Country's oldest kinari, gota mart rules even now

Shopping Paradise

Established over a stretch of one kilometer, Kinari Bazaar is India’s oldest and most well-known market which trades in laces, borders, buttons, gota and kinaris et al.

Based in the heart of old Delhi, the first sight that greets you as you walk into the famed Kinari Bazaar lane is rows upon rows of glittering buttons, diamond studded laces in designs which could make any royalty envious, intricately woven patterns of gota, artificial ornaments, jewellery in gold and silver polish, regal-sized rings and embellished beaded chains, bracelets and oh-so-much bling!

At the moment, preparations for Rakhi, coming up in August is already in full swing. Madhu Jain, a housewife from Shastri Nagar has been a regular customer at Kinari Bazaar for the past 15 years.

“I hardly go to my local market for shopping. Whenever there is any function in the family, we come to shop here.”  Purchasing artificial or real jewellery is no hassle either. One can find all kinds of colours to satisfy his or her’s heart’s      desire.

Neha Gupta, a resident of Shahadra and a boutique owner travels to Kinari Bazaar almost every other month. “We need material for our boutique and the things you get here are not available anywhere else in Delhi. The goods are reasonably priced and of consistent quality.”

Most of the shop-owners have been here for several years. All kinds of materials required in weddings - ranging from money envelopes to thali decorations can be found right here.

The wedding merchandise found in high-end shops of Delhi is purchased by retailers from Kinari Bazaar. “Our regular customers are those who are willing to pay any price for good quality material,” says Sunita Gupta of Gupta Zari Emporium.   

“We receive all kinds of customers round the year. 85 per cent of shopkeepers deal with wedding related products and the remaining 15 per cent offer seasonal goods for festivals like Dussehra, Diwali etc,” says Rohit of New Swastik Collection, a shop dealing with laces, gota work, stones and beads.

Old timers say that Kinari Bazaar used to be a residential area much before it became a market. In fact, people still reside on the first floors of the buildings which house shops on the ground floor.