Mumbai (Bombay)
It's worth popping in to this high-end traditional garment shop to see the space itself, a gorgeous, cavernous, rose-oil-scented stunner chock-full of…
Must-see shopping in South India
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Mumbai (Bombay)
Behold Bandra's – and Mumbai's – coolest shop, featuring exclusive graphic art and illustrations sourced from a global army of Indian artists. You'll find…
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Mumbai (Bombay)
Mumbai's coolest design shop has thankfully arrived in South Mumbai! Fittingly, the Pop Art cool kid from Bandra has set up shop in Kala Ghoda, where its…
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Pune
This craft revival project cofounded by four women champions the dying Indian art of handcrafted metalware from artisans in Pune, the Konkan Coast and…
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Mumbai (Bombay)
Indian Hippy will put your name in lights, with custom-designed Bollywood posters hand-painted on canvas by the original studio artists (a dying breed…
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Mumbai (Bombay)
Chor Bazaar is known for antiques, though be wary of reproductions. The main area of activity is Mutton St, where shops specialise in these ‘antiques’ and…
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Bengaluru (Bangalore)
A great choice for top-quality silk saris, blouses, fabrics and men’s shirts, this fine store has been in business for over 70 years and has something to…
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Mumbai (Bombay)
Kitschy, design-y goods such as stylish embroidered T-shirts, funky coffee mugs and coasters, and superhip graphic art, including beaded embroidered art…
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Bengaluru (Bangalore)
Great little bookshop selling new and secondhand, cult and mainstream books and comics. Good for titles on southern India and run by informed, helpful…
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Mumbai (Bombay)
Ethically sourced cotton and silk fashions and homewares in everybody's favourite modern-meets-traditional Indian shop.
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Mumbai (Bombay)
Worth a visit as much for the spectacle if not to buy, this near-century-old traditional oil shop still hand-presses its medicinal, cooking and massage…
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Chennai (Madras)
Set up in 1928, the enormous, supercolourful granddaddy of Chennai silk shops sparkles with wedding saris and rainbows of Kanchipuram silks, as well as…
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Chennai (Madras)
Open since 1844, this grand white building is reckoned to be India's oldest bookshop. It has a brilliant English-language selection, including travel and…
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Mumbai (Bombay)
Under the discerning eye of gourmet entrepreneur Samyukta Nair, this Colaba concept store occupies a late-19th-century art deco building chock-full of…
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Mumbai (Bombay)
One of Mumbai's oldest shops and born of a dying breed, this family-run retailer kicked off in 1918. Today, friendly grandson Paresh still hawks the…
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Mumbai (Bombay)
One of Mumbai's hottest new brands, this small showroom, overseen by Nandi the Holy Cow in logo, art and design, is an interior-design oasis in Mangaldas…
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Mumbai (Bombay)
This trendy, bespoke shirt tailor for men and women will outfit you in some seriously cool threads for a fraction of prices back home. You can customise…
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Mumbai (Bombay)
A trendy, bespoke shirt tailor for men and women. You can customise everything – collars, buttons, cuffs and twill tapes. The results are stunning and the…
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Mumbai (Bombay)
Haji Abu's small Chor Bazaar shop offers a cornucopia of vintage Bollywood posters, lobby cards and show cards dating to the 1930s (originals and reprints…
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Hyderabad
Running west from the Charminar, this bazaar is famed for its sparklingly colourful bangle shops. A Hyderabad specialty are lac bangles, made from a…
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Government Silk-Weaving Factory
Mysuru (Mysore)
Given that Mysuru’s prized silk is made under its very sheds, this government-run outlet, set up in 1912, is the best and cheapest place to shop for the…
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Mysuru (Mysore)
Simply outstanding selection of natural products (priced from ₹80), many of them organic, including essential oils and natural cosmetics, fruit and veg,…
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Hyderabad
Lovely women's (and some men's) clothes in artisanal fabrics with contemporary prints and colours. They also sell homeware including bed linen, cushions…
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Mumbai (Bombay)
Selling the intricate embroidery work of women in 114 villages in Kutch, Gujarat, the nonprofit Shrujan aims to help women earn a livelihood while…
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Hyderabad
Malkha cloth is made near the cotton fields, by hand and with natural dyes, reducing strain on the environment and putting primary producers in control…
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Hyderabad
This fourth-generation family business can conjure something aromatic up for you on the spot. They specialise in ittar, natural perfume oils from flowers…
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Hyderabad
Fine quality saris, kurtas (long collarless shirts), salwar kameez (dresslike tunic and loose, long pants for women) sets (from ₹2545) and other…
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Mumbai (Bombay)
This new and excellent high-end boutique from the same folks who brought us Good Earth is a great spot to pick up carefully curated homewares, travel…
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Hyderabad
Suvasa's block-printed kurtas are priced from around ₹1200 in cotton, and they also have high-quality salwar and dupattas. Homeware, including gorgeous…
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Karnataka
Fair-trade store selling beautiful handmade textiles, bags, saris, kurtas and accessories. Prices start at ₹800. Profits benefit an NGO that empowers…
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Bengaluru (Bangalore)
Tea-lovers, rejoice: this wonderful store has more than 70 varieties of tea, from grand crus to humble teabags, many personally curated by master tea…
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Karnataka
Look on at this small workshop as artisans make a range of handicrafts and accessories using the bark of a banana tree and recycled materials. It's all…
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Mumbai (Bombay)
Art deco and colonial-era furniture, wooden ceremonial masks, silver, Victorian glass, plus high-quality reproductions of old photos, maps and paintings.
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Hampi
Run by an amiable musician who teaches djembe (drums) and didgeridoo, this store sells Indian and Western musical instruments at fair prices.
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Mumbai (Bombay)
Championing a dying art, this fascinating shop sells handmade, cotton-based paper crafted into charming cards, sculptures and lampshades.
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Bengaluru (Bangalore)
High-end natural beauty products, including potions and lotions for hair, face and body as well as all-organic ayurvedic essential oils.
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Hampi
Excellent selection of books on Hampi and India, plus secondhand fiction. The owner offers a free Hampi map and sells postcards, too.
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Hyderabad
An upmarket mall with a good selection of clothes shops including M&S and Levi's, ATMs, a small food court, cafes and a cinema.
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Mumbai (Bombay)
Anokhi gets the East–West balance just right, with men’s and women’s clothes and bedding in block-printed silk and cotton.
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Pune
Sells Indian saris, silks and cottons, as well as linen shirts for men, and diverse accessories including bags and jewellery.
