India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (206 page)

SHOPPING

You’ll find the city’s major shopping centers along and around
M.G. Road, Commercial Street,
and
Brigade Road.
M.G. Road is where you’ll find the fixed-price tourist-oriented (no bargains or bargaining)
Cauvery Arts and Crafts Emporium, Central Cottage Industries Emporium,
and
Karnataka State Silk Industries Emporium.
Fabulous silks and home textiles, as well as contemporary silverware from Neemrana and traditional silver jewelry from Amrapali and Jaipur, are some of the highlights available in
Shop Ananya,
located next to the Hotel Sarovar at 9/1 Dhondusa Annexe, Richmond Circle (
080/2299-8922
).
Mysore Saree Udyog
(No. 294, first floor, Kamraj Rd, across from the entrance to Commercial St.;
080/2558-3255
) is also popular with Westerners for fabrics in gorgeous colors and textures. But for the real experience, head for the shops on
Chikpet Main Road,
and let your head swim as you sit on floor mattresses, with salesmen opening sari after sari. And if it’s the gorgeous Indian jewelry that beckons, then look no further than the two oldest stores in Bengaluru, both of which were once patronized by the Mysore royalty—
C. Krishnaiah Chetty & Son
(Commercial St.;
080/2558-8731;
www.ckcsons.com
) and
Ganjam Nagappa and Sons
(Infantry Rd.;
080/2226-1233
). Little more down to earth is
Srishti
(100 Ft. Rd., Indiranagar;
080/2521-0176;
also at Leela Galleria)—ask for their antique jewelry collection. Speaking of antiques and other collectibles in bronze, stone, teak, and silver, call on
Natesan’s Antiqarts
(76 M.G. Rd.;
080/2558-8344
or -7427). Pick up beautiful ethnic home accessories, rugs, and other gifts at
The Bombay Store
(99 EGK Prestige, M.G. Rd.;
080/2532-0014
or -0015). With four levels of saris and
salwar kameez
(for women) and
sherwanis
(for men), and a nonstop clientele, you can understand why staff at
Deepam Silk International
insists that there is “nowhere else in the whole world” better to shop for silk garments (67 Bluemoon Complex, M.G. Rd.;
080/2558-8760
). He produces the largest share of beer in India, owns one of the most successful airlines, a Formula One team as well as an IPL cricket team, and now he’s built the newest hotspot in town on a road named after his industrialist father—
UB City
on
Vittal Mallya Road,
is Vijay Mallya’s latest offering and although still incomplete, lures high-end shoppers to its massive chrome and glass designer stores like Goodearth, Canali, Dunhill London, just to name a few.
Embassy Chambers
and
Embassy Classic
(in the Lavelle and St. Mark’s Rd. vicinity) are where you will find all the Indian designers like Rohit Bal, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Neeru Kumar, Manish Arora, Abraham and Thakore and Ffolio. And make sure you drop in at
Cinnamon
(11 Walton Rd., off Lavelle Rd.;
080/2222-9794
), which showcases some of India’s best designers in this cool, stylish boutique. Getting its name from an enormous tree in its garden,
Raintree
(4 Sankey Rd., across from ITC Windsor Sheraton), an old colonial bungalow shared by several designers offers all kinds of accessories, clothes and furniture. Away from the hub is
100 Ft. Boutique
(Indirangar;
080/25277752
), with its funky collections of everything from bags and lamps to offbeat furnishings—the attached restaurant is an incentive to go there. It’s somewhat of a drag through nightmarish traffic to get there (aside from 100 Ft. Boutique, the above recommendations are all manageable distances from each other) but the