Hit Up The Pavements Of Gariahat For These On-Trend, Funky Accessories

Quirky, kitschy {and some downright silly} street style with designs that pack a sense of humour — check out what I found on the streets of Gariahat.

From studs to dangers to jhumkas, faux silver to terracotta, dokra and stones — Gariahat and Dhakuria street stalls stock a wide range of earrings. We loved these elephant head jhumkas and the danglers made of safety blades. The golden inverted commas and purple beaded hoops are perfect for wearing with both ethnic and Indo-western wear. All the earrings came for a cool INR 60 except the elephant headed jhumkas which came for INR 80.

A shop opposite the Gariahat bridge on the Rashbehari side {just opposite the Gariahat chess club} has got this range of bags that will make you go wow. They stock a few very Andy Warhol-ish prints and replicas of famous paintings like The Birth of Venus and works by Gustav Klimt — these bags are seriously pushing the envelope as far as high street fashion are concerned. I especially like the single print bags like the one with the lips and the red stiletto heel. They come for about INR 150 per piece.

Funnily enough, there are a large number of trippy floor mats available on either side of the Gariahat flyover. The ubiquitous scary tiger print paposh {as the mats are called in Bengali}, parrots and strawberries in eye-popping colours will jazz up your floor space at home. These mats start as low as INR 150 and go up to INR 300.

A very special mention goes to a beautiful, handpainted tea kettle I picked up from Rashbehari for a cool INR 250. As a centerpiece or simply for decoration purposes, I think that this level of customisation and expense makes the bargain completely worth your while.

Start your shopping spree in the early afternoon as a number of shops don’t open till late afternoon-evening.