Shopping in India

Shopping in India, oh my god, it's like the funnest thing that you will ever do. If you hate shopping, I dare you to try not liking it in India because there is just an endless possibility of markets to explore, things to see, experience, taste, smell and feel. From the most gorgeous hand-woven textiles, beautiful shawls to exquisite saris woven by hand, to hand-carved murtis of the devas, the gods of Hinduism, to beautiful gems that sparkle, to silver and gold and wood, the possibilities are endless. And to top it all off, you can have things stitched to fit you perfectly. Shopping in India is an experience like no other.

You can't match that type of experience in the Western world. Stepping into a market where you're overwhelmed by the smells and sounds, touching and feeling, and being presented things, it's overwhelming. When you go to shops in India, the first thing about experiencing it in a way that is true to how it is, is just to allow it to happen. The shopkeepers have a way of making a presentation, the presentation that they make is to open all of their offerings to you and to let you choose from them in a way that feels like you're shopping 100 years ago. So feel through things, allow them to open everything and enjoy the experience by drinking lots and lots of chai.

It's customary when you go shopping in India to be offered bottled water or chai at the places you go and enjoy accepting it and allowing it to fuel you for the experience. The style of presentation is different than it is in the West, so you won't be walking into a shop and feeling through racks. There are big shops in India that are quite famous, like Fab India or Enoki, which are a great experience also, but dive into the markets, go smell the spices, taste the chai, feel the textiles and allow yourself to open to this in a new way. So how do you get there and how do you bargain? These are some basics that you need to know.

Know that whatever shop you go to, if you're buying in quantity, you can always barter. Some shops will tell you that they're a fixed price and there is no bartering, but if you buy 10 or 15 or 20 pieces of something to bring home to your family and friends, know that you've got a little bit of wiggling room. Bartering is shopping 101 in India, so be ruthless and bargain, and start by offering half of the price that someone says and working your way up. This is super fun for us Westerners, although it can be a little bit hard and disconcerting sometimes to think that, well, they've asked me for a thousand rupees, how can I offer them 500? Well, just know that you'll get respect and you'll get points by bartering and doing as the locals do.

As you step out into the magical bazaars and markets in India, make sure that you bring your camera because you will want to chart the experience. I'll never forget meeting shopkeepers and seeing their stores filled from floor to ceiling with just fabulous stuff, or taking a photo with someone who's just sold you something. You'll see that there will be joy, excitement, and just passion around shopkeepers and the things that they sell, and you'll make some really, really good finds along the way. So as you dive in, feel really good about what you buy. Inevitably in India, you will pay more than maybe you should for certain things.

So if you just go in intending to feel good about it, buy things you enjoy, take risks at purchasing things that you wouldn't buy back home, enjoy the colors, the magic, and the smells, and let your senses wake up from this experience because it's so fun and just fantastic. Namaste.