Laad Baazar: A Quintessential Hyderabadi Experience By Anita Satyajit

Published in Windows & Aisles Rights: © Anita Satyajit

After living in for over two years, I was struck by the feeling that nothing in the city had felt as Hyderabadi as the experience of walking down Laad Baazar during my first visit to the . The smells, sights and sounds had inexplicably woven themselves into my memories and now Laad Baazar meant more than that street in Hyderabad which was a local woman’s notion of heaven. Eager to relive that experience and if possible to add more sparkle to the memory, I headed there a few days ago.

Now, it is easy to get disheartened and disillusioned even before you get there, because as you enter the old city the traffic overpowers you. We lost our way and the people we asked kept saying Charminar was straight ahead. Straight in their parlance as it turns out also includes numerous right and left turns. Eventually we reached the Charminar and got out of our cars and straight into the cacophony.

It is impossible to look at the Charminar and look away. The imposing building teases your eyes and fills your head with wonder as you glance up at it. While I could spend hours admiring each and every moulding and carving of the Charminar, the thought of the bounty that awaited us at Laad Baazar, provided enough impetus to keep me going.

The Charminar, a 400 year old monument was built by Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah. While there are many stories about the origin of the name of Laad , one of the more interesting ones claims that when Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah got his daughter married, he built this bazaar as a place for his guests to shop. And as a tribute to his daughter he named it Laad bazaar, after her. Though some sources claim it is originally named Lord Baazar after some British official, the name Laad bazaar has stuck on fondly to the area.

In fact the whole area near the Charminar is a . Wherever you go stores selling everything from clothes to pearl jewellery to shoes, bustle with activity. In the midst of all this lies the entrance to paradise. Laad Baazar begins at one of the four roads that head off from the Charminar. A shopper’s paradise, laad bazaar has a legacy that is as rich as the city itself and has the distinction of being the only place in Hyderabad that caters to all the needs of a muslim bride. It’s a place to revel in your womanhood. Bangles, wedding finery, laces and perfumes, Laad Baazar is all about pampering and throbs with a dynamic and infectious energy.

Bangles of all varieties and lac bangles in particular is what Laad Baazar is famous for. As I approached the street, the plethora of colours that accosted my eyes was dizzying and exhilarating. A woman dressed in a traditional kanjeevaram sari passed by hurriedly dragging her husband by the arm. A group of women in burqas giggled and chattered as they stared appreciatively at each others wrists, shimmering with lac bangles.

As I hurried ahead to cross the road, uncaring of the loud honks of vehicles, my husband frowned. ‘Something gets to you here, doesn’t it,’ he quipped. I smiled and rushed on. ‘Laad bazaar, here I come.’ Laad bazaar with its shimmering bangles, twinkling bangles, colourful bangles, noisy bangles, bangles of more colours than I knew the names of, bangles that spoke a language which all men and woman understood. I knew what I wanted; Hyderabadi lac bangles for which this bazaar was famous, and of the kind which could not be found anywhere else in the world!

His smile was welcoming. ‘Please come. Welcome to my store.’ Mohammed Anwar, from the Khaja Bangle store, was pleasant. His store is right at the entrance to Laad Baazar and has been there since the past 80 years. ‘I am the third generation from my family managing this store. The fourth is being trained,’ he says with a proud grin. As he shows me the bangles, he cannot help but boast a bit about the legacy he is so proud to be a part of. ‘Everyone from film stars to politicians to tourists to the common man comes here. After all where else will you get such fine lac bangles.’

The bangles shimmer and entice. The family set, a group of 8 bangles costs Rs.1800 and is famous for the number of stones it carries. Jeena Teri Gali Mein which sells for Rs.120 is the cheaper, more regular use variety. Khobda is suhaag ki nishaani, bangles which adorn the brides wrist and is an integral part of the muslim culture.

