India Travel
Fabrics and clothes in Delhi
In Delhi you can buy anything from high-quality silks, homespun cottons and Kashmiri jackets and shawls to traditional everyday wear and multicoloured tie-dyed Western-style outfits. Buyers are expected to bargain in most street-side stalls, which can make shopping all the more fun - start at fifty percent of the quoted price and slowly increase. Be wary of high prices - the same item is often available in different shops at varying rates. Shops with fixed prices should have a sign to prove it. For Western-style trousers, skirts and shirts, try Paharganj. the Tibetan Market at the north end of Janpath, the export-seconds market (watch out for “Kevin Clein” and “Ralphe Lawren” labels) at Sarojini Nagar in Chanakyapun and buy leather at Palika Bazaar or Chanakya Market. Roadside stalk behind the Tibetan Market offjanpath sell lavishly embroidered and mirrored spreads from Rajasthan and Gujarat, but you’ll need to bargain. Beautiful silks and fine cotton are best bought in government emporia. most of which are on Baba Kharak Singh Marg.
Delhi also holds a few upmarket boutiques, trading in designer labels and furnishings; some, such as Anokhi. now have branches all around the world.
Anokhi, Santushti Shopping Complex and Khan Market. Sells soft cotton and raw silk clothes and soft furnishings; particularly renowned for hand-block printed cottons combining traditional and contemporary designs.
Bata. 16 B-Block, Connaught Place. Reliable and hardy sandals, trainers and smarter leather shoes, that will survive in India much longer than the flimsy leather flip-flops sold in most bazaars. Cashmerr Galleri. 50 Hauz Khas Village. Kashmiri-run shops with handmade Oriental carpets in silk and wool, chain-stitch rugs, shawls and papier-mache.
Central Cottage Industries Emporium. Jawahar Vyapar Bhawan. Janpath. A multistorey government-run shop with a good range of raw silk and cotton lengths: they also stock traditional Indian outfits, silk ties and finely tailored jackets and suits (particularly for women), leather handbags and coats.
Darzi, 4A Shahpur Jat, Ethnic chic with a good selection of ready-made garments for women including kurta and salwarkatnise. Dastkar, 45-B Shahpur Jat. Recently relocated from Hauz Khas. Dastkar stocks reasonably priced terracotta, block prints, saris, patchwork, toys, leather, basketry, weaves and beautiful Madhubani folk-art prints on cloth,
Fabindia, Greater Kailash. Spread through several shops in the market with a range from furnishings and interiors to ethnic chic including cotton clothing for men, women and children and wearable block-printed cottons.
Handloom House, 9 A-Block, Connaught Place. An all-India co-operative with exquisite silks; they offer assured quality and fixed prices, but it’s not cheap
Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan. 24 Regal Building, corner of Sansad Marg and Connaught Place. Great place to pick up hardy, lightweight travelling clothes. Reasonably priced, ready-made traditional Indian garments include salwar kamise (trousers and shirt), woollen waistcoats, kurta pygama, shawls and caps, plus rugs, material by the metre, incense, cards and tablecloths. People Tree, 8 Regal Buildings, Sansad Marg. CP.
Alternative Delhi, with an emphasis on T-shirts, ethnic chic and jewellery as well as pamphlets on topics covering poverty, the environment, health, politics and women’s issues.
Also a notice board with details of forthcoming films and lectures at centres such as the Max Mueller Bhavan.
Tibetan Carpets and Handicrafts, HH the Dalai Lama’s Charitable Trust Handicraft Exports, 16 Jor Bagh, Lodi Road. Carpets of all sizes, seamless and runners, woollen pullovers, jackets, bags, chuba (Tibetan women’s dress), incense and other gifts.
Musical instruments, cassettes and CDs
Delhi has a lively classical Indian music scene; the Triveni arts centre is a good place to catch live performances as well as to get information on instrument-makers. Among classical recordings, both the Music Today and Maestro s Choice series have an excellent collection of north and south Indian classical music. For popular Western music on tape and CD at bargain prices. head to anv of the music stalls in Palika Bazaar or Khan Market.
Blue Bird & Co, 9 Regal Buildings. Sansad Marg. Cassettes, CDs, videos and hi-fis. Lahore Music House, Netaji Subhash Marg, Darya Ganj. Long-established North Indian musical instrument-makers who have a reputation for quality.
