Jaipur Shopping

Jaipur- a shopper’s Paradise

Although most tourists visit Jaipur to view its grand monuments, nonetheless there are as many who come to shop. And indeed a shopper’s paradise it is. The list of things available is endless, but the more popular items on the agenda of visitor to the city are jewellery, textiles and saris, good made of marble, wood, stone, lac, clay, metal and leather. The city ahs, for long, been a traditional centre of the finest of jewellery bedecked with both precious and semi precious stones, enamelling of gold in green, red and white, the favourite colours of the Mughals, which was introduced Raja Man Singh. The city is known the world over for diamond and emerald cutting.

Anyone searching for lac jewellery should visit maniharon Ka Rasta where lac jewellery is made and sold and Johari Bazaar where jewellery is crafted and sold. The variety is tremendous. Among the buys are table tops, mirror frames, betel nut boxes and sindoor holders. On the export list are statuettes, photo frames and pill boxes which are available in abundance on M.I. Road and the silver shops on the Badi Chaupar crossing. Two lanes joining the main road. Gopalji ka Rasta and Haldiyon ka Rasta have a number of shops selling jewellery and on the main road one can see silversmiths. It is closed forsome time on Sunday and Tuesday. The cutting, polishing and selling of precious and semi precious stones is centred around the Muslim dominated area of Pahar Ganj in the Surajpol Bazaar area. Silver jewellery is also made there. There are numerous factories and showrooms along the length of Amber Road between Zorawar Gate and Holiday Inn. Here one will find hand block prints, blue pottery, carpets and antiques.

Apart from jewellery, handicrafts like papier mache and carved furniture, are also extremely popular as also is the glazed blue pottery, an art that was imported from ground Persia. Blue pottery is made from ground quartz stone. On sale are suraghis, pots, ear-rings, soap dishes, door knobs, mugs and jugs. Brass is another important metal and statures of various sizes are available besides brass animals used by children as toys. Items made of white metal are also great buys as are the carvings in stone especially white marble used for making statues of gods and goddesses, animal and human figures. Carved marble bowls, vases and other decorative items also figure high on the list of the shopper.