Kairasi, long considered the Mecca of matching blouse pieces, is one place you can rest assured you’ll find something you like at. Walk along Pondy Bazaar’s crowded pavement and enter this decades-old establishment, and you’d think a rainbow has descended {and exploded into a million hues} in this shop. The service is astounding; give the gentleman behind the counter your saree, and he disappears in the back for 30 seconds and comes back with material in a matching shade you couldn’t have imagined possible — in butter silk, raw silk, two-by-two or pure silk.
Choose also from brocades — real and imitation — and reams of blended fabric. Bandhani and screen printed cotton are also available at very low costs, perfect for everyday kurtas or low-stakes saree blouses you can risk giving to a roadside tailor! The shop is best accessed by public transport as parking can be a hassle.