A Complete Guide for Buying Souvenirs in Rajasthan
Sindhu Murthy
Rajasthan is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India known for its rich culture, lip smacking food, majestic forts, grandeur of Heritage Havelis and artisan crafts. The overwhelming variety of items on sales in every tourist hotspot in Rajasthan is sure to perplex anyone who wishes to buy souvenirs. Here is a complete guide to help you choose from a variety of souvenirs to take back home during your visit to Rajasthan.
Paintings
The rulers of Rajasthan were patrons of art and have encouraged many types of painting such as Phad paintings, miniature paintings, Kajali paintings and gemstone paintings. The major schools of paintings include the Mewar, Marwar, Kishangarh, Bundi, Kota, Jaipur, and Alwar. One wouldn’t go wrong in choosing a beautiful painting to take back home during the visit to Rajasthan.
Where to buy: While there are many shops in the tourist hotspots of Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, the painting gallery in the Jaipur city palace has a huge collection where one can see the artisans live at work and purchase paintings from them.
Stuffed toys
Unlike the usual soft toys, the stuffed toys from Rajasthan look more sturdy and colorful. You can find many traditional toys embellished with sequins and jewels while stuffed with cloth. These can be used extensively in home decor.
Where to buy: You can find them on many roadside shops near the popular forts and palaces in Rajasthan. You can find a few artisans working on making the toys in the Mehrangarh fort of Jodhpur and the promenade along the Mansagar lake in Jaipur which houses the Jal mahal palace.
Printing Blocks
If you are a crafty person and would like to buy some supplies for your craft stash, you would love the printing blocks made of wood which are used in printing patterns on fabric.
Where to buy:The small wooden blocks with simple designs are available in many roadside shops near the tourist attractions in Jaipur. If you are looking for a block with more intricate designs, you should head to Sanganer and Bagru which are the epicenter of hand printing in Rajasthan.
Bed covers and Quilts
One would find some of the finest quality bedcovers and quilts made of cotton or silk in Rajasthan. While you can find fine and detailed floral patterns made on white background in the Sanghaneri printed textiles, the Bagru printed textiles boast of many geometric patterns made on color or indigo dyed fabric.
Where to buy: Head to Bapu bazar or the Johri Bazar located in the pink city of Jaipur to get best deals on printed bed covers and quilts.
Bandhini or Tie-dyed garments
The bandhani or the Bandhej garments are made by tie and dye technique where the cloth is tied with dye resistant threads and then dyed using natural colors to form beautiful patterns. Since the dying is made by hand, you can find the best combinations of colors in the garments made with bandhej technique. You can buy sarees, scarfs, dresses made using bandhani.
Where to buy: The Bapu bazar and Johri bazar in the pink city of Jaipur have many shops selling the bandhani garments at a very affordable prize.
Stone Crafts
The artisans of Rajasthan make beautiful carvings with marble and sandstone which make amazing showpieces. the intricate patterns carved with immense finesse are sure to enthrall anyone with their beauty. Some of them are even embellished with colorful stones upping the ante of the carvings.
Where to buy: You can find a few shops on the promenade near the Jal Mahal palace in Jaipur. These shops sell some simple stone crafts at affordable prices. For more intricate patterns with rich embellishments, head to one of the numerous handicraft emporiums located across Jaipur.
Jutis
You cannot miss noticing the colorful jutis put on display for sale near the tourist attractions across Rajasthan. The Rajasthani jutis are very famous for multiple reasons- they are easy and comfortable to wear, they come in multiple colors to match any dress you wear, each juti can be worn on any foot- there is no juti dedicated to left or right foot and they are very cheap.
Where to buy: You can buy them from the numerous roadside shops located across all tourist destinations in Rajasthan.
Bangles
Rajasthan is very popular for different types of bangles. While the lac bangles are quite famous for their embellishments, you can also find bangles made of different metals, plastic, and thread.
Where to buy: Bangles are sold in many roadside shops across Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Udaipur. You get the best deals in these roadside shops.
Puppets
The kathputali or the string puppets are one of the major forms of entertainment in Rajasthan. These beautiful puppets can also be used in home decor because for their colors and beauty. The puppets are sold mostly in pairs consisting one male and one female puppet. You can hang them on your walls to add a Rajasthani touch to your interiors. Why not try your hand at entertaining your family with a puppet show at home?
Where to buy: You can buy the puppets from the roadside hawkers found near the major tourist destinations in Rajasthan. If you are in Udaipur, head to Bagor ki Haveli which has a huge puppet museum, some of which are kept for sale.
Sweets
Your trip to Rajasthan cannot be complete if you have not tasted some of the famous sweets made of ghee, sugar, and milk. While there are many tasty sweets you can take home from Rajasthan, we would suggest you try ghewar because it has a better shelf life when it is not dipped in sugar syrup and hence easy to transport. You can soak the dry ghewar in sugar syrup and top it with cream, mawa or dry fruits when you are ready to consume it. There are many more milk preparations you can try such as mawa, rabri, and milk cakes – however, they have a very little shelf life and should be consumed within a couple of days after preparation.