The names of the bangles are as colourful as the bangles themselves and anecdotes flourish. The delicate Sona Bai and Chandi Bai bangles for examples are made of hollow glass and are so thin, lightweight and delicate, that according to a popular saying in the bazaar they are reputed to go ‘6 feet away if you sneeze and fly 8 feet high if you laugh.’

As we laugh at Anwar’s words he pulls out a tattered album to display a picture of his unique art work; replicas of the Charminar made out of bangles which he has gifted to three Governors, the chief minister etc. Suitably impressed, with heavier bags and lighter pockets, we walked out.

Laad bazaar sells bangles to suit the budgets of all people. Apart from the above, the kadas, single thick bangles are also very popular. While lac bangles with semi-precious stones of varied hues, found behind glistening showcases, are the star attraction, the streets of the bazaar are flooded with simple glass bangles like the one Moinudeen sells. Plain glass bangles filled his cart to the brim. For Rs. 6 a dozen, his bangles are bought by everyone. They adorn the wrists of everyone from the slum residents to the uptown resident. After all it is only in Laad bazaar that you can find bangles ranging from Rs. 5 to Rs.10,000.

The narrow and crowded street of Laad Baazar is always chock-o-block with vehicles, vendors and shoppers. As people traverse from one store to store, to bargain and get a deal, the vendors with their carts full of bangles, kitchen ware, pots, and arms laden with artificial jewellery and fancy purses, push ahead into the crowd.

Mohammed Abdul Zaleel yells into my ear, ‘Braclet didi, chain lo. Cheap and best, looks like gold’. As I turned to scare him with a stare, his jaw drops on seeing my camera. Wary he steps back. But the moment I point my camera at him, he poses and grins happily. Walking past stores laden with sherwani’s, legenga’s and shaadi ka jodas, I saw something unexpected.

Now books are not something which people come to Laad bazaar for, but no one can avoid the rows of books piled high on the street sides, especially a bookworm like me. Curious I moved to a stall. Magazines, paperbacks were stacked high. But most of the books on sale were as ancient as the street itself. Two titles caught my eye - the twelfth edition of Love’s Coming of Age, first printed in 1896 and reprinted in 1923; a 1924 first edition of Young Wife’s Advice Book.

Roaring with laughter, I ran across the street and almost into Mr. Mohammed Hyder, Cane Merchant. As I tried to pass by him with a smile and he called out to me. ‘I have something special in my store’ he claimed holding out a wooden wine glass. Then he enlightened us.

‘Look at the special power of this glass.’ Picking a bottle of water off the shelf, he poured it in the wooden cup. ‘This is made from Berpatli, a special jadi booti (herb). If you leave water in the glass for 15 minutes it turns into a pale shade of blue-green. And do you know what this water does? If you drink this water every morning for 40 days, you’ll get rid of your diabetes and body ache. It’s the curative power of this herb.’

‘Who told you about this?’ I enquired suspiciously. “A fakir, a passing mendicant told me and since then I have been selling this in my store. It works wonders. I drink it everyday and at age 70, look at me.”

He did look hale and hearty. But a little queasy about subjecting family to an unknown jadi booti, I tried to slink away. But his smile held me on. ‘See they even published an article about this,’ he said pushing a paper carefully encased in a transparent plastic cover under my nose. ‘And the glass costs only 50 rupees.’

The herb glass I was not sure about, but the old man’s smile definitely was healing. It made me feel like he was my grandpa’s old friend. Not wanting to disappoint him, I muttered suitable sounds of surprise at this discovery and promised to let people with diabetes, know about his glass. He waved us away with a broad smile, inviting me to come again. ‘If you come in this direction tomorrow, drop in and meet my son. He usually stays her on weekdays.’

The bazaar was drifting into an afternoon slumber. But Yogesh from Chunilal Dayaldas Perfumers, showed no signs of sleep. The rack at the storefront was bursting with knickknacks. Peacock feather danced gaily to the mild breeze, henna packets, herbal powders and herbal oils let off faint smells, ittar bottles shone proudly. “Come try the ittar,’ Yogesh invited us.

