Mementos for Memories
I find that market walks are a blissful way to achieve retail nirvana!
After a lesson in higher living at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville, you ought to take keepsakes back home. Shopping in Puducherry is a better than Chennai as the taxes are low or non existent. We tell you four most popular take-aways that’ll bring a smile on your face and remind you of your Puducherry travels!
Known for its traditional dolls, the colourful Bommai dolls made from the terracotta, papier mache and plaster of Paris and are available at handicraft emporiums all over the city. The cutest to picks are: a Tamil couple (the man in large handlebar moustache and the wife covered in gold jewellery) dressed in traditional mundu and the bobble head idols of goddesses in a dance pose.
Best Deal: Make an appointment with the artisan and cajole him into custom-making small dolls of you and your family friends!
Sheep leather wallets, satchels, knapsacks, belts and clutch purses are made here. The quality is excellent; the variety in colours and shapes will amaze you.
Best Deal: Shop on Nehru Street and Casablanca shopping centre, look for factory surplus.
Ceramic pottery artisans in Auroville are very famous for their distinctive modern twists in clay and slate-glazed pottery called ‘golden bridge’ and ‘rhinestone art’. The traditional ‘kottaikorai’ style of clay pottery, whose texture resembles an orange peel, is more utilitarian though.
Best Deal: Pick up a glazed ashtray, table ware or a clay cooking pot.
Hand woven Korai (a species of grass) mats and textiles like satin, twill corduroy; poplin, chambray, oxford and cambric and khadi are available at economical prices. Varieties of crisp printed cotton, and mixed fabrics are very commonly found on the Mahatma Gandhi Street whereas Jawaharlal Nehru Street is ideal for picking up garments and surplus prêt couture.
Best Deal: Request the shopkeeper to get a dress tailor made for you, from your chosen fabric.
Other knick-knacks to pick up are perfumed candles, silver and organic jewellery, home-made jams and pickles, antique wooden furniture and curios for home décor.
Getting There:
Road: Three hours from Chennai, buses from are frequent, and cost about Rs60. It is much cheaper and more convenient to book a taxi to pick you up from the airport, or contact your guesthouse directly for the same.