The Music Shop, Khan Market. Every type of music with good quality CDs, cassettes and videos and helpful, well-informed staff. Planet M, E-3 South Extension 2. The trendy four-storey music shop which tries to cater for everything but is especially strong on pop and holds pop-related events in-store as well as elsewhere in the city; there’s a pleasant cafe on the top floor. Rangarsons. Outer Circle, Connaught Place. Extraordinary shop that once boasted regiments of the British Indian army among its patrons, A collection of brass and other marching band instruments as well as contemporary tablas and sitars.
Rhythm Corner. 16 N-Block. Connaught Place. Much like Blue Bird; copious quantities of CDs, cassettes, and videos of contemporary and classical music, including international chart hits, Rikhi Ram. G-Block, Marina Arcade, Outer Circle, Connaught Place. Once sitar makers to the likes of Ravi Shankar. they maintain their exclusive air. Top-quality instruments (Sitar, tablas and more) available and an interesting cabinet with their own unique instrumental inventions on view. Expect to pay more than bazaar prices.
Related Properties from Gurgaon
Shopping in Calcutta
Unlike Delhi, Calcutta is not geared towards tourism - a fact which is reflected, with one or two exceptions, by its shops. However, it does hold many characterful markets, including the wide-ranging New Market, and local institutions such as Gariahat in the south and Barabazaar to the north. Modern shopping complexes - good for bookshops, clothes, leather and jewellery - are cropping up all over the city; these include the Emami Shoppers City at Lord Sinha Road, the brand new Metro Shopping Centre at 1 Ho Chi Minh Sarani, good for clothes and leather goods, and the Shree Ram Arcade,
Emporium in Calcutta
Good selections of most handicrafts, including lace, can be found in various state emporia, many of which are located in the large Dakhsinapan shopping complex south of Dhakuria Bridge near Gol Park. Offering fixed (if slightly high) prices, these are the simplest places start shopping. Aavishhar, 20K Park St. Popular shop on the corner with Middleton Row, stocking stationery and cards, music, pottery by local artists, and garden-fresh Oarjeeling and Assam teas. Assam. 8 Russell St. As part of Assam House, the emporium sells handicrafts and textiles from Assam including fabrics in pat and tnoga, two techniques of silk manufacturing. Bengal
Fabrics and clothing in Calcutta
Calcutta's dress sense, in general, is conservative, and the choice of ready-made garments is not very exciting. However, a wide range of fabrics is available, and all outlets should be able to point you towards a very good (and very cheap) tailor; there are several around Mirza Ghalib Street and Sudder Street. A handful of upmarket boutiques such as Burlingtons and Benetton, both on Mirza Ghalib Street, cater for the city's wealthy. You can still get shoes made to order at one of the many Chinese shoe shops around Chittaranjan Avenue. Balaram Saha, 14/6 Gariahat Rd.Tangail,Baluchari and Kantha saris from Bengal.
Clothes and textiles in Mumbai
Mumbai produces the bulk of India's clothes, mostly the lightweight, light-coloured "shirtings and suitings" favoured by droves of uniformly attired office-wallahs. For cheaper Western clothing, you can't beat the long row of stalls on the pavement of MG Road, opposite the Mumbai Gymkhana. "Fashion Street" specializes in reject and export-surplus goods ditched by big manufacturers, selling off T-shirts, jeans, leggings, summer dresses, and trendy sweatshirts. Better-quality cotton clothes (often stylish designer-label rip-offs) are available in shops along Colaba Causeway, such as Cotton World, down Mandlik Marg. If you're looking for traditional Indian clothes, head for the Khadi Village Industries Emporium
Tibet House in South Delhi
Tibet House. Institutional Area. Lodi Road (Mon-Fri 9.30am-lpm & 2-5.30pm; free), a cultural centre that organizes seminars and monthly lectures mostly in Hindi, also has a small and limited museum of Tibetan art, worth a visit it only for its beautiful thangkas (painted scrolls: admission Rs5). Other objects on display include old currency notes, costumes, objects of prayer and musical instruments; the shop sells the usual mix of clothes, Jewellery, medicines, incense and curios.
