The Expert Guide to Shopping in Hyderabad

By popular demand and with excellent feedback from visitors from Dublin to Sao Paolo, from to Sydney to Buenos Aires, from California to Tokyo, I bring you:

Ashley’s Expert Guide to Shopping in Hyderabad

(You learn a thing or two shopping in Hyderabad for 6 months…)

Fixed Price Stores:

These are stores where bargaining is as acceptable as it is in an American shopping mall (i.e. you’ll receive a chuckle at the notion).

Hyderabad Central: Great selection, moderate prices (great prices for the quality). Best place for a ‘one stop shop.’ Includes an extensive ‘Ethnic’ section as well as western and ‘fusion’ styles.

Neeru’s Elite (across from City Center Mall): The best place to get top quality formals including sarees and lahengas, but also one of the most expensive. Consistently good quality, huge selection of men’s and women’s formals, as well as a good salwar kameez selection and occasionally some ‘fusion’ fashions.

City Center: Looks kind of depressing, but is possibly the ‘malliest mall’ in Hyderabad. The best place to get ‘fusion’ clothing for women. Globus has ethnic, fusion, and western sections and Chemistry is a new Bombay chain that has some great western/fusion stuff, but at western prices (shirts for $30-40 US, dresses for $50-70 US). Globus is cheaper, but Chemistry has better quality.

FabIndia: Best for linens and clothes, but also contains an interesting random ‘organic’ section with things like soap and dried food. The clothing contains muted colors and avoids the bling of most other Indian clothing stores. More expensive than other retailers of equal quality (HYD Central, Neeru’s), but the selection of muted colors can’t be found elsewhere.

Metro Shoes Bombay: Best selection and quality, I bought several pairs here a year ago, and they are the only shoes I bought in India that haven’t broken yet. There are easily over 100 open-toed women’s shoes to choose from, including many western and Indian styles. They also carry some western brands like Levi’s and Geoxx. Most women’s shoes run 800-1400 Rs.

Levi’s (Jubilee Hills Location): Biggest selection of Levi’s in Hyderabad, this store is pretty big for Levi’s even compared to Levi’s stores in Europe. It sells all of the Levi’s designs from the European stores at 1/3 -> ½ the price. New jeans cost 2000 Rs ($50 US).

“Fixed Price Stores”:

These stores are “fixed price” because they have price tags but are willing to give discounts, especially for bulk purchases and/or purchases of expensive items. Approach bargaining with the ‘Is there a discount? What about bulk discounts?’ phrasing, since they may give the ‘this is a fixed price store’ line. Rest assured, they have given some hefty discounts in the past, despite the effectively optional price tags.

Saga: The best quality scarves and pashminas I’ve seen anywhere in India, with prices to match. Run by Kashmiris, the head salesman made me Kashmiri mint tea with bottled water and discussed Kashmiri culture for an hour before giving me a 40% discount on two pashminas (* queue ‘results not normal’ disclaimer, most people get 5% - 10% off). They also sell tchotchkes and carpets (they will try to sell you a carpet), but the tchotchkes you can buy elsewhere for significantly cheaper prices and equal quality. Ask for a discount, especially if you buy more than one, even if it is going to be a ‘lifetime gift’ as the salesman likes to put it. If you enjoy textiles you should ask to see the 40,000 Rs pashmina/scarf – it has the most amazing craftsmanship I’ve ever seen.

Maglam: This store, in an old house, has multiple stories of tchotchkes ranging from hookas to place settings to bed linens to elephant statues. If it is a common tchotchke sold in India, it is probably sold in this store. The prices are usually significantly higher than you would pay almost anywhere else, but it is easy to get a lot of things at once with reasonable quality. They most definitely will bargain, especially for bulk discounts – the more you spend the better discount you should shoot for.

Swagat: Popular ex-pat place to buy pearls and jewelry, this place has good quality and hefty discounts (although they are ‘discounts’ on marked-up prices). This doesn’t have a ‘market’ atmosphere, but bargaining is required or you will get fleeced. Try to go with someone knowledgeable about quality.

Markets:

Full price is for suckers.

