Art, antiques, crafts and jewellery
Much the best area to go shopping for art and antiques - even if sceptics do consider it vastly overpriced and rarely authentic - is the small Sunder Nagar Market , in a wealthy residential area near Purana Qila and the zoo. However, you shouldn't expect a bargain - the antique and art trade in India is a cut-throat business. Bear in mind that it is illegal to take art objects over one hundred years old out of the country and, strictly speaking, antiques should be registered and trading in them is against the law.

Elsewhere, curio shops aimed at tourists sell everything from carpets and fabrics to handicrafts and collectors' items. Few locals bother to venture to the stretch of Janpath known as Tibetan Market , packed with vendors feeding off the tourist trade. In fact its shops (few still run by Tibetans) have a fine assortment of jewellery , using semiprecious stones and even silver . Be sure you can tell the difference between silver and white metal, and bargain hard. A concentration of state government emporia with fixed but fair prices can be found on Baba Kharak Singh Marg near Connaught Place. Dilli Haat , Safdarjang, has a similar selection of shops and cafés to complement the shopping.

Central Cottage Industries Emporium , Jawahar Vyapar Bhawan, Janpath. Popular and convenient multistorey government-run complex, with handicrafts, carpets, leather and reproduction miniatures at fixed (if fractionally high) rates. Jewellery ranges from tribal silver anklets to costume jewellery and precious stones.

Cottage of Arts and Jewels , 50 Hauz Khas Village tel 011/696 7418. Interesting, eccentric mix with jewellery, curios and papier-mâché. But the best of Mrs Jain's collection, including miniatures and precious stones, is not on display: you'll have to ask to see it.

Ellora , Shop 9, Sunder Nagar. Silver specialists selling jewellery and Indian handicrafts.

Friends Oriental Arts & Electric Company , Shops 15 & 25, Sunder Nagar Market. One shop devoted to an interesting range of art and handicrafts, the other specializing in brassware and things electric.

Jain Super Store , 172 Palika Bazaar, Gate 6. Perfumes, bottles, tea, incense, spices and the like at very reasonable prices.

Lotus Eaters , Santoshi Shopping Complex. Fashion boutique with a mixed bag including good-quality silver trinkets and jewellery.

M Zee Handicrafts , 48 Palika Bazaar, Gate 3, Connaught Place. Good for silver jewellery.

Natesans , 13 Sunder Nagar Market. An established and reliable name in Indian art and antiquities with quality assured, but at a price.

Nav-Rattan Arts , Shop 26, Sunder Nagar Market. As the name ("nine gems") suggests, an emphasis on gems, jewellery, silver, bronze, tapestries, and antique perfume bottles.

Neemrana Shop , F-580 Lado Sarai, near Qutab Complex. Run by the renowned hotel group of the same name, the shop has a chic clientele and offers a range of lifestyle products as well as a small collection of antiques and objets d'art .

Plutus , 10 Hauz Khas Village. An attractively presented shop selling replicas, bronzes and an assorted collection of silver and gold jewellery.

Poonam Backliwal , Shop 5, Sunder Nagar Market. Established in 1880, Poonam Backliwal specializes in miniatures, bronze and stone sculptures, Tanjore glass paintings and medieval jewellery.

R-Expo , 1115 Main Bazaar, Paharganj. Aromatic oils, bath stuff, scented candles, sandalwood, massage implements, chillums , solid and liquid perfumes. It's all of rather dubious quality, but beautifully presented.

Books
Delhi has a wide selection of places to buy books and magazines . Pavement vendors around Connaught Place will sell you anything from Sidney Sheldon to Vivekananda, as well as guidebooks. Bookshops - of which the best are in Khan Market, 4km south of Connaught Place - generally lack the Western trivia, but sell all kinds of publications in English, Hindi, and other European languages. The shops of South Extension, a short distance further south, are gradually superseding those of Khan Market. You'll find books on all aspects of Indian history and culture, and an ever-growing supply of short works by Indian authors published by Penguin India. Upmarket hotels often have their own bookshops, which usually tend towards the coffee-table market: Khazana , at the Taj Mahal , and Jainson's at Janpath Hotel , are worth perusing. Several budget hotels have multilingual collections of secondhand books for sale, swap or part exchange.

