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About Rajasthan

Rajasthan Shopping

A magical sojourn reverberating with age old culture and traditions, the state enfolds in its lap a diverse kaleidoscope of breathtakingly beautiful and fascinating art-de-facts. The range is unparalleled even while it is sophisticated in its simplicity.

It has something for almost every kind of traveler, revealing a vast range of arts and crafts, which is a treat for the visuals and are ready to be picked. The Bazaars spill with products and there is a magnificent glow of colours all over.

Intricate work carved on handicrafts or the wonders of gems and stones, it has it all and even more like the colours dancing on the textiles and fabrics with silver or gold threads settings and complimented with the variety of Silk-threads, Beads, Gota, Zari, Zardosi, Banarasi, etc. designed by the age old families of skilled artisans.

The amazing use of clay in the form of sculpture and decorative arts, the paintings from different schools like Miniature, Mughal and the different Rajasthani shailis (school of art) and more are piled up, revealing the medieval splashes and recording historic and dramatic events. Almost capturing the senses!

The age old art of dyes and colours hold the centre of attraction.

Every part of the state, every town, every village is associated with the rich heritage of craftsmanship so particular to Rajasthan. Entire villages practice crafts - sometimes a vast spectrum, on other occasions just a single skill that can range from dhurrie weaving to terracotta products.

These traditions once helped to form the different layers of a self-supporting society in villages and towns, and it is this that has ensured their survival. Most crafts are still practiced because they find use in local society - the painters, for example, still do frescos on temple walls, and the village cobbler makes thick-soled shoes for the farmers, reserving the more delicate versions for visitors.

Today, Rajasthan's markets spill with an exciting array of goods: paintings, jewellery, fabrics and textiles, soft-as-gossamer quilts, clay pottery and blue pottery, dhurries and carpets, wood, metal and stone sculpture, leatherware and terracotta...

Little bells dance in the breeze, puppets dangle from strings, embroidered footwear brightens up stores, lights glow in huge glass candelabra and gemstones spill across pavements: in Rajasthan's treasure-trove, you could spend days simply exploring the world of the artisan.

Shopping in Rajasthan BARMER SHOPPING GUIDE : Vibrant embroideries, woolen dhurries, and stone carvings Sadar Bazar is where the action is.
BIKANER SHOPPING GUIDE: Best for camel products that include leather footwear, and its brilliant gesso work. Wool carpets and blankets , light cotton quilts, and brilliantly dyed cotton fabrics can be tracked down in the maze of tiny shops around Kote Gate, with KEM Road providing the shopping in larger stores.
JAISALMER SHOPPING GUIDE: The local tradition of carving is best seen in little wooden boxes that are intricately pierced in exciting patterns and motifs. Also woolen and cotton rugs and blankets , embroidered fabrics, silver jewellery and trinkets, available in shops that open off the cobbled streets.
JODHPUR SHOPPING GUIDE: Once brides came here for their trousseau shopping because the dyes and prints were resplendent, and the lame work brilliant. The same fabrics can still be found in the bazaars, and you may want to try on a sporty pair of Jodhpurs ( the riding breeches that originated in this town ). Badalas or zinc alloy pitcher used to carry water, covered with felted cloth, were an earlier version of today's water flask. Also wooden toys, leather goods, paintings, juttees and silver jewellery, all in the shops in the old city. Handsome pieces of old furniture and artifacts can be found in the huddle of shops at the base of Chhattar Hill.
KOTA SHOPPING GUIDE: Best known for it's small checked-weave cotton sarees called Kota doriyas, in light floral prints.
PUSHKAR FAIR SHOPPING GUIDE: During the November fair, the meal is a bewildering array of shops with fabrics, embroideries, utensils, terracotta pots, trinkets, silver jewellery, camel saddles, blankets, shawls, beads , bangles and other baubles.
SHEKHAWATI SHOPPING GUIDE: Associated with the low-legged Shekhawati chair , this region is known for wood carving, metal utensils, made -as-old furniture, and tie-dye fabrics.
UDAIPUR SHOPPING GUIDE: One of the principal shopping zones outside Jaipur, here are a myriad shops with paintings of the miniature and pichwai variety, as terracotta tables and plaques. There are also locally dyed fabrics and textiles , embroideries , wooden toys , white metal objects d'art , silver enamel artefacts, and image of Krishna in the Nathdwara style.