Silks, gemstones, carpets, antique furniture, spices ... the warehouses and emporia of Delhi are filled with a treasure trove of goods from the far corners of the Indian subcontinent. The intrepid will head for the chowks and alleyways of Old Delhi, while the more cautious will stick to the well-trodden round of Connaught Place and the state government handicrafts emporia 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 centers is the
Cottage Industries Emporium, on Janpath, which
is well stocked with leather, textiles, jewelry, silks, cotton and saris. On Baba Kharak Sing Marg, the
Himachal Pradesh Emporium has soft blankets and shawls in wool, cashmere or pashmina, while the
Poompahar Emporium stocks the region’s glazed Thanjuver pottery and traditional stone carvings of gods and goddesses, and the
Uttar Pradesh Emporium specializes in leather goods and copper and brass items. Located in south Delhi, Hauz Khas Village has a centralized collection of furniture shops and bazaars, along with a good selection of frequently changing boutiques offering designer clothes, silks, chiffons and organzas.
There is any number of shops selling carpets in Delhi but the visitor would be well advised to exercise caution, by confining himself to the reputable, fixed-price, non-commission establishments. All the carpets at
Saga, on Mathura Road, come with a Central Silk Board guarantee.
Delhi’s markets come crammed with goods, people and smells. The magnificent bazaars of
Chandni Chowk (see
Key Attractions) are open daily and piled high with gold, nuts, spices, silks, carpets and perfume and are worth visiting for the spectacle alone.
Sunder Nagar Market, off Mathura Road, is open Monday-Saturday and is a good place to search for antiques and jewelry, as well as boasting a huge variety of other knick-knacks and artifacts spilling out of the shops. 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, open Tuesday-Sunday. There are a number of excellent bookshops here. The wholesale
Spice Market, on Khari Baoli, in the Old City, is where, for centuries, the culinary traditions of North Asia, China, Persia and the Middle East have worked their influence on local cuisine.
Except in the government-run shops, haggling is always the order of the day - it is the only way for shoppers to ensure that they do not pay too far over the odds. Shops tend to open around 1000 and close between 1800 and 1900. There is no VAT in India at present, but it may be introduced in the future.
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The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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