Here we are with a list of top 8 shopping destinations in Rajkot where you are sure to get everything you want.
Gujari Bazar
Gujari Bazar is a perfect location for traditional shopping where you can buy exquisite Gujarati handloom as well as artifacts. Not to forget, this market is popular for the Bandhani Sarees., so if you are fond of sarees then you cannot skip visiting this lace.
Gundawadi
Gundawadi is a one-stop destination for the budget shoppers where you will not be able to locate branded stores. The market is well known for traditional fabrics and garments where you can buy the charming traditional attires at a reasonable price.
Crystal Mall
Crystal Mall is one place where you can go for shopping irrespective of draining rains or scorching sun. Here you are sure to find all the branded stores. It finds a decent location at the much busy Kalawad Road. The multiplex and Food Court in the mall fulfills your entertainment and hunger needs as well.
Dr. Yagnik Road
Dr. Yagnik Road is yet another fabulous place for shopping. Today there are umpteen shops in the market unlike a few years back when there were just a handful of shops. Today you can also find malls in Rajkot City. Options Mall is a shopping retreat offering plenty of options to the shoppers. You can also find some gift shops as well as garment stores here.
Bangdi Bazaar
Bangdi Bazaar is one of the best market places to buy bangles. Also, it is one of the oldest shopping places in Rajkot. It is characterized by the narrow lanes as well as cul-de-sac alleys. Here you can find not only superb bangles but also pretty dupattas, beadworks as well as embroidered fabric. It is also a conventional market for gold and silversmiths. This is one place where you can bring your bargaining skills to use and get your bags full in really less money.
Ravivari Bazar
As the name suggests, this market is open only on Sundays in Rajkot streets. Here you can buy things that are new and also the ones that are used or say old. Ranging from clothes and bags to furniture and home décor, you can expect to buy almost everything here. This is Gujarat’s cheapest live cloth auction. Here sellers and the buyers come to trade the products in bulk at wholesale prices. The market goes live on Sunday mornings in a specific street in Rajkot.
Dharmendra Road
Dharmendra Road is one place where you can find almost everything that you need. Here you find ample shops offering traditional as well as western apparel apart from footwear and other things like suitcases. Apart from these shops, there is also a supermarket at Dharmendra Road from where native people usually purchase groceries as well as other home stuff.
Dhebar Road
It is not just bangles and bandhani for which Rajkot is popular, it is also well known for Meenakari art furniture. Here you can find awesome brass as well as ceramic industries and infinite furniture shops on the Dhebar Roa. All these shops offer for sale brilliant brass and wooden temples that are decorated with beautiful yet intricate Meenakari art. To those who are not aware of the Meenakari art, let us tell you that it is basically a form of art where metal surfaces are infused plus ornamented with intricate colorful designs. The fabulously carved furniture available at shops on Dhebar Road is a treat to the eyes of all.
“Shopoalcohalism is not dangerous to your health. It won’t kill you. Your bank balances may not like it but that is totally a different thing.” That should be humanity’s motto of life – well, it is our motto of living at least and, for shopaholics like us weekend markets of Mysore are little paradises.
The reputation of Mysore‘s markets for its famous silk sarees, rosewood and sandalwood products, rock sculpture souvenirs, coffee powder, etc – not to mentions its delicious cuisine which has got centuries of refinement had reached us long before we had set foot in them.
And there are really several special products that you can buy in this city that once formed the empire of the great ruler Tipu Sultan but today we limit ourselves to 5 things you should shop in Mysore.
1. Mysore Pak
over 70 years ago, the king of Mysore called for a cook reputed locally for his skills during the time to create a new, original sweet that would bear the name of the city (an idea that can only occur to a ruler of the sweet loving country like India).
The cook prepared a special sugar syrup called ‘paka’ and its cooks were referred to as ‘Nalapaka’. Mysore Pak is a living example to what a bit of imagination and creativity can do for the gratification of our taste buds and thus a natural favorite to be first in our list of 5 things you should shop in Mysore.
