There are numerous interesting shops along Chowringhee Rd selling everything from carpets to handicrafts. The Central Cottage Industries Emporium at 7 Chowringhee Rd is quite good. The shops along the entrance arcade to the Oberoi Grand Hotel are interesting but not as entertaining as Chowringhee's amazing variety of pavement vendors who sell everything from water pistols to underwear to dancing dolls. Kolkata's administration is trying to move the street hawkers to underground markets in an attempt to clear the footpaths, but the unionised street merchants have so far resisted attempts to budge them.
    Amid this melee are runners from other shops, particularly the New Market, looking for customers. Naturally, 'their' shop is only 'just round the corner', but this is rarely true. If you follow them, it's going to take up quite a bit of your time and the prices of the goods which you are invited to examine will be relatively high. After all, it's a long way back and a lot of wasted time for them to find another punter.

   New Market, formerly Hogg Market, is Kolkata's premier place for bargain shopping. Here you can find a little of almost everything and it is always worth an hour so of wandering around. A particularly good bargain, if you're flying straight home from Kolkata, is caneware. This is ridiculously cheap compared to prices in the west and is, of course, very light if rather bulky.
    Between Sudder St and New Market is an expensive air-con market. In the basement is City Express Supermarket offering fully computerised  checkouts and at least one supermarket helper per customer, some even involved in product promotion!
    There's another good street market along Lenin Sarani in the evenings. Down Sudder St or in the lanes running off both sides, those in search of highs derived from the plant kingdom are attended to by touts offering a range of services. Discretion is the key word.

Top