A New India Shopping Experience : Hyderabad - From Pearls to Happiness - 23

Every shopping area of the city has its mood and tone. Savour the true Hyderabad culture by shopping in the old city around the ancient monument of Charminar to buy the famous Hyderabadi bangles, surma (natural kajal) and gold lace. Lad Bazaar, the famous lane of bangles, is an exciting bazaar, reminiscent of medieval marts. Ever since the Nizam's patronage of the pearl industry. Hyderabad has remained the premier centre of buying, sorting and selling of pearls. (Interestingly, the pearls come from Japan for polishing and grading and are then patterned into strings, jewellery, or simply sold by weight).

Around Charminar, is another item associated with the former royals - bidri ware. It's a fine art of inlaying silver into a jet alloy formed by lead, zinc and tin. Souvenirs in bidri include key rings, cufflinks, vases and presentation boxes.

Leepakshi, the state's handicrafts emporium on Gun Foundry Road, is the show window for cottage crafts. It also has handlooms and hand-woven fabrics such as Ikat, Pochampallis woven in both silk and cotton, and the traditional art of Kalamkari-fabric painted in different colours with a stylized pen. Fabric shops can be found on Nampalli Road and Kukharam Jahi Road.

General Bazaar, has everything from pins to piano and from fabrics to antiques. one can also get steel, bars and copper vessels, needle work, craft paraphernalia, and great saris. Close by, is the Pot Market. It's a must visit for silver jewellery connoisseurs.

Somajjiguda and Begumpet have numerous retail outlets for branded gear, designer boutiques and home decor / interiors furnishings. The two areas reflect the cosmopolitan culture of the city. Also located here are three of the largest retail outlets of the twin cities, Shopper's Stop, Lifestyle and Pantaloons. There are also a number of good restaurants to take a break in.

Asia's Largest Shopping Festival:

An annual event, the Great Mall of Hyderabad is a combination of the events and 'joi de vivre' of shopping festivals held around the world. It is a blend of the best, offering a rich cultural extravaganza, with great shopping opportunities and entertainment. The entire city of Hyderabad wears a celebratory and festive look during the month. All the major STD booths in the city are converted into interactive cyber kiosks. Specially made designer coaches move around the city, taking visitors from one venue to another.

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Indian Art and Craft : Metal Work and Engraving - 11

Engraving, the most refined of all processes, has various styles known as japani, mehrani, chikan and bidri. Lacquer colours in deep red, yellow, black and blue are filled in the engraving. Plates, bowls, ashtrays, of polished brass, make excellent decorative metalware.

Gujarat has a wide range of brass objects made by the "Kansara" community. Storage chests made by the kathi community in Saurashtra has diverse uses. The large "dhablo" or "Katordan", a round casket with three stout legs and a bowl-shaped upper portion topped with a smaller box and a large brass ring on the top serves as a trousseau chest, storage pot for grain, and in olden times, for storing jewels. The entire casket tied by a strong rope passed through the rings would be lowered in a well during battles or skirmishes to protect the jewellery. Utility items such as nut crackers, with flower motifs and animal figures, kohl containers, foot scrappers with bells, are a credit to the skill of the metalsmiths.

Bell metal, an alloy of copper and tin is used extensively in Kerala to cast cooking vessels. In addition, beautiful lamps made for temples are over five feet high with circular recesses to hold the oil for lighting.

The elegant bidri work of Bidar and Hyderabad has brass inlaid upon an alloy of silver and copper and blackened by dipping the object in a copper sulphate solution.This craft was brought into India from Iraq 900 years ago and continues to be practiced. the adaptable folk idiom, has produced a plethora of objects for hunting, fishing besides lamps, ornaments and toys particularly in West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar.

In their simplicity, emerges a unique view of nature through the age old processes of metalwork.

The bronzes of India defy age, looking as fresh today as they would have coming out of the sculptor's mould many centuries ago. Indian bronzes speak volumes about the expertise of an art form that was born very long and still holds the strings of continuity in the story in Indian tradition.

The earliest mention of bronze is found in the epic called the "Matsya Purana". The findings in the ruins of Mohenjodaro and the discovery of the figure of the dancing girl showed that sculpture along with the use of metal alloys was well known to people of that period.

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