Shopping in Delhi
Although the traditional places to shop in I ) clhi are around Connaught Place and Chandni Chowk, ;i number of suburbs created by the rapid growth of the city are emerging as fashionable shopping districts. The shopping area of Haaz Khas Village. 12km southwest of Connaught Place, with numerous boutiques, jeweller}' shops and galleries, some pretentious and others well worth a browse, has, due :o over-popularity, lost some of its charm. Outrageous rents and uncontrolled building have ruined the ambience and forced boutiques out, some to the yet-to-be-developed village of Shahpur Jat, a short distance away. The garden setting of Santushi
Salar Jung Museum
Salar Jung Museum at Hyderabad The unmissable Salar Jung Museum (daily except Fri 10am - 5pm; Rs 150), on the south bank of the Musi, houses part of the huge collection of Salar Jung, one of the nizam's prime ministers, and his ancestors. A well-travelled man of wealth, with an eye for objects art. He bought whatever took his fancy from both the East and West, from the sublime ro, in some cases, me ridiculous. His extraordinary hoard includes Indian jade, miniatures, furniture, lacquer-work, Moghul opaque glassware, fabrics, bronzes, Buddhist and Hindu sculpture, manuscripts, and weapons. There are also good examples
Arrival and information in Delhi
Delhi is India's main point of arrival for overseas visitors, and has two airports, one domestic and one international. State buses from all over the country pull into the Inter-state Bus Terminal in Old Delhi, while private buses stop in the more central location close to New Delhi railway station. Trains arrive at the railheads in Old or New Delhi, both well connected to Connaught Place, the commercial centre of the city, by rickshaw and taxi. For a summary of the kinds of accommodation available in different areas of the city, which may well determine where you head first, see p.
By bus in Delhi
State buses pull in at the Inter-state Bus Terminal (ISBT), north of the railway station in Old Delhi. Auto-rickshaws to New Delhi or Paharganj take about fifteen minutes {around Rs50), cycle rickshaws twice that (around Rs30). Private buses from all over India terminate outside New Delhi railway station; some will drop passengers in Connaught Place if they pass that way.
Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum in Central New Delhi
Although at times uncompromisingly harsh in her politics. Indira Gandhi was a much loved mother-figure during the long years of her leadership, and it is with deep respect that she is remembered at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum. I Safdarjung Rd (Tues-Sun 9.30am-5pm; free). It was in this house that she was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards in 1984; her bloodstained sari, which has been chemically preserved, is on display. The collection of letters, press cuttings, photos (many taken by Rajiv) and possessions is both informative and moving. It's supplemented by a section devoted to Rajiv, including the clothes
Calico Museum of Textiles in Ahmedabad
Nobody should leave Ahmedabad without visiting the Calico Museum of Textiles (daily except Wed 10.30-11.30am & 2.45-3.45pm; free), in the Sarabhai Foundation, in Shahibagh, 3km north of Delhi Gate (bus #101, #101/1 &r #103); it's simply the finest collection of textiles, clothes, furniture, temple artefacts and crafts in the country. It's best to arrive early so you can take your time; once inside, you'll be shown round by a guide. Colourful embroidered wall-hangings depicting Krishna legends hang from the second floor right down to ground level. Cloth decorated with tie-dye bandhani), glinting mirror-work, screen prints, block prints and intricate embroidery
The City in South Delhi
Delhi is both daunting and alluring, a sprawling metropolis with a stunning backdrop of ancient architecture. Once you've found your feet and got over the initial impact of the commotion, noise, pollution and sheer scale of the place, the city's geography slowly slips into focus. Monuments in sandstone and marble, which stand in assorted states of repair, make Delhi a veritable museum of Indo-Islamic architecture, seen at its best in the frenetic streets of Old Delhi and the venerable sites of South Delhi. Delhi today, however, as experienced by its many thousands of visitors, centres very much around the imperial
Delhi Zoo in South Delhi
Below the southern ramparts of the Purana Qila. the open-air enclosures and cages of Delhi Zoo (daily except Fri: April-Oct 8am-6pm; Nov-March 'Jam-.Spin; Rs40 [Rs5], Rs50 extra for video camera) cover an extensive area. A little toy train chugs through the grounds, stopping regularly so you can hop on and off as you like. The white tigers are the longstanding attraction but animal-lovers will be disappointed by the conditions m which the big cats are kept.