Wrapping a tiny bit of cotton on the end of a stick, he dipped it inside a bottle of jasmine. After removing it, he rolled another bit of cotton atop the stick with his fingers. Then he rubbed his fingers over his clothes. “You apply it like this. The fragrance stays on your clothes for two days. Here smell.’ He dabbed the stick on the back of my palm. The smell was overpowering.

One of the oldest residents of Laad Baazar, his store was founded in 1885. The perfumes, ittars are sold at the Baazar in grams. From Rs. 120 per 10 gms to Rs. 5000 per ten grams, you can have your pick of fragrance or even have something custom made. While expensive fragrances like Oodh costs Rs.1000 per 10 gms, Khus sells for Rs. 400 and Sandal goes for Rs. 500. But the rulers of the ittar market are the commonplace, cheaper varieties like rose and jasmine which has many takers.

“We make the perfumes ourselves and used to supply ittars to the Nizams. In fact over the years we have made as many fragrances as there is hair in our head,” informed Yogesh. “Do you know our shop was so famous that we got perfumes bases from Switzerland and Geneva. This is the story of the days when Hyderabad was known as Deccan. In fact we still have bottles which proudly state that the perfumes were specially made and sent from there to Chunilal Dayaldas in the Deccan. You are visiting a legendary store,’ he said as he bid us farewell, as though bestowing upon us a royal decree of approval.

Everyone in Laad Baazar had a legacy they carry here. And so to end our sojourn, we decided to visit another renowned Hyderabadi feature - the . This erstwhile residence of the Nizams, is just around the laad bazaar. Turn left from the bazaar, walk 100 meters and the high walls of the palace beckon you.

One of the well preserved heritage structures, Chowmahalla Palace with its extensive manicured lawns and elegant white buildings makes you want to prance about the place, dressed in traditional finery as someone sings a ghazal praising your timeless beauty. A private estate, the palace is the spot to truly reminiscence about the glory of the old days. How much fun would the women here have had, when such a lovely place to shop existed just around the corner?

The Palace itself with its dozens of rooms, stunning facades, towers, royal sitting hall, the photography display featuring the womenfolk of the Nizam household and the Nizams, the royal arms display; all cumulatively take you back to the days of yore. As we walked about the Chowmahalla Palace grounds, we stopped by the in the legendary Raja Deen Dayal foto’s Studio to get a unique memento. The studio established by the late royal photographer dresses you in finery and presents you with a sepia picture of yourself, making you look like ancient royalty. Tickled to the core at the end result, we laughed all the way back.

The visit to Laad Baazar had reminded me again, that it is not just about what you buy or what you see that defines the place. It is about the entire experience. Laad Baazar is about the tinkle of the bangles, the honks of the passing vehicles, it is about the smell of humanity in that crowded lane, it is about the juice you drink in an old store located in a crumbling building.

Mostly it is about the residents of Laad Baazar and the surroundings they have dwelt in since centuries; it is about the people who treat you with old world charm; with a tehzeeb that is acquired genetically and not learnt. It is about how the landscape has been influenced by the changes and yet retains a untouchable uniqueness that time and again draws one to Laad Baazar.

INFO BOX

How to get there:

Hyderabad can be reached from all major cities in South India by air and rail. Paramount Airways operates…..

Once you reach Hyderabad, you can opt for an auto-rickshaw or even hire a car to go to Laad baazar. There are also buses which ply directly to Charminar.

Best time to go

Anytime is a good time to shop. But the shops at Charminar open a little late in the mornings. The Chowmahalla Palace however is closed on Fridays. But for the best bargains go on weekdays. Avoid travelling during evenings as the traffic can be quite horrendous.

What to buy

Bangles of course! The Lac bangles in particular are a must have for every woman. But don’t forget to bargain. Often for certain varieties of bangles the shopkeeper’s reduce the initially quoted price by upto 30- 40%.

For those who like strong fragrances, ittar is also a good thing to buy. There is plenty of fragrances to choose from and are available at reasonable prices.