Amrit Book Co , 21 N-Block, Connaught Place. Vast stock of novels and books on history, philosophy and religion.

Bahri & Sons , Khan Market tel 011/469 4610, bahrisons@vsnl.com . Legendary shop with books piled to the ceiling, covering every possible subject; if you find the cramped shop confusing ask one of the helpful assistants. Bahri's will order books and ship them abroad and are reliable.

The Bookshop , Khan Market. Small but good selection in this popular market renowned for its bookshops, with all the latest titles and a comprehensive section on Indian literature, religion and travel.

Book Mark , A/2 Ring Road, South Extension 1. A modern bookshop with a growing reputation and a varied selection, from fiction to travel.

Book World , Shop 7, Palika Bazaar. A wealth of glossy hardbacks, architectural books, travelogues and novels. Credit cards accepted.

Crossword , 2nd floor, Ebony, D-4 South Extension 2. Modern bookshop in a department store, with plenty of elbow room to browse: popular titles, reference and a good magazine section.

English Book Store , 17 L-Block, Connaught Place. A good place to get Western blockbusters and books on adventure sports and yoga.

Full Circle , Khan Market. A pleasant and versatile bookshop with an emphasis on New Age titles, as well as general travel and guidebooks, and music and a café upstairs.

Galgotia & Sons , 17-B Connaught Place. Cavernous room stacked with new and secondhand books and out-of-print titles. Topics range from cookery to travel, and it's well worth a browse.

Moti Lal Benarsi Das , Nai Sarak, Chandni Chowk. One of India's premier publishing institutions, retailing as well as publishing academic books on India.

New Book Depot , 18 B-Block, Connaught Place. Well-stocked shop with international titles, bargain hardbacks and a good selection of books covering religion, the environment and society in India.

RS Books & Prints , A-40 South Extension 2. A selection of antiquarian books, with interesting old maps and prints.

Rajiv Book House , Shop 30, Palika Bazaar. Expensive photo-packed hardbacks, great for gifts and collections, and often reduced in price, as well as cheaper novels and paperbacks.

Timeless , 46 Housing Society, South Extension 1. A beautiful shop with tasteful piles of coffee-table books, some published by Timeless itself. Complementary herbal tea or coffee for customers.

Fabrics and clothes
In Delhi you can buy anything from high-quality silks, homespun cottons and Kashmiri jackets and shawls to traditional everyday wear and multicoloured tie-dyed Western-style outfits. Buyers are expected to bargain in most street-side stalls, which can make shopping all the more fun - start at fifty percent of the quoted price and slowly increase. Be wary of high prices - the same item is often available in different shops at varying rates. Shops with fixed prices should have a sign to prove it. For Western-style trousers, skirts and shirts, try Paharganj , the Tibetan Market at the north end of Janpath, the export-seconds market (watch out for "Kevin Clein" and "Ralphe Lawren" labels) at Sarojini Nagar in Chanakyapuri and buy leather at Palika Bazaar or Chanakya Market . Roadside stalls behind the Tibetan Market off Janpath sell lavishly embroidered and mirrored spreads from Rajasthan and Gujarat, but you'll need to bargain. Beautiful silks and fine cotton are best bought in government emporia , most of which are on Baba Kharak Singh Marg.

Delhi also holds a few upmarket boutiques, trading in designer labels and furnishings; some, such as Anokhi , now have branches all around the world.

Anokhi , Santushti Shopping Complex and Khan Market. Sells soft cotton and raw silk clothes and soft furnishings; particularly renowned for hand-block printed cottons combining traditional and contemporary designs.

