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Shopping


Shopping

Silks, gemstones, carpets, antique furniture, spices ... the warehouses and emporiums of Delhi are filled with a treasure trove of goods from the far corners of the Indian subcontinent. There is some intrepid shopping to be had in the chowks and alleyways of Old Delhi, while the more cautious stick to the well-trodden circus of Connaught Place and the state government handicrafts emporiums on Baba Kharak Sing Marg, with perhaps an excursion in the direction of Hauz Khas Village and South Extension market.

The most central of the government-run handicraft centres is the Cottage Industries Emporium on Janpath, which is well stocked with leather, textiles, jewellery, silks, cotton and saris. On Baba Kharak Sing Marg, the Himachal Pradesh emporium has soft blankets and shawls in wool, cashmere or pashmina; the Poompahar emporium stocks the region's glazed Thanjuver pottery and traditional stone carvings of gods and goddesses; and the Uttar Pradesh emporium specialises in leather goods, and copper and brass items.

Located in south Delhi, Hauz Khas Village is a centralised collection of furniture shops and bazaars including the favourite of Delhi 'It' girls, Ogaan Boutique, which sells designer Indian clothes made of the finest raw plain silks, chiffons and organza. Aavaram, on the edge of the village, stocks furniture from Gujurat, Rajasthan and the south, as well as a good selection of smaller spice boxes.

Caution is the watchword when it comes to buying carpets, which for visitors means sticking to reputable fixed-price, non-commission shops. All the carpets at Saga, on Mathura Road, come with a Central Silk Board guarantee. Similarly, Barakhamba Gallery, on Barakhamba Road, and June 1st, at New Friends Colony, offer high-quality goods and service.

Delhi's markets come crammed with goods, people and smells. The magnificent bazaars of Chandni Chowk are piled high with gold, nuts, spices, silks, carpets and perfume, while Sunder Nagar Market, off Mathura Road, is crammed with antiques and second-hand goods spilling out of the shops and stalls and onto the pavement. One of Delhi's most prestigious markets, and a regular haunt of the city's ex-pats, is Khan Market, just south of India Gate. The Bookshop here carries a strong selection of English-language literature by Indian writers. The wholesale Spice Market is on Khari Baoli in the old city, where for centuries the culinary traditions of North Asia, China, Persia and the Middle East have worked their influence on local cuisine.

Except for government-run, fixed-price outlets, prices in Delhi are generally up for negotiation, especially for cash. Shops tend to open around 1000 and close between 1800 and 1900.




Copyright © 2001 Columbus Publishing
    
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