Jaipur is a shoppers’ paradise. The builders of Jaipur took special care to provide ample space and facilities for the production and marketing of handicrafts which made the place famous throughout India and abroad. An entire street and several city sectors were earmarked for artisans and traders. The main markets are along Jauhari Bazar, Bapu Bazar, Nehru Bazar, Chaura Rasta, Tripolia Bazar and M.I. Road. Shops specialising in precious and semi-precious stones, ornaments and jewellery are to be found on and along Jauhari Bazaar. Jaipur enjoys a high reputation for the manufacture of jewellery. It is one of the most active jewel markets of the world and is famous for precious and semi-precious stones and also for the cutting, polishing and setting of these stones, particularly that of diamonds, topaz and emeralds. Jaipur brass work is of immaculate quality. The Jaipur brass worker is successful in infusing life like charm into the dull metal. Two kinds of work is done in Jaipur on brass viz., lacquered brass and carved brass. Jaipur enamel or Minakari, mostly done on gold and silver has always been a class of its own. The Jaipur artist is renowned not only for the purity of the colours, but also for its evenness.
Jaipur is also famous for its textiles. Sanganeri and Bagru block prints are the fashion designer’s craze these days. The Bandhej (tie and dye) print is very typical of the region.
Near the Hawa Mahal are large numbers of shops dealing in antiques and pseudo-antiques. Some shops opposite Hawa Mahal stock the famous Jaipuri quilts, weighing from a few hundred grams to a kilogram.
The stone and marble carving industry is also a famous art of Jaipur. The stone used is either procured from within Jaipur or from the marble mines of Makrana, the famous quarry that provided all the marble stone for one of the wonders of the world at Agra the Taj Mahal The carvings portraits and busts created in Jaipur are held in high esteem everywhere. |
