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Almost every street has a tea stall or a roadside eatery and even the villages have their special market days at least once a week. While the metros have world-class malls with international retail chains and branded stores, the small cities or towns are also modernizing rapidly, as you will observe on your India Travel.
But it is in the metros that you can have your heart's desires. From ethnic bric-a-brac to designers' collections of the latest clothes, you can have them all. To add to the ever-growing list of stuff available, there are the traditional arts and crafts of India. Silk and woolen carpets and rugs from Kashmir, rich silks in rainbow colors and vibrant designs, cottons in earthy colors, exquisite gold and silver jewellery, Rajasthani tie-and-dye skirts, Gujarati mirror-work, leather goods, statues in metal and stone, and even perfumes made from flowers.
Indian markets flourish with their bright reds, blues, yellows and greens. Each state of the country has its special handloom and handicrafts, each a priced possession. There are solid and intricately carved wooden furniture, metal and silver inlay work, Kanjeevaram and Benaras saris woven with golden threads, beads and bangles, brassware and bronze lamps, Darjeeling tea, coffee and spices, the list is endless. Most of the wonderful stuff is available in the government-owned handicrafts emporia in major metros - in fact, The Cottage Industries Emporium, the individual state emporia on Baba Kharak Singh Marg and Dilli Haat in Delhi are great places to shop for handcrafted and ethnic Indian items on your India Travel. All major hotels in India have shopping arcades where you can indulge yourself. What is most important is that all the stuff is indeed value for money.
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