Bargain Hunting

Bargain Hunting

For such a small town, Darjeeling is a serious shopping center, with top-quality tea, Tibetan artifacts, jewelry, thangkas (silk-scroll paintings), antiques, statues, woolens, shawls, hats, Tibetan motif T-shirts, suede bags, masks, carpets, and brass jewelry and hand-loom items from the northeastern states of Mizoram and Manipur available in abundance. Look also for the finely-carved turquoise items that are quite reasonably priced and are said to originate in Tibet. Masks of all shapes, sizes, and ferocity are locally carved. Musical instruments, some exotically priced, are available in a few shops. There are even special stores to choose a kukri, an ornate Nepali dagger. Antiques—kettles, fantastically beautiful statues (of revered deity Tara who represents compassion and of bodhisattvas who are considered "the enlightened beings" in Buddhism), finely carved bowls—range from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 25,000. Several shops will sew a Tibetan motif of your choice on a T-shirt while you watch. The Tibetan Refugee Center offers a small selection of beautifully woven carpets.