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 The
word village brings a very vivid picture in
one's mind- thatched roof, mud houses, buffalos, bullock
carts and people sitting under a tree and gossiping.
But Hauz Khas Village is no ordinary village.
It is an elite village where one can find exquisite
traditional products. At the backdrop of the market
is the magnificent Hauz Khas fort which lends
it an ancient touch and at the other end are the luscious
green Deer park and Rose Garden.
 The
speciality of this place is that it has only traditional
stuff. Though a very small market yet it encompasses
the stuff from entire India. Immense care has been
taken to retain the 'village appearance' of the market.
There are ethnic showrooms in the narrow bylanes of
the village. They are set up in a zig-zag manner and
the protruding buildings lend an authentic traditional
touch to the place.
For those seeking traditional things Hauz Khas
Village is the place to shop. As Mrs.Rama says,
"I am building a house and would like to do
it in an ethnic way. I came here because I get original
furniture from Rajasthan and it will be of good quality."
 Here
one can find ethnic home furnishings from all over
India. The Darwaza (door) of Jodhpur,
the carved windows of Rajasthan, the marble-carved
tables, and many more home accessories like paintings,
antique and traditional wall hangings, hookahs
(smoking pipe), traditional almirahas etc are
found here.
Besides wooden products there are metal products
too. The beautiful brass wares from Moradabad,
brass garden swings, lamps, wall hangings, pots and
many more things. "Though they might be a
little expensive, they are really good and worth it.
I want to buy all of them for my house, "
says an Australian tourist Rebecca.
Also there is a bylane which has arrays of shops
dealing in silver stuff. The silver collection leaves
one bedazzled. The lovely silver jewellery and
silver crockery cannot be ignored. As Deepa one
of the shopkeepers says, "All that we have
is traditional jewellery and most of our clients are
foreigners or the elite of Delhi. They prefer ethnic
Indian jewellery."
 The
place has a classy collection of clothes from the
best designers. The boutiques house the best clothing
from all over India made by master craftsmen. Each
piece is exclusive. There's a small Rajasthani shop
in a corner of the village. Owner of the shop Ram
says, "I only keep antique clothes and most
of my buyers are foreigners or rich people."
As Rasna who has come here shopping for her marriage
finds it an apt place to shop traditional stuff. "I
want to buy traditional clothes for my wedding. But
I want them to be exclusive. So this is the best place.
Though it is a little expensive but it is worth it,
as I am paying for the exclusivity."
Besides being a shopping complex for the elite
it also has a restaurant Bistro which is built
inside the fort. The restaurant provides various types
of cuisines and of course to lend and ethnic touch
there are Rajasthani dancers and singers who
keep the guests entertained.
- Avni Sood
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