The colourful state of Rajasthan offers much more than a visitors paradise to the tourist. Shopping in Udaipur is a must and one must not miss the pottery, the articles in stone, clay, leather, wood, ivory, lacquer-wear, glass, brass, silver, gold and textiles. Most are exquisitely handcrafted and worth every coin spent.

Brass items, white metal articles and textile can be purchased from the Hathipole.

Cane Furniture and other items from cane are a good choice and some of the items you’ll find are beautifully crafted so you won’t be disappointed.

Carpets and Durries Woollen carpets made in Persian style and cotton durries made in geometrical motifs are an excellent choice if you are looking for something for the house.

Handicrafts A lot of big show rooms are sprawled all over the city. A state-run handicrafts showroom is situated at Chetak Circle. If buying from any of the showrooms, a little bargaining is always helpful since they have exorbitantly high prices for tourists. Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandal also runs a shop where one can buy quality handicraft articles at a reasonable price.

Jewellery Rajasthan became famous for its jewellery industry from very early times, being an important source of precious and semi-precious stones such as emeralds, garnets, agate, amethyst, topaz and lapiz lazuli. Though Jaipur is internationally renowned for its exquisite Kundan (the art of setting precious stones in gold) and meena (enamel) jewellery, meenakari is also done in Nathdwara near Udaipur. Lac and glass bangles are a special attraction of Rajasthan and are made in a variety of colours and designs in the area. Silver is commonly worn by rural women and one can pick up old tribal silver jewellery as well.

Leather Articles Leather is an essential raw material for making musical instruments, especially percussion instruments (such as the tabla and dhol) and the stringed instruments (like kamaycha) used by Rajasthani folk musicians. It is also used for footwear and other accessories and the designs are plentiful. Leather products are another good to buy here as it is often cheaper than in other countries.

Paintings Anyone who is fond of paintings should not miss out Rajasthani paintings which can broadly be classified as Wall, Cloth and Miniature Paintings. To help you in your quest visit one of the many galleries as you can’t fail to find something you’ll fancy.

Wall Paintings Walls and ceilings embellished with colourful paintings are a common sight in Rajasthan. Even huts have intricate mandanas on them. Some of the finest frescos adorn the havelis of the area.
Cloth Paintings include the phad (scroll paintings illustrated with episodes of folk legends that the Bhopas narrate) and the pichwai (cloth hangings used behind the deity in Vaishnava temples). Done in bright colours with bold outlines, these paintings have strong religious traditions.
Miniature Paintings Different schools of this fascinating art have flourished here since the 16th century, each with its own distinctive style. The Kishangarh school is best known for its Bani Thani paintings. A totally different style with highly exaggerated features - long necks, large almond-shaped eyes, long fingers and the use of subdued colours.