Shopping attractions in Gujarat

Shopping is the only word in the entire dictionary which has the power to bring different expressions and feelings towards it among men and women. Men see the shopping activity as one of their biggest enemy & threat to their pockets and for women it has been the best pass time for them since centuries. Well, a joke apart. Shopping really has its own significance in economic, geographic and cultural aspects. Shopping is the by product of the tourism and travel industry. As Gujarat is also very rich in its cultural aspects, tourism industry is in its peak here; therefore it’s obvious that Gujarat is having a number of varieties in shopping destinations across the state.

Shopping at a first glance seems a routine term that just go to market, buy stuff and we are done. But if we see the trends in a little more detail, shopping has many segments to explore; like specialties of the regional things, gift articles, sophisticated shopping of branded things in the malls, shopping from art galleries, flea & street markets, antique shops, factory outlets, markets in local & seasonal fairs, etc.

Starting with the art & craft, few of the famous markets are – Manek chowk in Ahmedabad, which is a busier place and encompassed by narrower streets in the old city. This is a must visit place for the art lovers. Another such market in Ahmedabad itself is a Law garden Night market. The dazzling artifacts from Saurashtra and Kutch are having the special place here. Garvi Gurjari, Hansiba, Ravivari, etc some more markets in Ahmedabad to explore for Art & crafts. Not only in Ahmedabad, but few other markets like Kala Raksha Trust near Bhuj, Khamir in Kutch, Baroda prints in Baroda, Banascraft, etc are the major markets for arts & crafts.

After the “વાંચે ગુજરાત” mission initiated by former CM and current PM Shri Narendra Modi, the Gujaratis have shown excellent interest in reading books and literature. Because of this initiative, the world class level books selling chains like crossword has also arrived in Gujarat. The art book centre in Ahmedabad, cross word in Surat-Baroda-Ahmedabad and in other major cities, Sahitya sangam in Surat, etc are the major markets for Books.

Gujarat is the Manchester of India; having the largest share in the textile industry, so definitely there must be a very huge market for apparels, fashionable wears, casual and formal wears. In some of the major cities like Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, etc there are the fashion boutiques of Bollywood designers like Ritu kumar, Manish Malhotra, Nita lulla, etc. Leading chains like Kimaya, etc have also set up their showrooms in major cities. Talking about the local players, there are players Senorita boutique in Bhuj, Bhoomi handicrafts in Bhuj, handloom house in Surat, Gamthiwala in Ahmedabad, Garvi Handloom house in Ahmedabad,  Rabari Art in Kutch, local textile market in Anjar, etc and a lot more. Last but not the least the Tibetian  market of Surat where the woolen wear, sweaters, jackets, etc are being sold by the Tibetian & North-East people who migrate here in this season to sell such stuffs.

Healthcare related market is also slowly making its place in the heart of consumers. Asal – the health & cosmetics shop in Ahmedabad is an organic shop which deals with sale of utensils, khadi fabric, herbal bath soaps, ayurvedic species, natural oils, etc. Patanjali chains in major cities like Surat, Ahmedabad, Baroda, etc mainly involved in the ayurvedic medicines, natural herbs and other such health related things.

Street markets like Shanivari in Surat and Ravivari in Ahmedabad are some of the biggest markets of second hand and fresh things. In such markets almost all types of things are available at the cheapest rates. Any damn thing you name and they are there in such markets.

Moreover there some strange markets where animals are being traded; like lunawada, Mahisagar District; Lakhtar village, Surendra nagar and also some interior places of Gujarat where cattle breeder are there.

When we talk about the shopping attractions, how can we forget the weapon’s market? Anjar is the famous place where knives, airguns, swords, etc are sold freely.

Moreover, almost all tourist places, historical places, heritage sites and picnic spots have their own small market places where local things are available to be traded.

Last but not the least, the current and most popular trend of mall culture is in demand. Few Famous malls like Alpha one mall (Ahmedabad), inorbit mall (Baroda), VR mall (Surat), Crystal mall (Rajkot), R World Complex (Gandhinagar), City mall (Bhavnagar), etc a lot more. There are so many other malls in all these cities that the list of these malls can be endless. So these are the major attractions for the shopping in Gujarat.