Stores, Malls or Markets in India

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I don't know whether to put this tip under Women's clothing or local craft or art or gifts or anything else but I definitely consider that a piece of Indian exquisite embroidery qualifies under all those categories. Tourist visiting India often buy clothes and materials for themselves or for their loved ones back home. Any piece of exquisite Indian traditional embroidery coming from various regions of India and crafted with great dedication and patience and hard work is definitely a thing to carry home.

What to buy: One can buy various Indian items in traditional Indian hand embroidery like Kantha stitch, zardozi, phulkari, kasuti, Gota, Bidri, Mirror work, Sequins and beads work, Parsi Gara work etc. Items come in various shapes, forms and types like wearable garments for women viz. Salwar, kurtas, sarees, stoles, dupattas, ghagras, lahengas, skirts, blouses, etc., werable garments for men like sherwani, kurtas etc. and various ethnic fashion garments for kids too. They also come in the form of exquisite shoes, hand bags, fashion jewellery, cushion covers, pillow covers, bed covers, table covers, curtains and wall hangings.

What to pay: NRGIndiadesigns are a first hand producer, manufacturer and distributor of Indian hand embroidery products. So prices are relatively much lesser compared to what you get in stores and emporiums.

Wine is produced in the State of Maharashtra, close to Nasik. One of the better known vineyards is SULA. I could by a Sula bubbly and sauvignon blanc at Shah & Co in Mumbai.

What to buy: Wine

Aaahhh...books....

Yes, one of the first things I ask the concierge when visiting a city is if there is any good bookstores around. And I was not disappointed when I did pop that question to Taj Coromandel's concierge when I was in Chennai (Madras). I was told to head to Landmark Bookstore, a few meters away from the hotel.

Along the same street where Taj Coromandel is Landmark Bookstore - perhaps the best stocked bookstore I've been to in India. And this is not a surprise, as Chennai regards itself as India's intellectual capital (what say you Calcuttans?!). It has almost everything a bookworm could imagine (mostly English and local language - Tamil and Hindi - titles), plus CDs, DVDs, and other multimedia resources.

And since this is India, the prices are much lower than those even in Manila. India has been a very good source of affordable books - so if you are self-confessed bookworm like me - head to the next bookstore the next time you're in India. You'll be glad you did.

(Worry about the excess baggage later!)

What to buy: Books, books and more books

What to pay: Cash and/or plastic

Of course India is well-known for it craft. Carpets, silk, and diamonds are among them. If you want to buy always bargain as much as you can. Tourists nowadays are in a good possition. Less tourists and prices go down. Buy things you like like i did...
Sometimes shops offer to send the goods to your home address. Normally you can trust these shops but i don't know about taxes and transportation costs. Ask about it before you leave to India...

What to buy: carpets
all kind of silk (shirts, scarfs,...)
diamonds and precious stones
mandala's, kalachakra's
wood carving
...

I came across silk cooperatives and their products mostly in central India.

The silks of Aurangabad (base city for visiting Ellora and Ajanta Caves) are exceptional. Plus, they take up very little room in your luggage and they are light.

An Off the Beaten Path destination, Maheshwar (MP), also has a government sponsored cooperative for local silks.

NOTE: A huge number of children work in the silk and the trinket industries (bangels, bracelets, etc) Purchasing silk from cooperatives is one way to assure yourself that you are not subsidizing forced labor from children. Poor parents often "sell" their children to contractors. In addition, there is also the problem of "Debt bondage" where entire families are required to work (typically in construction and brickyards) for debts that were incurred generations before. Government contracts for railroad ballast and highway fill always specify "machine crushed" stone. I've read in The TImes of India of one case in Uttar Pradesh where people hammer sandstone to produce sand.

What to buy: Silks.

What to pay: Large silk fabrics (several meters long) can be found for approximately $20 (US)

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In case you are travelling through Rajasthan and you want to buy some nice souvenirs, the best deals you can get is in Pushkar. Everything is much cheaper than in other places but you cannot bargain there as much.
i.e. in Delhi, with a little effort, you can get at least a 50% discount easily. In Pushkar it is about 20-30%

What to pay: I wanted to buy Pashmina scarfs. I was in a shop in Jodhpur and I had to pay 450 Rupees each. I did not buy as I found it too expensive. A few days later I was in a small town called Mandawa, and in a shop I found the same Pashmina scarfs and I bought 5 scarfs for 1050 Rupees

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Hello Mark,

u can contact Bohemians at Kolkata they are the pioneer at Jute, Terracotta, Bamboo, Cane, Silk, Hand Made paper, Horn Products, Dokra and many other different types on Indian artistic handicrafts at the best price at any quantity, i have taken some last year, u can get them at trade@bohemianexports.com or search their websites named www.bohemianexports.com, they are Bengal based.

Hope u will enjoy the journey.
Rupak

What to buy: The beautiful Indian Saree and scarf and exclusive Indian handicrafts found in Bengal made out of Golden Fiber Jute and 100 % Eco-friendly and recycled utility items.

What to pay: you can spend just $20 -$ 100 to get a wide variety of excellent items under the same roof. but you have to make an appointment with them through email and then visit.

Off Colaba Causeway are a number of jewellery shops selling gold jewellery. Take your gem stones in with a good idea of what setting you want - ring, earrings or pendant and they will give you a price. Only have semi precious stones et because I cannot vouch for the more expensive stones like diamonds, rubies etc

What to buy: Gold

What to pay: Depends on the size of the stone and the amount of gold needed to set it. I had two stones: 20 caract Amythest and 12 carat smoky topaz. Both were made into beautiful rings encased in 14 carat gold so that the stone touched my finger. It took 2 days and I paid on delivery at my hotel. It cost me 100 US$. In SA it would have cost me over $500