Handmade art and trinkets are a must have. 04.08.2013

Hand carved wooden friezes and other art are a feast for the eyes

You can't go to India, or any other country with a rich artisan, cultural and religious history, without bringing home a souvenir. Sunday was my last day in India. Most stores are closed to shopping on Sundays. Most tourist attractions and museums are closed on Mondays. There is one place in Delhi that is open on Sunday.

Dilli Haat is a crafts village. A very nice one at that. It is government supported. It is important not only to Delhi, but to all areas of India. These are permanent structures, clean and shade trees as you walk through. There is a food court. There are a couple of permanent sellers with small buildings, but for the most part most of the venders that are there have brought their wares from their home or village and have around 15 days to sell what they can.

This is real art. Jewelry, carvings, brass objects, textiles, camel leather shoes and handbags. Just incredible stuff. I wanted to have a container to take back all that caught my eye. These are not some of the cheap crap you find near the tourist spots. Since the government is involved, somewhat without corruption, they seem to weed out the junk from the jewels. And that's a good thing, because just like China is invading this country with it's cheap, plastic crap, it is also finding it's way into India. Seriously. Some of the chotchkies being sold around India are knockoffs being made in China. Some less than savvy tourist think they are buying things made in India, when in fact, they are getting a Chinese factory made fake. So beware. I was getting a water when 3 American high school girls came up to the beverage stall owner and was negotiating a price for some "sculptures". They were, in fact, just some poured resin castings that had been artificially patinaed. I wanted to warn them but somethings are better left to be learned about first hand.

The prices were good. But the best thing is if they are desperate to sell, due to the fact they don't want to take all of the stuff back home, you have the bargaining chip in your pocket. Always haggle. Never settle. Some Indian vendors are starting to put up "no haggle" signs. Keep walking. You will find a better deal.

We purchased some paintings from this gentleman who was from Bihar. He and his sister and several others from his village painted all of these by hand. They were easy to transport also.

Some of the artists themselves are present and are working while they sell. Here a woman sketches out a design before applying the paint on some textiles.

This gentleman is painting on the glaze before firing.

His finished glazeware was wonderful. NOT made in China.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to take back a keepsake from your travels. It keeps artists and their families alive, keeps the Indian economy going and will always remind you or your loved ones what a wonderful sojourn you had.

Hand painted shawls take hours, even days to complete.

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