Where to buy: While ghewar and other sweets are sold in many sweet shops across Rajasthan, the Rawat Misthan Bandhar in Jaipur is the most popular sweet shop famous for its assortment of sweets and kachoris. If you are in Jaipur, make sure to visit this shop even if you have to spare a few hours to get to it.
Tips :
- You can purchase almost all types of souvenirs from Johri bazar and Bapu bazar of Jaipur within a few hundreds of rupees. So, you know where to head to when you are short of time for shopping for gifts or souvenirs from different locations in Rajasthan.
- Do not forget to bargain to get a better deal. Try to negotiate with the shopkeepers to reduce the price to around 60 – 70% of the quoted price. You will get the deal in most of the cases.
- Make sure the items are separately packed with enough padding if you have to transport them to distant locations and especially if you are putting the packages in your check-in baggage.
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Rajasthan is my native place. Loved to read this article 🙂
Happy to read your comment Sumti 🙂
Hello dear. Heard of famous light-weight blankets (razai) of Rajasthan. Where from it can be bought? Any idea of price range? I m visiting Jaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer next month
I’m not really that fond of buying souvenir items whenever I travel to places, but with this unique souvenir items caught my attention and would definitely buy when I get a chance to visit Rajasthan. I like how they come up with those souvenir items, I can genuinely sense the rich culture of India and the colors are very lovely and lively.
LaiAriel
LaiAriel, Thanks for your comment. It is true that the colorful and artistic souvenirs of Rajasthan will tempt anyone into buying 🙂
The folk arts in India have always attracted everyone LaiAriel. Glad that our post brings out the beauty of Rajasthan 🙂
I am going to Rajasthan in 10 days for a 3-week trip. I knew of some of these beautiful souvenirs already, but found some cool new ones in your article. Thanks for the tip what and where to purchase. 🙂
We are glad you find this post useful Julia. We wish you a wonderful trip in Rajasthan. Let us know if you need any help for your trip. We would be happy to help.
All of these can be an amazing souvenir to bring back memories of the incredible land of culture and heritage. We do own a few of these and bandini’s and printed bedsheets are our favorite.
Hi Rashmi and Chalukya, Thanks for your comment. The Bandhini and handprinted bedsheets are our favorite too. They look so elegant and vibrant.
I visited Rajasthan a few years ago but I was on a long backpacking trip so I couldn’t buy much. It was so hard, because there were so many beautiful things I wish I could’ve taken home with me. This is a really informative post for anyone heading to the region, with beautiful photos.
Everything is art wow! I would love to get a hold of those beautiful fabrics and yes the shoes! My god those are some lovely shoes! Shoes is my weakness actually hahaha… So if ever I go to Rajasthan I won’t go home without a pair at least. The stuffed toys looked colorful and unique. Never seen anything like it.
I visited Jaipur few months back and it’s full of culture and heritage…and offers a lot of souveniers to take back home
This is are so colorful and creative. Ill probably get a stuff toy. It looks so unique plus it has a traditional design. With all these artistic items. I’m just curious is Rajasthan branded as an artistic state?
Hi Cai. India has many artistic States. In fact, each state has something unique to offer in terms of arts and crafts. However, Rajasthan is high on the list.
The colour and vibrancy of Rajasthan can be seen in its art, culture and every facet of the life there. Everything from paintings to Jutis seems to have a royal stamp. For me, however, it is the amazing and mouth watering sweets of Rajasthan that tempt me.
Oh yes! The mouthwatering delicacies of Rajasthan are our favourite too 🙂
I have a rather love-hate attitude towards souvenirs. On one hand, I feel like I’m being part of the commercialisation of the place and that I’m objectifying something so spiritual as a journey, but on the other, I do love taking something back home reminding me of the places I’ve been to and the experiences I had. I like these souvenirirs you’ve listed because they’re not too commercial, rather ethnic and with a strong connection yo the culture.
True Iris. Rajasthan is such a treasure trove of artisan crafts. It is really hard not to buy something 🙂
Great article for people who loves shopping! This state has a variety of souvenirs to offer. Would love to buy some bed sheets since you mentioned that its one of finest quality bedcovers and quilts made of cotton or silk can be found here.
Great round up of the type of souvenirs you can buy in Rajasthan. The printing block looks really interesting – it really reminds me of the copper batik moulds you can find in southeast Asia. It’s interesting to see a similar process used in printing textile, even if the design of the mould is different. I also like how the stuffed toys look – nice and sturdy, and colourful.
Hello, Thanks for sharing such a fantastic blog.I really appreciate your blog to share information about Rajasthan …Visiting in Rajasthan is amazing experience. This is amazing place with historical monuments and rich traditional culture….such an excellent post..
Rajasthan is one place where going frugal doesn’t help. I recently went on a trip and came back with two extra bags of luggage with bandhej dress materials, saree, paintings, jootis and what not !! I can understand the importance of this post 🙂
buying souvenirs can be overwhelming especially when there are a lot of items to choose from! thanks for setting things out! id love to buy the bangles and stuffed toys btw!
Really a wonderful post. Thanks for posting such an informative & useful post with us. keep posting & inspire us like this post.
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