This special delicacy has as its main ingredients flour, sugar, and butter and is easily available in a number of places – Sayyaji Rao Road and Guru Sweet Mart. There are a number of variants among which we especially loved and thus lovingly recommend variations offered by Annex Bombay Tiffanys, Indra Sweets, and Mahalaxmi.
2. Mysore Silk Sarees
Next in our list of 5 things you should shop in Mysore is something that is fast catching eye of fashion industry experts and middle-class women alike – Mysore Silk Sarees.
While some claim Mysore’s connection to silk goes as far as its most legendary ruler Tipu Sultan, there is no clear evidence produce to fortify such claims. What one does know is that the Mysore royalty has acted very consciously to encourage the silk industry in the twentieth century in Mysore and its surrounding areas. The industry had a great advantage in that the region is ideal for the growth of mulberry, the main feeding ingredient used by silkworms. The industry thus shows the city’s genius not in the textile industry but also in the incredible art of rearing silkworms.
No city in India seems capable of making its reputation on the back of its garment industry unless it also produces iconic sarees too. And Mysore is no exception. Its Silk sarees are tremendously popular both in surrounding areas and in the whole of the country because of their use of a rather light and smooth variety of silk which retains a very distinctive sheen even after multiple washes. A golden Zari border beautifies these gracefully beautiful silk sarees. To make sure they are original, you must keep in mind to check for an embroidered number on one edge.
We brought our own Mysore Silk Sarees in the KSIC Mysore Silk showroom which stood up to its reputation for being the best place to buy them and thus we highly recommend it though there are several other showrooms in the center of town.
3. Sandalwood Products
We leave you to choose your favorite option from among a number of Sandalwood products as the third in the list of 5 things you should shop in Mysore. A sandalwood oil factory was established here as far back as in 1917 by King of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wodeyar and Diwan Sir M. Visvesvaraya just two kilometers from the royal palace. to benefit from the rich sandalwood forests of the region and ever since it has grown to be an important hotspot for products using sandalwood.
Pure sandalwood oil is a rare thing even here since the forest department very aptly regulates cutting of trees in order to preserve forests from complete destruction. Still, you can but a number of oils, soaps, perfumes, etc infused with beautiful sandalwood fragrance.
The factory itself is the best place to buy these products. We also used the opportunity to see the sandalwood harvested first hand and the extraction of tremendously useful sandalwood oil from it in the factory. You can also buy the products from shops in Gandhi square and Devaraja Market.
Timings: The factory can be visited from 9:30 AM t0 11:00 AM and 14:00 PM to 16:00 PM on all days except Sundays.
4. Mysore painting
There are a number of artifacts to be found in Mysore – wooden and stone sculptures the size of toys that can be bought as souvenirs, rosewood, etc, there are only two slots we can avail them. The paintings come from a very ancient form and might trace its origin to the famous carvings of Ajanta and Ellora. The paintings got a royal boost during the royal patronage it enjoyed in times of Vijayanagara empire. During 15th and 16th century. They mostly depict gods, goddesses, and scenes from the famous mythological tales of Hinduism. They use delicate drawing and pleasant colors and their overall effect is that of simplicity because of a lack of too fine details. Their distinction lies in their use is the gesso work, which is a kind of embossing done by using white lead and glue overlaid with gold foil. Its delicate and low-relief form sets it apart from Tanjore style which used bold embossing as well as the use of glitzy precious stones absent in Mysore painting. Ganjifa cards are also available with these patterns. We brought Mysore paintings from the Mysore Palace.
5. Mysore betel leaves
Mysore’s paan – a preparation that is packed its famous betel leaves folded in spirals, have a proverbial reputation and are thus a natural favorite to make it to our list of 5 things you should shop in Mysore. In the simplest variety, the leaves are smeared with some slaked lime (Sunna or chunnam) and then rolled with a filling of chopped betel nuts. Devaraja Market, in particular, is frequented by Paan lovers lusting after its famous for its unique color and incredible taste. The paan is often eaten after meals as sweet dishes but like sweet dishes need not be kept limited to that.
