India Travel

Handicrafts in Mumbai

Related Properties from Gurgaon

Shopping in Mumbai

Mumbai is a great place to shop, whether for last-minute souvenirs, or essentials for the long journeys ahead. Locally produced textiles and export-surplus clothing are among the best buys, as are handicrafts from far-flung corners of the country. With the exception of the swish arcades in the five-star hotels, prices compare surprisingly well with other Indian cities. In the larger shops, rates are fixed and credit cards are often accepted; elsewhere, particularly dealing with street-vendors, it pays to haggle. Uptown, the central bazaars are better for spectating than serious shopping, although the antiques and Friday flea market in the Chor,

Abhivyakti in Rajasthan

The rulers of Bikaner have always objected to commercial exploitation of their heritage, and have therefore forbidden traders to set up shop in the fort. However, the royal principles have been relaxed for a good cause in the case of a handicrafts shop. Abhivyakti inside the main fort gate. Abhivyakti was established/with the aid of funding from the local Urmul Trust and from Oxfam in England. The high-quality rugs, bags, clothes, cushion-covers, shawls and stools sold here are made in 150 villages around Bikaner. In the past, all proceeds from sales of these unique handicrafts went directly to the villagers

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

Crafts in Hyderabad

Crafts Leepakshi The AP state government emporium at Gun foundry on MG Road, stocks a wide range of handicrafts, including Bidri metalwork, jewellery and silks. Utkalika (Government of Orissa handicrafts), House no. 60-1 -67, between the Ravindra Bharati building and Hotel Ashoka, has a modest selection of silver filigree jewellery, hand-loom cloth, ikhattie-dye, Jagannath papier-mache. Figures and buffalo bore carvings. Cheneta Bhavan is a modem shopping complex a little south of the railway station, stuffed with hand-loom cloth shops from various states, including Tamil Nadu. Uttar Pradesh. Rajasthan. Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. For silks and saris, try Meena Bazaar. Pocfiampally

Moving on from Mumbai

Most visitors feel like getting out of Mumbai as soon as they can. Fortunately, Mumbai is equipped with "super-fast" services to arrange or confirm onward travel. All the major international and domestic airlines have offices in the city, the railway networks operate special tourist counters in the main reservation halls, and dozens of travel agents and road transport companies are eager to help you on your way by bus.

Arrival and information of Mumbai

Unless you arrive in Mumbai by train at Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus), be prepared for a long slog into the centre. The international and domestic airports are north of the city, way off the map, and ninety minutes or more by road from the main hotel areas, while from Mumbai Central train or bus station, you face a laborious trip across town. Finding a place to stay can be even more of a hassle; phone around before you set off into the traffic.

Downtown Mumbai

Aldous Huxley famously described Mumbai as "one of the most appalling cities of either hemisphere", with its "lavatory bricks and Gothic spires". The critic Robert Byron, although a wholehearted fan of New Delhi, was equally unenthusiastic, feeling moved to refer to downtown Mumbai in 1931 as "that architectural Sodom", claiming that "the nineteenth century devised nothing lower than the municipal buildings of British India. Their ugliness is positive, daemonic." Today, however, the massive erections of Empire and Indian free enterprise appear not so much ugly, as intriguing.

Eating in Mumbai

In keeping with its cosmopolitan credentials, Mumbai (and Colaba above all) is crammed with interesting eating places, whether you fancy splashing out on a buffet lunch-with-a-view from a flashy five-star revolving restaurant, or simply tucking into piping-hot roti kebab by gaslight in the street.

Lonavala in Southern Maharashtra

Just thirty years ago, the town of LONAVALA, 100km southeast of Mumbai and 62km northwest of Pune, was a quiet retreat in the Sahyadri hills. Since then, the place has mushroomed to cope with hordes of holiday-makers and second-home owners from the state capital, and is now only of interest as a base for the magnificent Buddhist caves of Karle. Bhaja and Bedsa, some of which date from the Satavahana period (second century BC). Frequent buses arrive at Lonavala's central bus stand, just off the Mumbai-Pune Road (NH-4), but the tram is infinitely preferable. Lonavala is on the main railway

Leaving India in Mumbai

In spite of its prominence on trans-Asian flight routes, Mumbai is no longer the bargain basement for international air tickets it used to be. Discounted fares are very hard to come by — a legacy of Rajiv Gandhi's economic reforms of the 1980s. If you do need to book a ticket, stick to one of the tried and tested agents listed. All the major airlines operating out of Mumbai have offices downtown where you can buy scheduled tickets or confirm your flight; see p.781 for a list of addresses. The majority are grouped around Veer Nariman Road, opposite the Ambassador Hotel,

Bikaner The City in Rajasthan

Its worth spending a day or two just wandering around Bikaner, watching dyers at work, visiting the ancient Jain temples, and exploring Junagarh Fort. Bikaner is also famous for its skilled lacquer work and handicrafts, sold in the bazaar for a fraction of Jaisalmer's inflated "tourist prices", and for its hand-woven woollen shawls and blankets. The best place to buy the latter is the Abhivyakti shop just inside the main gate of the fort.

