INR 2500 enough for souvenirs?

kellogg

i will spend 5 days in India, golden triangle. im just wondering if $2500 is enought for buying souvenirs?

Things i'm going to buy
- Pashmina
- Tea
- Incense stick
- Tshirt
- handcraft

what else should i buy (no carpet)?

nayan

Do you mean Rs2500 or $2500?

Rs 2500 should be enough to buy all this unless you are planning to buy a real wool good quality pashmina(that alone can cost above 5000).

A cheap(souvenir quality)"pashmina" stole will cost around Rs150 to Rs 400(after bargaining).
Tea - dargeeling tea? depends on quality. But a small sized gift pack will not be very costly.
Incense stick - available in all grocery stores for Rs15 to 25 for a packet(good quality). If you want to buy souvenir type from tourist shops it will depend but should not be too expensive.
T-shirt - souvenir t-shirts start around Rs 100.
handicraft - from Rs 25(small items like wooden toys, key rings etc) to sky is the limit

Visit the central cottage industries emporium in janpath, the state handicraft emporiums in baba kharak singh marg or just browse through the numerous small shops on janpath. you will get plenty of cheap souvenir ideas.

kellogg

Rs 2500

thank you so much

Mike Cork

$2500 is more than it costs me to go on a 3 week holiday with my wife. Including flights, accommodation, food and live like a king. There would even be enough to buy the gifts if I could be bothered.

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Nick-H

You can't even smell a decent shawl for Rs2500!

gaurav1441

Except the original Pashmina you can get all the other items in good number of quantities for Rs 2500.

wonderwomanusa

Well, not real Pashmina, no. But there are other shawls; the ones from Kulu (merino wool) are my favorites, and they are very affordable.

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dillichaat

It's a question of taste (the shawls). Personally I think the entire pashmina-thing is just a massive tourist-scam with more junk being sold than the genuine article (which is impossible to get under 6000-9000 Rs and up). Better not to focus on the name and go for something you like, then bargain hard.

If you're in Delhi, take a look in the central cottage industries emporium on CP, prices are fixed there and quality is reasonable. Or check out Dilli Haat (open air market opposite to INA, has small stalls, if they bring you to a big store called 'delhi haat' it's a scam).

The items you want:
'pashmina' --> Buy a genuine, synthetic article for as little as 200 Rs.

Tea: anything from 50 Rs/100 grams to 10000 Rs/100 grams but imho, unless you know your stuff, better to buy this abroad.

Incense: I pay 15 Rs/pack for good, tibetan incense

T-shirt: no more than 250 Rs unless you want something fancy.

Handicraft: varies

Suggestions: Small statues of the gods in terracotta, painted or (but this will be out of your budget range) a brass statue.

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Nick-H

Shawls: of course, it is too hot to wear them here, so I am out of touch, but I like the plain wool with embroidered flowers, and I think I'd be looking at Rs5,000 to Rs50,000 (yes, I have spent that much; on a 50th-Birthday present for a very special friend. Well, I think I spent about 30,000 but it was a full size shawl, and embroidered all over) if I wanted one. The ones with a few flowers sketchily worked are not so much, but the more complex designs are. I am entirely unable to tell whether they are actually hand-stitched (the shops say they are) but they are lovely.

I've taken away saris for girlfriends and friend girls, either to wear to to drape over chairs or windows. If silk is the order of the day, then Rs,1000 upwards to infinity. On the other hand, a pretty cotton sari can be bought for a couple of hundred.

If the budget is to include gifts, then it is probably way, way, too little. On the other hand, if the aim is to take home something to give you fond memories of one particular trip, the Rs2,500 is ample. Everything on the list except for the Pashmina (and speciality teas) is quite cheap. You could add to that even one small brass statue for your display and come home happy.

Another way to be reminded of the colour of India's Hindu religion is to buy the papier mache models and statues. These will be incredibly cheap and very light.

brishti

instead of shawls - scarves / stoles / dupattas [which could be worn as a scarf as well] is another gift item you could consider, kellogg.
they range from INR 100 to whatever, and there is an infinite variety available.



:brishti

dillichaat

Here in Delhi it's chilling down nicely in the evenings now Day before yesterday my terrace thermometer registered 14 centigrade @ 6:20 AM. Time to bring out mu Yak-wool shawl, a very nice piece I found in Leh and paid 4000 Rs for. In 2 weeks I'm off to the Chennai heat (again) and then Mumbai for business.

*jyoti*

Nope. Sorry. Kellogg's will cost you at least 200 if you want anything worth buying.



As for varieties, this is my personal favorite.

brishti

'kellogg' is the OP's handle, jyoti!



:brishti

*jyoti*

lol. Oops!! :P

Well, I still like Mango flavor the best. *Grin*

Prashant.M

I also read it as Kellogg - as in cornflakes - and went WTF and why in singular. I then assumed that it was a joke which just went whoosh over my head.

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