The betel leaves have other traditional uses too among locals. They are often used as an offering to guests and can be offered as gifts to guests at home as well as wedding as parting gifts when they are leaving.
Conclusion
This list of things to buy in Mysore is by no means an exclusive list. A number of items are skipped over here – wooden and stone sculptures the size of toys that can bought as souvenirs, rosewood artifacts, Coffee powder from nearby Coorg district famous for its coffee plantations, agarbatti (Mysore is one of the main causes behind Karnataka being dubbed as ‘agarbatti capital of India’), Mysore Jasmine, Channapatna toys etc to name a few.
When it comes to shopping, Delhiites would never have a dearth of options. No matter what their budget is, there always are options where they can have the best shopping experiences. Here are the best places in and around Delhi where you could spend a great evening while doing some shopping.
Dilli Haat- The best among all, Delhi Haat with its small thatched roof cottages is a one-stop shopping destination in Delhi. The traditional village market has a great ambiance and offers exotic handicrafts, beads, footwear and other handmade artistic pieces from all over the country. The market is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., including national holidays. Indian handicrafts and artifacts are the best things to buy.
Janpath and Tibetan Market- The very lively and one of favorite shopping centers for the Delhi people, the market offers goods from everywhere in India and Tibet here. The place is great for buying handicrafts, hippy clothing, home decors, footwear, shoes, paintings and other fashion accessories at surprisingly affordable prices given you have the necessary bargaining skills. The market sets itself up at the center of the city, Connaught place.
Paharganj-
The place is definitely not for the faint of heart as it is chaotic and noisy, yet some of the best bargain shopping in Delhi can be experienced here. Many of the shops located here deal in wholesale selling and export to foreign countries. The place is a shopping haven, lined with shops that are full to the brim with books, music, metal neck pieces and junk jewelry, bags, clothes, shoes, incense, textiles, wooden statues, and handicrafts.
Chandni Chowk- Exploring the items to buy while walking through the narrow alleys amidst the chaos is one great experience in itself. The market has been here for hundreds of years and also known as the symbol of the great Delhi street food. The lanes of Chandni Chowk are segregated into bazaars with different areas of specialization. For fabrics, you should head to Katra Neel. In the Bhagirath Palace area, you’ll find an enormous range of electronics. Kinari bazaar is the place for everything you need for a wedding, including saris. The market is open daily except for Sundays.
Khan Market- Khan Market is a small, U-shaped shopping market. One of the classiest shopping destinations, in the city, the bargain seekers don’t usually get too happy coming here. Among the branded outlets, the market is known as being the hub for the book lovers and other artistic goods. For Ayurvedic food, medicine, and skin care check out Biotique, and Khadi.
Lajpat Nagar- The chaotic and noisy Lajpat Nagar market provides an interesting glimpse into Indian culture. The roadside stalls and showrooms are always buzzing with the middle class Delhiites hunting for Indian clothing, shoes, bags, accessories including mesmerizing Indian bangles, and home furnishings. The street food is also tongue twisting here. One of this market’s main attractions is the Mehendiwalas, who will apply beautiful henna designs to your hands.
South Extension
The South Extension market, popularly known as South Ex is one of the most posh markets located in South Delhi. Divided into 2 parts –South Extension – I and South Extension – II, the market has numerous shops brimming with leading Indian and International brands you yearn for. It is a perfect place for shopaholics and one of the best markets in Delhi to do some bridal shopping. But ladies, you should have your pockets full of this elite shopping place!
All we think about is looking our best and wearing the best stuff. Isn’t it girls? So all the shopping enthusiasts out there hit these 7 shopping places for buying almost anything you desire on this planet.
