Shopping in Pondicherry

Well, we always keep aside a ‘Shopping Allowance’ for any place that we visit. 🙂 That includes allocation for memorabilia, things for the house, clothes, personal effects….After all, there is always this nagging need to get back authentic things back from our trips. Why?! We have gone bonkers in Udaipur (read Shopping in Udaipur), Kolkata, Chennai, Bhutan (read Shopping in Bhutan), and have even had to arrange for new bags, just to carry back the shopping loot! Had similar plans for Pondicherry. And here is what I found. But first, let me warn you that I have no photos for this post. They accidently got deleted while I was transferring them from my camera to me laptop L

Antique Shops: Let me say this without beating about the bush – the antique shops in Pondicherry are the same type that you would find anywhere else in India. Nothing unique. They sell the same silver and semi-precious stones jewellery, Kashmiri stoles, Rajasthani bags, wood-carved animals etc. Nothing unique to Pondicheery. And are outrageously priced too. If you take my advice, don’t even bother to check them out. Waste of time!

Auroville: Had taken some lovely photos, but alas, they are gone. There are a handful of boutiques in Auroville that sell products made by the locals of Pondicherry. Lovely stuff! Be it for home décor or clothes or personal effects. Quite steep prices here, but the products are stylish and exclusive.

Shop selling wood carved figurines: This shop cum workshop is right on the main street of Pondicherry. Run by an elderly gentleman, the place is a treasure house of wood-carved figurines of all types, shapes and sizes. Since they are all handmade, the prices are all on the higher side.

Stone Sculptures: There are plenty of small shacks making and selling stone sculptures for the house and the garden. Depending on your ability to carry back home the sculptures owing to their weight, they’d make a lovely sight back home. We recommend you buy the sculptures from the highway  where the prices are a lot better. Mahabalipuram too has a huge number of shops selling the sculptures. Again, the rates there, too, are steep!

Happy Shopping. Let me know what you took fancy to and picked up! 🙂