Selfie time with Rana Dagubatti

He came, he mingled, he arm wrestled.

One of the highlights of the Singapore International Indian Shopping Festival (SIISFest) was the special appearance of Rana Daggubati on Sept 26.

The Baahubali star challenged some male guests to a game of arm wrestling. He also addressed the crowd in Tamil, Telugu and English, making female fans swoon over him. As he was leaving, he took some selfies with the crowd.

The four-day shopping festival, organised by tabla!, Tamil Murasu and event management company de ideaz, was a hit with stall owners and shoppers alike.

Said vendor Ms Karriena, whose Sadivas Jewels was from Hong Kong and sold semi-precious jewellery ranging from necklaces to bangles and earrings: "The response was great and there were customers who came by looking for unique jewellery."

Another happy vendor was Mr Rakesh, whose Asian Arts and Craft stall from Delhi sold a variety of statues of Indian goddesses made of marble and brass.

He said: "The response was excellent. People were very knowledgeable about the statues, they knew what material to look for and they knew what these statues are made of."

Mrs Renu Siva, who has visited SIISFest for the past three years, shared that she found the Delhi Haat (a village market) and the Rajasthan Heritage Village especially interesting.

She added: "It was more extravagant this year compared to last year as the collections and the variety of stalls were bigger and better."

Mrs Maheshwari, who was attending the shopping festival for the first time, was seen with her husband and teenage son carrying many shopping bags filled with kurtis (Indian blouses), bangles and Indian clutch bags.

"There was a good mixture of both south and north Indian items all under one roof," she said.

Another shopper, Ms Lavanes Amar, who was spotted at the Delhi Haat with her mother, said: "I had never been to India but coming here, it truly felt like

I was in India. The vibrant atmosphere was attractive and the shop owners were very friendly. I'll definitely be back next year."

amritak@sph.com.sg

Get a copy of tabla! for more stories.