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I have lived in Bangalore for nearly 20 years now. When I first moved to this city, there were no malls. Weekend entertainment and shopping meant trips to the trinity: MG Road, Brigade and Commercial Street. A lot has changed over the years.: the crowd is still young in these places, but dwindling. Metro has taken away the beauty of MG Road. I still go here at least once every three months for old times sake and when I need a break. Indira Nagar, where we lived, was a quaint neighborhood that offered nothing in terms of shopping. There have been several requests for this post and I made multiple trips to take pictures. every time I was surprised to see lesser number of people than before on Commercial Street. Effect on online shopping? Perhaps. Here are my most trusted stores in Bangalore to buy fabrics for anything from upholstering cushions…

OK, so I wanted to buy two pieces of 16*16 cushion covers online for my black sofa in the living room. How tough can it be? I went to Amazon as I usually do and looked for cushion covers in light colors with either abstract or floral patterns.  I thought I should be done choosing and ordering in less than 30 minutes. But, I wasted two precious days. Yes, you read it right. There are only two possible explanations: either I’m so jobless, or  I’m so indecisive. But, it was neither. The real reason? I was shopping on Amazon. It is as wrong and time consuming as it can get to shop for such things I realized. With regret. I was totally frustrated. Am I that obsessed with patterns? I’m the one to believe that if I like something the first time, I will go for it, else it will…

Prices start from 80 INR per metre and goes up to 300 INR  per metre, let me introduce you to the hidden paradise in Chennai tucked away in a small street called Pantheon road in Egmore, the very famous Cotton Street. From  pure cotton, sateen cotton to denim and tissue fabrics everything is available under one roof. There are a string of around 20 – 25 shops lined next to each other.  As the name suggests cotton fabrics rule the market here. Fabrics like chiffon, tussar, georgette, and denim are available, but not velvet and other heavier fabrics. It is a smaller version of Commercial Street in Bangalore or Sarojini Nagar in Delhi, but only has multi purpose fabrics for you and your home. Best Time to Visit: Most shops open at 11 am and close by 8:30 pm. Few shops have varied timings, Shop no. 27 ANU fabrics  opens…

Cacophony of color and voices. Overwhelmed. Women dressed in their elegant best. Where it feels like an over-sized FabIndia showroom. Where new-age khadi and linen fabrics overshadow kanjivaram and banarasi sarees. That pretty much sums up my first day experience at Vastrabharana: the handloom exhibition organized by Crafts Council of Karnataka. It is an annual exhibition that happens in the last week/first week of September/October. One for which women save in the months leading upto it so that they can splurge to their heart’s content.And I’m not kidding. The queue at the cash/credit card counter was longer than the entry line to Chinnaswamy stadium to see you know what. What does this exhibition have? Fabrics: ajrakh, hand-block printed, kanjivaram, pochampally, ikat, kalamkari, linen, andhra khadi, kantha, banarasi, chikankari, tussar, raw silk, chanderi, maheshwari etc Saris Blouse material Stoles in silk and cotton Silver and other handmade jewellery How is this…