If Delhi is your first stop on a visit to India, you will probably be wondering where’s the colourful India you had been hearing about.
Going around New Delhi in your hired taxi or Tuk Tuk or walking in Old Delhi among the bicycles, rickshaws and hundreds of people going about their work, you won’t see many bright colors.
It depends of course on your perception of Delhi and your expectations, on what you have read and had been told, but at the end, your eyes will be darting all around, your five senses will be on full alert, and your energy will be drained when you are in the traditional bazaars of Delhi ; even if you are a seasoned shopper and haggler.
Not so in Dilli Haat Market in South Delhi. Built in 1994 to give artisans from around India a chance to sell their work, the Dilli Haat open air market is not to be compared to the old traditional bazaars of India with their sheer variety, size and long history. Still, it is a refreshing, car and motorcycle free easy break from the extremely busy and sometimes nerve racking old bazaars.
The stalls in the Dilli Haat Market are rented on a rotating basis for 15 days intervals to craftsmen and artisans from different regions of India. The idea is to give a ‘village’ market feel and look to the place. Stalls of food reflecting the different flavors and complex names from Gujarat, Maharastra, Jaipur, Kerala and other areas abound. This is not top Indian cuisine of course, but there you can at least learn about the different regional food and pick up some Indian spices that you won’t know how to use but will keep your suitcase smelling of Delhi all the way home.
Going around New Delhi in your hired taxi or Tuk Tuk or walking in Old Delhi among the bicycles, rickshaws and hundreds of people going about their work, you won’t see many bright colors.
It depends of course on your perception of Delhi and your expectations, on what you have read and had been told, but at the end, your eyes will be darting all around, your five senses will be on full alert, and your energy will be drained when you are in the traditional bazaars of Delhi ; even if you are a seasoned shopper and haggler.
Not so in Dilli Haat Market in South Delhi. Built in 1994 to give artisans from around India a chance to sell their work, the Dilli Haat open air market is not to be compared to the old traditional bazaars of India with their sheer variety, size and long history. Still, it is a refreshing, car and motorcycle free easy break from the extremely busy and sometimes nerve racking old bazaars.
The stalls in the Dilli Haat Market are rented on a rotating basis for 15 days intervals to craftsmen and artisans from different regions of India. The idea is to give a ‘village’ market feel and look to the place. Stalls of food reflecting the different flavors and complex names from Gujarat, Maharastra, Jaipur, Kerala and other areas abound. This is not top Indian cuisine of course, but there you can at least learn about the different regional food and pick up some Indian spices that you won’t know how to use but will keep your suitcase smelling of Delhi all the way home.
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