Delhi, December 18, 2011 Shopping / Markets Part 1

Hi everyone: I've decided to try a themed approach to blog updates, so this one will focus on shopping- I've called it Part 1 as I imagine I might have a few parts to this theme! Grocery shopping deserves a theme of it's own with several parts as well. I've got a list of about 20 other tentative themes including cooking, sounds/smells, animals, Xmas, etc. Let me know if you want me to write about something in particular. I'll try to take a few pictures of the 'hood and perhaps write about that a bit more next time so you get more of a gist about our daily existence.

Shopping - no doubt about it that this is a wonderful opportunity to stock up on clothing, scarves, shawls, tablecloths, bedspreads etc. I purposely didn't bring a lot of clothing with me as I suspected that there would be lots of options here to replenish/replace anything I was missing. For example, the evenings have been colder than I expected and I was turning into a bag lady (see last blog!), but yesterday, rather than buying a not so attractive sweater from the sweater wallah's cart on the street, I purchased a beautiful wool/silk shawl for about $35 and I was the toastiest I have been since I got here. Jay is accusing me of making the cold an excuse for shopping, but it really is born out of necessity in this case :))

The types of markets range from a bunch of stalls on the street to street malls to large open air markets to multi-level buildings filled with different stores. We have several street malls within walking distance of us where we have bought our cell phones, some kitchen gadgets, food as well as a couple of those essential clothing items I have referred to above.

FabIndia is a wonderful "chain" store with both clothing and other textile/household items. I say "chain", as it probably has at least 5-6 different locations in Delhi and others throughout the country. It is not technically a fair trade organization but its business has been built on assisting communities in developing a sustainable cottage industry and becoming part owners in the enterprise. Its clothing and other textiles come from all over India and both Indians and non-Indians shop there. It's a wonderful place and there is one in our neighborhood. I purchased an outfit (silk tunic, pants and scarf) there this week as we are going out for dinner at a colleague's place and I needed some nicer clothing- another example of an essential purchase!

We have also ventured farther afield to a few other outdoor markets, requiring the use of the Metro and rickshaw to get there -transportation will be another blog theme I think! The first one we went to was a state run market called Dilli Haat, where there is a huge variety of scarves, saris, rugs, brass, jewelry etc from artisans from all over the country who rotate in and out every few weeks. They also have quite a few food stalls from different regions across the country. We had a great Thali from West Bengal there. Jay says that the variety here is even greater than the huge state run emporiums in central Delhi. Of course I had to buy another shawl to match my new silk outfit as I would freeze to death otherwise - another essential purchase!

Yesterday we stopped in at Khan Market on the way to Lodi Gardens. This is a street mall catering to westerners (although most shoppers were still Indians) with specialty food shops where you can buy Brie cheese, chocolate, pasta and other assorted yummies. There are also a few bookstores as well as lots of clothing places and another FabIndia store, where I bought my essential wool/silk shawl! Jay will likely get a suit or two made there as there are quite a few tailor shops as well. Gee - more essential purchases!

Well, I think that does it for Part 1 of the shopping theme. Tonight we are out for dinner and tomorrow my 2 week yoga course starts which I am looking forward to. We also have a couple of guests coming to stay with us for a few days- some former students of Jay - so I may not have time to write another update till closer to the end of the week.