Shopping

Shopping in India can be a delightful and thrilling experience where you will be able to buy just about anything you are looking for, but all for a price, of course! There are an infinite variety of souvenirs to take home, from centuries old craft items, to the latest gizmos on the block. Amazing numbers of fantastic markets and bazaars bustle with local flavor and trade, and even the most uninterested are tempted to buy something! For the shopaholic, it is paradise indeed!

Some of the most popular and prominent shopping sites of the major tourist cities of India that must not be missed are listed below.

Delhi is full of a variety of markets, from the weekend fresh fruit market to the wholesale, retail and utility markets. There is nothing that is not available in this incredibly versatile capital city. Dilli Haat offers an array of traditional handicraft items, paintings and ethnic food from different states. It is a very artistically designed complex and makes for a nice shopping experience. Ready-made garments are best available at Lajpat Nagar, Khan Market, Shankar Market and Palika Bazaar. Santushti complex offers original creations in women's wear, jewelry, ceramics, rugs, furniture, and knick-knacks. Connaught Place offers a complete shopping experience in its large spread out premises and its neighbour Janpath is the fashion street of the city, where every conceivable fashion, dress, footwear, ethnic craft and jewelry item is available. The Central Cottage Industries Emporium and Pragati Maidan are the place to shop for items of Indian handicrafts. The Hauz Khas Village is ideal for traditional Indian wear, gift items in terracotta, and antiques in metal and ceramic ware. Meena Bazar (also known as Chor Bazar) and Chandni Chowk are veritable shopping explorer's delights, and Dariba is where you should head to if you want to buy gold or silver.

Mumbai is as full of roadside bazaars and pavement hawkers as it is of plush-looking shops and foreign brands. The main government emporium, Cottage Industries is good for handicrafts and locally made toys and clothes. Streets opposite the Cottage house handicraft and silver shops, and antique shops. Chor Bazaar is Mumbai's flea market with any and every thing available in it. You should haggle for all you are worth here! Zaveri Bazaar has amazingly good silver articles, old jewelry, and all household items like handy coasters, statues of animals, napkin rings, ornately worked picture frames, trinket boxes etc. Flora Fountain is where you should go if you are looking for books, and to Colaba Causeway if you are looking for a market that is a one-stop shop! The Linking Road market is another favorite shopping place, which has just about anything in it!

Tamil Nadu is the best place for the famed Indian cotton and silks. Chennai is full of large shopping complexes, silk, sculptures in bronze, rosewood inlay work with ivory or Thanjavur paintings can all be found at genuine prices here. Rich Kanjivaram silks are in abundance. Mount Road is one of the popular shopping places, and Mahabalipuram, is where you can get good bargains in soapstone and black granite sculptures. Poompuhar has cane mats, wood elephants, and woodcarvings. Chennai is also a good place to buy leather garments and footwear at very low prices.

Jaipur is the crafts capital of the country with folk art, gems and jewelry and cottage industries abounding there. The Jauhari Bazaar is the right place for tie-and-dye fabrics and saris, and fine self-check-weave cotton saris from Kota as well as handcrafted jewelry, loose precious and semi-precious stones. The village of Sanganer is famous for producing handmade paper and blue pottery. A must buy are the bright Jaipuri quilts in beautiful colors and bright tie-dyed materials and marble prints that are comfortingly warm. Jaipur is the world's largest gem-cutting center and, therefore, the best place to pick up strings of garnets, amethysts, or quartz. Jaipur's handcrafted slip-on shoes called jutis are also a definite take home!

The teeming city of Calcutta is home to the New Market that offers one of the widest range of goods, from leather goods, plastic toys, jewelry, garments, fabric, confectionery, clothing, poultry products, meat, flowers, to any other thing you can think of. Bowbazar is the place for wooden furniture and musical instruments, as is Chandani Market for second hand products. China Bazaar is famous for its paper buntings, streamers, and other domestic goods. College Street is the best place to bargain for books. Fancy Market is the place to go to for imported goods. The Dakshinapan Market has most of the government emporia. The place is known for its handlooms, textiles, handicrafts, cosmetic jewelry, fancy goods, object d'art, etc.

Goa's fairs and markets are excellent in every way, and are a delight to discover. The Flea market at Anjuna Beach is a must not miss at all costs, and is where you will be able to find the most eclectic variety of goods. From tattooing to traditional craft items, all is available here. The Friday Market at commercial hub, Mapusa has an array of food items on display, from Feni to Uraq, Goan sausages, cashews, meat and farm produce, to native jute, leather, and ceramic ware. The Government of Goa Emporia is where you should go for all Goan items such as terra-cotta items like earthenware jars, miniatures, and wall hangings; lacquer items like wooden articles; and Goan brassware items such as brass oil lamps called samai, brass lamp trees, and storks. Goa teems with souvenir and gift shops with items like decorative wax candles and bamboo mats, lampshades, hanging baskets, and even flowerpots. Plaster of Paris items are also available in plenty here. Carved rosewood furniture is the best-known specialty of Goa.

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