SHOPPING DELIGHT Location : Rural Hubs, Main Markets of Rajasthan, Old Bazaars World Famous For : Traditional and Ethnic Shopping Antique Items : Precious and Semi - precious Stones Other Charms of Shopping : Traditional Shopping Thrill

A Saree shop in Jaipur

Arts And Crafts Jaipur

People And Lifestyle Jaisalmer

Festive Celebrations

Shop Till You Drop : Get Some Colours of Rajasthan

Shopping in Rajasthan is a delight. In a country full of valiant ruins and impassable architecture, the most memorable moments of a holiday trip are often spent exploring these vicarious attractions and imbibing the ambiance of a bygone era. India being a land whose passion for colour is unparalled and where people blend colours with their every emotion, it is not very hard to imagine that the markets will display a magnificent glow of colours, that permeates social and cultural biases and spills over to the people.

Smart Art or Mindblowing Magic ?

Take a shopping tour of Rajasthan to buy articles that have emerged not as a fashionable decorative feature, but as a necessity in the life of Rajasthani folk. They took their potteries and gave them shapes, coloured them that were pleasing to the eye; they decorated their clothes so that, they can paint beautiful sceneries in the desolate surroundings of the desert; they wore jewellery and dolled up in embroidered shoes; and hence after centuries, a kaleidoscope of breathtakingly beautiful and unparalleled art-de-facts, enfolds in the lap of this desert land with their own age old culture and traditions.

Rajasthan shopping is famous for its jewellery industry and it is one of the world's largest centre for hand-cutting of gems. Semi-precious and precious stones come to the Pink City, Jaipur for cutting and polishing, but are carved into figurines and statuettes. A rose-pink quartz can be turned into an elephant, jade shaped into a Krishna figurine, and sandstone patterened as Lord Ganesh. 'Meenakari', the art of enamelling on gold and silver is another glitter that is reflected at the bazaars of Rajasthan. The best way you can ssavor the shopping delight in Rajasthan is buy getting one of those exquisite jewelleries for someone 'special' in life. Nowhere does the brilliant craftsmanship come to the alee as splendidly as it does, when it comes to Rajasthani textiles. For centuries, Rajasthani printers have blended vegetable dyes and mineral colours, so perfectly, that nowhere else in the world divergent colours showed complimentary feats with such confidence as in Rajasthan.

Holiday Shopping Around Jaipur

A Tourist Shopping at Jaipur shop

Plan a holiday vacation around Jodhpur to get the most intricate and interesting result of garment designing, the bandhani or tie and dye style of colouring. Move on to Sanganer, near Jaipur, famous for its brilliantly block printed fabric. The Sanganeri prints, generally featuring floral motifs, are exported round the world and is truly a collector's delight. One can also move to the interiors, where the tribals show an excellent array of embroidery works. Embellished by colourful threads, beads and little mirrors, they blaze in the arid landscape of Rajasthan. These are some of the most famous shopping destinations in Rajasthan India.

The art of carpet weaving in Rajasthan dates back to quite a few centuries. Even though they are used as underlays, they display vibrant colours and motifs. The simplest carpets are a perfect blend of a single colour with a clashing border, whereas others portray geometric motifs and floral patterns in a mix of contrasting colours, keeping with the resonance of the land.

The Colourful Bazaars That Sell Love And Memories

A Colorful Jaipur Market

Take a tour of shopping destinations of Rajasthan and the most important is the capital city of Rajasthan, Jaipur, is a mosaic of colourful people, vibrant colours, bedazzling shops, amidst which the kaleidoscope continues to swing bettween joining two imaginary points, connoting past and the present. If you are in Jaipur for a holiday vacation, don't forget to visit the heart of the city, the Mirza Ismail Road. A prime channel to enjoy shopping in Jaipur, quality is rarely a suspect in this bustling market. Walk along the intermingled streets and feel the precious moments, tangled up in the immortal dilemma of what to buy and what not to. Get a refreshment with a chilled 'lassi' (buttermilk) and some Bikaneri snacks, freely available on the roadside joints. Buy yourself a bright colored odhni (headscarf) featuring a lotus motif against a white or pink background. Wow! it looks good on you. Get an ajrakh, colorful zig-zag fabrics, featuring geometric designs in blue and red on both sides, generally worn by men as shawls and turbans. Tehse are the most loved shopping handicrafts of Rajasthan. Now this demands for a photograph. Enter the darkroom at the roadside and in a few moments one can get a coloured memoir of enjoyment.

The main shopping items to look for around the Hawa Mahal in Jaipur, are the vast array of puppets dangling from the walls. The most vivacious aspect of these alluring puppets is the way their expressions are painted, large expressive eyes with arched eyebrows and a waving moustache for men, or a rose ring for women. Buy two of these inexpensive souvenirs, they are fun to play with and recall more easily the memories of a visit to this state of chivalrous kings and ambrosial queens. Come over to Rajasthan for a holiday tour and you will get shopping as an extra benefit, and believe it, shopping in this desert land is addictive.

Enjoy The Shopping Spree

'Shop till you drop' is not a bit exaggeration of the feelings that travellers carry with themselves when in Rajasthan. Shop in the various shopping destinations in Rajasthan and believe it or not, but every individual shop draws your attention in a different way, and the temptation is so magnetic that one can't resist to buy. Rajasthan has too much of good artifacts to offer, and it is for sure that one can't escape the lure of shopping. Once the sightseeings are over in a particular city, decide how much time you want to spend in these medieval bazaars of what is truly a shoppers' paradise. Will just a few hours do? Or you want another day? Another week? The more one wanders through the stalls, the more one is captivated to buy. But, it is advisable to take care of your belongings and don't encourage items made from animal products. When in Bikaner, visit the tiny shops clustered around Kol Gate with KEM Road provides an opportunity to shop in larger stores. Plan a holiday trip in January, and be a part of the famous Pushkar fair, which displays a bewildering array of shops displaying everything from fabrics, terracotta utensils, trinkets, camel saddles, bangles and puppets.