At Hyderabad’s Numaish, aka All India Industrial Exhibition, music has always played a quiet but central role. It is never the main attraction, yet it follows visitors everywhere, threading through food stalls, rides and shopping lanes, shaping the mood of the exhibition without demanding attention. For decades, songs from Hindi cinema’s golden era have filled the grounds, becoming as much a part of Numaish as its lights, crowds and evenings.
Over time, these songs have evolved into an unspoken system of cues. Regular visitors recognise the shift in tempo as the evening progresses. As the night draws to a close, the playlist narrows, the crowd thins, and the exhibition begins to slow its pace. It is in this final stretch that one particular song assumes significance, marking the end of the day in a way that feels both familiar and deeply rooted in tradition.
The evergreen song from the 70s
As Numaish begins to wind down each night, Lata Mangeshkar’s Chalte Chalte Yun Hi Koi Mil Gaya Tha from the 1972 film Pakeezah is played as the final track before the exhibition grounds close. Over the years, the song has become an unmistakable signal for visitors, replacing announcements or closing bells with music.
The choice of the song is closely tied to its lyrics. The line “ye chirag bujh rahe hain”, translated as “the lamps are dimming”, mirrors the moment unfolding across the grounds, as stall lights are switched off and visitors begin heading towards the exits. The song creates a reflective pause, allowing people to absorb the end of the evening.
Played night after night, season after season, the track has moved beyond being a film song to becoming part of Numaish’s routine. Its repetition has turned it into a shared reference point, one that generations of Hyderabadis associate not just with closing time, but with the exhibition itself.
The nostalgic playlist of Numaish
The popular playlist of Numaish is curated by the exhibition’s in-house radio station, which Ajay Kumar Jaiswal has managed for over four decades. Drawing largely from Hindi cinema’s golden era, the music features timeless voices such as Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey and many more, setting a consistent tone of familiarity across the grounds.
The evening typically begins with a prayer song around 5 pm, followed by a carefully preserved selection of classics that play through peak hours. Requests for newer music are rarely entertained, with only occasional early-2000s songs surfacing during quieter periods, ensuring that the playlist remains rooted in tradition while continuing to shape the emotional rhythm of Numaish each year.
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