Bata , 16 B-Block, Connaught Place. Reliable and hardy sandals, trainers and smarter leather shoes, that will survive in India much longer than the flimsy leather flip-flops sold in most bazaars.

Cashmeir Galleri , 50 Hauz Khas Village. Kashmiri-run shops with handmade Oriental carpets in silk and wool, chain-stitch rugs, shawls and papier-mâché.

Central Cottage Industries Emporium , Jawahar Vyapar Bhawan, Janpath. A multistorey government-run shop with a good range of raw silk and cotton lengths; they also stock traditional Indian outfits, silk ties and finely tailored jackets and suits (particularly for women), leather handbags and coats.

Darzi , 4A Shahpur Jat. Ethnic chic with a good selection of ready-made garments for women including kurta and salwar kamise .

Dastkar , 45-B Shahpur Jat. Recently relocated from Hauz Khas, Dastkar stocks reasonably priced terracotta, block prints, saris, patchwork, toys, leather, basketry, weaves and beautiful Madhubani folk-art prints on cloth.

Fabindia , Greater Kailash. Spread through several shops in the market with a range from furnishings and interiors to ethnic chic including cotton clothing for men, women and children and wearable block-printed cottons.

Handloom House , 9 A-Block, Connaught Place. An all-India co-operative with exquisite silks; they offer assured quality and fixed prices, but it's not cheap.

Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan , 24 Regal Building, corner of Sansad Marg and Connaught Place. Great place to pick up hardy, lightweight travelling clothes. Reasonably priced, ready-made traditional Indian garments include salwar kamise (trousers and shirt), woollen waistcoats, kurta pygama , shawls and caps, plus rugs, material by the metre, incense, cards and tablecloths.

People Tree , 8 Regal Buildings, Sansad Marg, CP. Alternative Delhi, with an emphasis on T-shirts, ethnic chic and jewellery as well as pamphlets on topics covering poverty, the environment, health, politics and women's issues. Also a notice board with details of forthcoming films and lectures at centres such as the Max Mueller Bhavan.

Tibetan Carpets and Handicrafts , HH the Dalai Lama's Charitable Trust Handicraft Exports, 16 Jor Bagh, Lodi Road. Carpets of all sizes, seamless and runners, woollen pullovers, jackets, bags, chuba (Tibetan women's dress), incense and other gifts.

Musical instruments, cassettes and CDs
Delhi has a lively classical Indian music scene; the Triveni arts centre is a good place to catch live performances as well as to get information on instrument-makers. Among classical recordings, both the Music Today and Maestro's Choice series have an excellent collection of north and south Indian classical music. For popular Western music on tape and CD at bargain prices, head to any of the music stalls in Palika Bazaar or Khan Market.

Blue Bird & Co , 9 Regal Buildings, Sansad Marg. Cassettes, CDs, videos and hi-fis.

Lahore Music House , Netaji Subhash Marg, Darya Ganj. Long-established North Indian musical instrument-makers who have a reputation for quality.

The Music Shop , Khan Market. Every type of music with good quality CDs, cassettes and videos and helpful, well-informed staff.

Planet M , E-3 South Extension 2. The trendy four-storey music shop which tries to cater for everything but is especially strong on pop and holds pop-related events in-store as well as elsewhere in the city; there's a pleasant café on the top floor.

Rangarsons , Outer Circle, Connaught Place. Extraordinary shop that once boasted regiments of the British Indian army among its patrons. A collection of brass and other marching band instruments as well as contemporary tablas and sitars.

Rhythm Corner , 16 N-Block, Connaught Place. Much like Blue Bird; copious quantities of CDs, cassettes, and videos of contemporary and classical music, including international chart hits.

Rikhi Ram , G-Block, Marina Arcade, Outer Circle, Connaught Place. Once sitar makers to the likes of Ravi Shankar, they maintain their exclusive air. Top-quality instruments (sitar, tablas and more) available and an interesting cabinet with their own unique instrumental inventions on view. Expect to pay more than bazaar prices.