Shilparamam: If you have time, you should go here first and last. First so that you can see what they have that you want and get an idea for the cost so that if you see the items at fixed price stores later, you’ll know if it is a good price. And last because this has the most extensive selection of Indian crafts (textiles, wooden toys, folk art) in Hyderabad. They also sell clothes but you can get better quality at Hyderabad Central without the hassle. You MUST bargain here or you will get fleeced, and the ‘cut their price in half’ strategy from other parts of the world doesn’t apply either. You can frequently get the items for a quarter of their starting price, and they often will laugh at you after you pay them a 200% inflated price. Many stalls sell the same things, so shop around, and the ‘he’s selling it for X’ is often very effective. You should pay between 100-300 Rs for scarves here, depending on the quality. You should NOT pay more than 400 Rs, even for the ‘highest’ quality that they have. If you want to pay more than that, you can get better quality from Hyderabad Central and Saga.

Charminar: Hyderabad’s historic muslim bazaar in the old city, this is often better as a site-seeing event rather than a shopping event because many people find this area overwhelming with the crowds and beggars. Don’t buy pearls here unless you are with someone you know and trust who has a good sense for quality and excellent bargaining talent. This is Hyderabad’s most famous place to buy bangles, and you should bargain, bargain, bargain. You will do significantly better if you learn phrases in Hindi/Urdu, and you should NOT pay more for bangles than you would pay at home. Some German tourists I know spent $30 US on one bangle, which was possibly the biggest rip off I’ve heard of. Glass bangles should cost no more than 3 Rs each at the highest, highest end. I got two bangles per rupee when I went to Charminar in a burkha with a friend from the office, that means that I got 1000 bangles for 500 Rs ($12.50 US). Clay bangles will cost more, and you will be upsold on them because of the high profit margin. Just remember, you can sometimes buy 1000 glass bangles for the price of 1 or 2 clay bangles. Climb the Charminar monument to get a good view of the bazaar from above (100 Rs for foreigners).

Key Shopping Phrases in Hyderabad:

Hydrabadi Hindi/Urdu:

Interesting fact: The Muslims in Hyderabad typically speak Hindi, while the Hindus typically do not. The Hindus typically speak Telugu, a South Indian language written in a unique script that is, and that I am told is the second largest native language in India. Telugu is also the official language of the State of Andhra Pradesh, of which Hyderabad is the capital. When you arrive in Hyderabad, the signs are often written in English, Telugu, and Urdu script (which looks like Arabic).

Pre-bargaining optional bonding time:

Aap kaise hai?

How are you?

MaiN* teek hoong.

I’m fine.

Aap ka naam kya hai?

What’s your name?

Mera naam ___ hai.

My name is ___.

Ja-i-ye.

Please go.

The meaty (non-veg) shopping stuff:

Kitne?

How much?

Asli ki mat kya hai? NahiN* firanghi mat, Hindustani mat.

What’s the real price? Not the foreign price, the Indian price.

Mujhe maloom hai ki yeh dam nahiN sahiN hai.

I know that that is not the best price.

MaiN Hyderabad meN ek/do/teen mahine raha kur ai hoong.

I have been in Hyderabad for one/two/three months. (recommended to gain credibility).

MaiN hindi sikh raha (m) /rahi (f) hoong.

I’m studying (masculine/feminine) Hindi.

MaiN hindi bolta/bolti hoong nahiN bahoot accha.

I don’t speak hindi very well.

Yeh bahoot sundar hai.

It’s very beautiful.

Shukriya.

Thank you.

Pir milenge.

Au revoir/Good bye (implying you will meet again).

Allah hafiz (pron. Alla-feez to my ears).

Adieu/Good bye (implying something is ending or you may not see each other again soon).

*Shukriya and Allah hafiz are Urdu and wouldn’t be used by Hindu Hindi-speakers such as the people in Verinasi.

*N= nasal sound, almost silent at the end of words, but uses a French-sounding nasal that is dependant on the vowel preceding it. Most people will understand you if you just leave it off.

Telugu:

I really only know a few. Asking someone who you think is a Hindu if they speak Telugu can often open doors for you. Then you can say:

Baunava?

How are you?

Bauna.

I’m fine.

Saying anything in Telugu tends to really amuse people because it is such a random language that no one outside of Andhra Pradesh learns, especially Firanghis (white foreigners). Your efforts to speak Telugu are often emphatically appreciated.

Here is another Telugu phrase I know:

Car vacchina tarvata nakku cheppu.

Tell me when the car is here.

Often putting any English word in the place of ‘Car’ (most commonly, ‘Pizza’ ;) can ask a Telugu driver or guard to notify you when X arrives.