Delhi scams in Delhi
Delhi can prove a headache for the first-time visitor, with several scams to entrap the unwary. Arrival is always the most difficult, but for those arriving at New Delhi railway station a special word of warning is to avoid all touts and the false tourist offices opposite the Paharganj entrance to the New Delhi railway station, which have brought grief to many an unsuspecting traveller. Similarly, steer clear of those along Janpath that claim to be "government authorized" - there is no such authorization and you're likely to end up paying well over the odds for any services. Shoe-shine boys
City and regional tours in Delhi
The Government of India tourist office, 88 Janpath, organizes a/c bus tours of New Delhi (daily 8am-1pm; Rs147) and Old Delhi (daily 2.15pm-5pm; Rs126), and a combined tour of Old and New Delhi (8am-5pm; Rs231). All start at ITDC Indraprastha, Janpath (see p.108); their tailor-made packages including a guide cost Rs950 for a whole day. Tours are also available to Agra, Jaipur and Haridwar/Rishikesh. Similarly, along with long-distance tours, the DTTDC, Bombay Life Building, Middle Circle also offer city tours: their half-day tour costs Rs95 and Rs110 while the whole-day tour option is Rs180/Rs210. The Metropolis Hotel in Paharganj, amongst
Old Delhi and north of Connaught Place in Delhi
If you find Paharganj too much of a travellers' hang-out, or Connaught Place too impersonal, head for Old Delhi, where foreign tourists seldom stay. Here you'll find yourself swamped by the noise and smells of the least modernized area of the capital. Prices are low and standards not very high, but the hotels are well sited for visits to the Red Fort and Jami Masjid, and you can guarantee constant activity on the crowded streets, excellent food at long-established restaurants and superb sweets from roadside stalls. If the noise of Chandni Chowk proves too much, you could opt for a
Moving on from Delhi
Delhi has good domestic and international travel connections. Anyone heading from the south to the western Himalayas (Himachal Pradesh, Kullu. Manali, Ladakh) will pass through Delhi; it seldom takes more than a day to arrange the onward journey. Scores of travel agents sell bus and air tickets, and many hotels (budget or otherwise) will hook private buses for you; touts, concentrated at the top of Janpath, waylay tourists with promises of cheap fares, but can't always be trusted.
Travel details for Uttaranchal
Trains Haridwar to: Calcutta (1 daily; 33hr); Dehra Dun (8 daily; 2hr); Delhi (4 daily: 4hr 30min-8hr); Mumbai (1 daily; 40hr); Katfigodam (3 daily: 4lir 30min-8hr); Rishikesh (2 daily; 30min). Kathgodam (railhead 3hr from Naimtal) to: Calcutta (1 daily; 4Dhr); Delhi (2 daily: 8hrl. Buses Almora to: Nainital (4 daily; 3hr); Delhi (2 daily;11hr). Dehra Dun to: Delhi (6 daily; 8hr); Kullu/Manali (1daily; 14hr): Mussoorie (every 30min; 1hr): Nainital(1 daily; 11hr); Rishikesh (every 30min; Ihr 30mm) Haridwar to: Dehra Dun (hourly: 1hr 15min); Delhi (4-6 daily; 5-6hr); Rishikesh (20 daily; 30min). Mussoorie to: Dehra Dun (every 30min; 1hr); Delhi (2 daily; 9hr); Haridwar (every 30min;
Bangla Sahib Gurudwara in Central New Delhi
Just of Ashoka Road near the poste restante, the huge white marble structure of Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, Delhi's principal gurudwara, topped by golden onion-shaped domes, is visible from some distance. As in all Sikh places of worship, visitors of all denominations are welcome. You can deposit shoes, collect brochures, and enlist the services of a free guide in the information centre near the main entrance. To go into the main complex, you'll need to cover your head and wear conservative clothes that cover legs and shoulders. The large main hall is unelaborate except for the open central shrine, where a sculpted
Overland travel in Delhi
For journeys to neighbouring countries, there's always the alternative of overland travel, a long haul by train and/or bus. Crossings to Pakistan should be made from Amritsar, ten hours by train from Delhi, where buses cross, the border and head to Lahore (lifts with trucks are no longer easy to find). The twice-weekly direct Delhi-Lahore bus, inaugurated by Prime Minister Vajpayee in 1998, was short-lived, terminated by the Kargil War ot 1999; check with tourist information or the ISBT in Old Delhi. Those travelling overland to Nepal should make for Gorakhpur. to pick up a bus to the border, which