Vibgyor Impex remains a trusted name when it comes to buying quality accessories and other knickknacks. The specialty store sells an exhaustive collection of glass beads, wooden beads, hand-crafted earrings, jewelry boxes and decorative accents. The store employs highly trained and skilled artisans who are masters of their craft and are also abreast with emerging designs, trends and patterns.
Mehrotra Silk Factory has been a Varanasi tradition since the year 1992. This outlet of the silk emporium finds itself on a narrow lane close to the main railway station. The hole-in-the-wall silk boutique is a great place to shop for reasonably priced silk saris, scarves and other garments, all weaved from pure silk. The store stocks an elaborate selection of tailore-made apparel, beautifully diverse in fittings, patterns and designs.
Making the most of its prime location along the busy Dasashwamedh Road, Sunita Beads Shop is one place where you will be spoilt for choice. Every inch of space on all three walls are taken up by jewelry on display. Whether its shiny bracelets, earrings, anklets, necklaces or colorful glassy beads that catch your eye, it's all for the taking here. Be warned: you may have have a tough time deciding what to finally pick up especially since the mind-boggling number of displays spill from the walls onto the floor.
Located a few minutes away from the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, the Raj Bandhu Sweet Shop is buzzing with activity during all times of the day. Selling the choicest sweetmeats in town at fixed rates, you can even sample a few of the usual suspects such as gulab jamun, jalebi, motichur laddoo and others. Spicy deep-fried snacks that Indians consume at tea time are also on offer. This shop is hard to miss because of the line of policemen who sit right by the entrance to guard the little streets leading up to the temple.
Tucked away in the by-lanes of Varanasi's Old City lies the Vishnu Tea Emporium whose hand-painted signs are seen on almost every wall of the ghats area and its alleys. Young Vishnu who speaks a smattering of French proudly discusses how he explains the tea-making process to French tourists in their own language. Home-made spices and coffees are up for sale, while those wanting to sample a hot tea before buying it can do so too.
Located in the same building as the Sahi River View Guesthouse, the Harmony Book Shop is more than just another air conditioned book store - this is a meeting spot for aspiring scholars, hippies, students, artists, researchers and casual tourists. Opened in 1996, visitors are treated to an incredible gamut of books ranging across gender studies, Greek Philosophy, aesthetics, healing, Ayurveda, Islam, Judaism, Kamasutra, politics, Sufism, Taoism, tribal studies and much more. If you are unable to come to Varanasi, fret not! These guys ship internationally so look up their website and place an order.