Bhavnagar The City in Gujarat

The focus of interest in Bhavnagar is the old city, its vibrant markets overlooked by delicate wooden balconies and the plush, pillared fronts of former merchants' houses. Sections of the old city are reserved for specific trades; there's a silver bazaar, a street lined with rope and tool stalls, a cloth bazaar where tailors perch like birds in tiny cubby holes above the shops, and a gold bazaar full of watchmakers and menders. Local handicrafts to look

Voluntary organizations in Ladakh

With limited resources at their disposal, a handful of voluntary organizations, including LEDeG, battle to protect Ladakh's delicate environment and ancient culture against the sea of change. SECMOL (Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh), founded in 1988 by Ladakhi university students, strives to increase awareness of developmental issues and guide younger students through an educational system fraught with chrome inadequacies. In the hope of maintaining pride in Ladakh's traditions, SECMOL teaches local history and runs workshops on handicrafts, agriculture and technology. Volunteer help from TEFL-qualified visitors is especially appreciated at the summer schools run just outside Leh. If you'd

Art, antiques, crafts and jewellery in Delhi

Much the best area to go shopping for art and antiques - even if sceptics do consider it vastly overpriced and rarely authentic - is the small Sunder Nagar Market, in a wealthy residential area near Purana Qila and the zoo. However, you shouldn't expect a bargain - the antique and art trade in India is a cutthroat business. Bear in mind that it is illegal to take art objects over one hundred years old out of the country and, strictly speaking, antiques should be registered and trading in them is against the law (see p.84). Elsewhere, curio shops aimed at

Flights to and from Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad to: Ahmedabad (4 weekly: 1hr40min): Bangalore (2-3 daily; 1hr); Calcutta (1-2 daily; 2-3hr); Chennai (3-4 daily; 1hr-1hr 45min); Cochin (2 weekly; 2hr 40min); Delhi (3 daily; 2hr-2hr10min|; Mumbai (6-7 daily; 1 hr 15min-3hr); Tirupati (1-2 daily; 55min-1hr 20min); Vishakapatnam (2 daily; 1 hr-1 hr 30min). Puttaparthy to: Mumbai (2 weekly: 1 hr 20min). Vishakapatnam to: Bhubaneswar (4 weekly; 55min); Calcutta (4 weekly; 2hr 20min); Chennai (4 weekly; 1hr 5min); Delhi (4 weekly; 3hr 35min); Hyderabad (2 daily; 1 hr-1 hr 30min); Mumbai (1 daily; 2hr45min).

Shopping to the Agra in the Western UP

Agra is renowned for its marble tabletops, vases and trays, inlaid with semiprecious stones in ornate floral designs, in imitation of those found in the Taj Mahal, It is also an excellent place to buy leather: Agra's shoe industry supplies all India, and its tanneries export bags, briefcases and jackets. Carpets and dhurries are manufactured here too, and traditional embroidery continues to thrive. Zati and zardozi are brightly coloured, the latter building up three-dimensional patterns with fantastic motifs; chikan uses more delicate overlay techniques. There are several large emporiums such as the official-sounding Cottage Industries Exposition on the Fatehabad Road, which

Uptown and the outskirts in Mumbai

Greater Mumbai has crept inexorably northwards to engulf villages and swampland in a pall of chimneys, motorways and slums. These grim industrial areas hold few attractions, but possibilities for full- or half-day excursions include the quirky Victoria and Albert museum and botanical gardens in Byculla, and the beach at Juhu. All lie within reach of a suburban railway station, although you will, in most cases, have to take a rickshaw or taxi for the last few kilometres. Beyond them to the north lie the Buddhist caves chiselled out of the hillside at Kanheri, and the crumbling Portuguese fort at Bassein.

The Town of Manipur in the Northeast

Imphal's small centre is sandwiched between the stately avenue of Kanglapat to the east and the somewhat stagnant River Nambu to the west. The town's Polo Ground dominates the area; according to popular legend, the Manipuri game of Sagol Kangjei is the original form of the modern game of polo. In one corner, the Shaheed Minar memorial commemorates the Meithei revolt against British occupation in 1891, while just southeast, the Manipur State Museum (Tues-Sun 10am—4.15pm; Rs2) focuses on tribal costumes, jewellery and weapons along with geological, archeological and natural history displays. At the heart of Imphal, along Kangchup Road, the fascinating

Barmer in Rajasthan

BARMER, 158km south of Jaisalmer, is another important desert outpost, but has little to offer tourists. It's usually a dusty backwater, where the manufacture of handicrafts, its main export, occupies much of the population. In January however, the place is transformed during the hectic Tilwara Cattle Fair, held on the banks of a saltwater river nearby. This is the largest cattle market in Rajasthan, attended by villagers and traders from all over the state. Accommodation and food stalls in Barmer are scarce; if you need to stay the night, try the basic Krishna Hotel 'near the railway station, or the rather

The Town of Meghalaya in the Northeast

Life in Shiltong used to revolve around the decorative Ward Lake. In the exclusive European Ward next to it, the large bungalows set in generous pine-shadowed gardens include Government House, the official residence of the governor. The ambience here is in stark contrast to the bustle around Police Bazaar, where the narrow streets are packed with vendors trading in local handicrafts, Khasi women wearing toga-like jaitisem, in checked gingham and tartan designs, and Khasi men smoking roughly chiselled pipes. Bara Bazaar, farther west, is even more hectic, attracting locals and hill-people to its warren of stalls and shops. Primarily, it