with countless lights: There was a milling crowd inside with a great hustle and bustle. People in their best holiday clothes slowly crept through the gate and came to the grounds.
There were pavilions for different districts of Maharashtra. They showed all that was best in them such as handicrafts, specimens of art, photos of important places, animals and so on. Of all those pavilions the pavilion of Pune was undoubtedly the best. It was shaped like Parvati Hill in Pune and gave a vivid impression of Maharashtra. The exhibits in the pavilions were all novel and attractive. We found the display of modern fighting weapons in the Pune district pavilion particularly striking.
There were also private stalls displaying a wide variety of goods. These stalls were like miniature shops. They had for show or for sale such goods as cloth, pottery, crockery, glassware, chinaware, agricultural implements, musical instruments, and numerous articles for everyday use.
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While the pavilions and stalls made a very interesting sight, what attracted us most was the Children’s Corner. It was jammed with small children, teenagers and even adults. There was plenty of entertainment in it. It had an amusement park, toy-railway, merry-go-round, and giant-wheel with tumbling boxes, joy-ride having painted wooden horses, cinema-show, and magic-show and so on. Ice-cream stands were in plenty in the area. Everybody was having a most thrilling time there. I too had my share of fun with my parents, brother and sister.
We felt like buying up the whole exhibition. However, we bought a few things, such as stuffed birds, woodcarvings, and sarees and so on. Time flew like it never did while we were at the exhibition.
Soon it was nearly midnight. So we left the exhibition and went home, cheerful and happy.