Delhi Shopping Markets - Basking in Indian History and doing some shopping
Delhi has been the capital city of India from the times
of the Mahabarata when it was referred to as Indraprastha. The successive
rulers from the Slave dynasty, the Mughal dynasty and the British empire
all chose Delhi to be their capital city. The history of Delhi is
incredible and captivating.
The Red Fort and the Jama Masjid built by the Mughal
ruler Shah Jahan in old Delhi, the Lodhi gardens with tombs of rulers from the
Lodhi dynasty, the Humayun’s tomb, the Tughlakabad Fort, the Hauz Khas
lake and not to forget the Qutub Minar ,are all heritage sites
in Delhi. Delhi has evolved through the ages and so have the shopping
markets in Delhi.
One of the oldest shopping markets in Delhi is the
Chandni Chowk Shopping Market in old Delhi. This was fashioned by emperor
ShahJahan’s daughter in the 17thCentury. Can you imagine shopping in a
17thCentuaries Market. There is the iconic Shish Ganj gurudwara, which is
a place of worship for the Sikh community in Chandni Chowk . The Red Fort and
the Jama Masjid are close by to this market.
Chandni Chowk is a crowded and chaotic market. It is
well known for silver, silver articles and bridal lehengas.
Visit the Dariba Kalan shopping lane in Chandni
Chowk for silver jewelery and silver articles . There is also an old shop for
ittr, perfumes and essences ,in this lane . Kinari bazar in Chandni Chowk
stocks giftboxes, wedding essentials such as bridalchoodis (bangles)
garlands made with paper money, gift pouches, trays and several
other items. The name Kinari Bazar means bazar for borders. There are several
shops that stock zari borders, embroidered borders and lace borders in varying
thicknesses. These are fancy borders that are used in saris, salwar kammez,
dresses, table cloth and so on.
The bridal lehenga shops in Chandni Chowk are also very
popular . There are at least a dozen good shops where brides visit to buy their
bridal trousseau.
Karol Bagh Market
The Karol
Bagh Market in west Delhi is another popular
market. Ajmal Khan Road is the famous street which has both big showrooms as
well as street shopping. Shop for bags, purses, sandals, readymade dresses and
fabrics. Frontier Bazar, Bombay Selections, Meena Bazar, Westside, Jainsons are
some of the prominent shops in the Karol Bagh Market. The Gaffar Market in
Karol Bagh stocks a lot of imported crockery items. It also stocks mobile
phones and phone accessories. The Tip Top Market has several shops that
stock crockery and home essentials.
Connaught Place Market
Connaught Place is another old Delhi shopping Market . The Connaught
Place Market was designed by the British. It is
named after the Duke of Connaught .It is built in a circular manner and there
is an inner circle and an outer circle in this market . Connaught Place was a
trendy and popular shopping Market till the shopping malls came up in Delhi .
There are many shops in Connaught Place even today.
Baba Kadak Singh Marg
There are the State Emporiums in the BabaKadak Singh Marg near Connaught
Place. The State Emporiums are very popular with the tourists. Each Indian
State is represented here and handicrafts, textile and jewellery from the
various Indian States are available in the shops. The incredible variety of
products here is astounding. You can spend a whole day shopping in
the State Emporiums. One can buy saris from different Indian States, suchas
Kanjivaram silks from TamilNadu, Pataola from Gujarat, Bengal cottons from
Bengal Emporium, Chanderi saris from the Madhya Pradesh Emporium and Bhandni
from the Rajasthan Emporium. Check for carpets and papier mache items from the
Kashmir Emporium. The bronze and brass statues from TamilNadu Emporium, the
woodedn figurines from Karnataka , marble inlay work and lac bangles from
Rajasthan and stone sculptures from Utkalika the UP Emporium.
Near Connaught Place is the Cottage Industries Emporium on the
Janpath Lane. This is a huge multi-storeyed government sponsored shopping
store. You can get the best of Indian handicrafts in this store
including carpets , silver ware, brassware, paintings and sculptures. This
is one of the best stores in Delhi for Indian handicrafts.
Opposite the CCI(Central Cottage Industry) are the shops selling Tibetan
handicrafts such as beads, masks ,prayer bowls and Tibetan jewellery.
Janpath Market
Janpath is a great place for street shopping . The street
shopping in Janpath lane has export rejects from tees to
tops ,skirts, trousers and scarves. There are separate pavement shops for
silver earrings , bracelets and chains. Walk over in the Janpath
lane and you will have Gujaratis selling bed spreads, cushion covers and bags.
Khan Market
In Central Delhi are Khan Market and the Sunder Nagar
shopping Market . Khan Market is where all the foreign tourists shop. Good Earth, Fabindia and Anokhi
are popular stores in Khan Market.
There are a lot of eating places , cafes, general provision stores,
shops for lighting and lamps and prominent book stores also
. The Lodhi gardens and the Humayun's tomb are close here.
Sunder Nagar Market
The Sundar Nagar
Market has shops selling miniature
paintings , brass door handles and antiques It is an old residential
colony near the Delhi zoo.
Santushti Shopping Complex
Close to Khan Market is the Santushti shopping Market. This is a quiet and well maintained shopping complex away from the
maddening crowds. Shops for garments, carpets, shawls and handicrafts here.
Moving further south is the South Extension Market. This Shopping Market
is again popular with the south Delhi residents for high end bridal wear
dresses, saris, sports shops and jewellery
Lajpat Nagar Market
The Lajpat Nagar
ShoppingMarket has everything from school uniforms
,utensils, crockery imitation jewlery, schoolbooks and household goods .
This is not high street shopping . It is everyday shopping for Delhi denizens.
There are very affordable salwar kammez fabrics and jewellery lane for
imitation jewellery.
The Sarojini Nagar
Market is similar to the LajpatNagar shopping market and has garments,
handbags, purses, footwear, fruits;vegetables and most importantly export
reject garments.
The Royal Town of the Jats, is commonly referred to as the ShahpurJat
Market.
ShahpurJat Market
The ShahpurJat Market is another market in South Delhi where aspiring
designers and upcoming jewellery designers have stores in small residential accommodations.
The Shiva carpet shop is very famous for carpets in ShahpurJat, as are
the Shoe Garage shop and Wrap’ the shop for shawls and stoles
Let us conclude our Delhi shopping series with the Hauz Khas shopping
Market. Hauz Khas is again a historical area and is supposed to have been a
center for learning.
Hauz Khas Village
(the royal water-tank) is a 13th Centuary waterTank, framed by a mosque and
learning centers. The Village is full of old houses which operate as
airconditioned boutiques. There are showrooms for handicrafts,
antiques, garments, old posters, paintings, leather bags, shoes, jewellery,
designer wear dresses and antique furniture. It is a hotspot with the young
crowd for the hip and happening restaurants and coffee shops.
Disclaimer:
All the images used here readily obtainable from a variety of places over
Internet and it is not our photos.
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