Jaipur: Shopping Tour with Blue Poetry Art By Female Guide

Jaipur blue pottery, which is not from Jaipur originally

It came from Persia via Afghanistan to Delhi, and then to Jaipur in the 19th century when Ram Singh II brought potters in to teach at his art school. It is the one Indian ceramic tradition fired at low temperature with a quartz body rather than clay, which is why it is so light and why it chips if you drop it.

The cobalt blue is the signature. Copper oxide gives the turquoise, and the white ground is powdered quartz, glass and borax rather than slip.

You will see it being thrown, painted and fired, and once you know that the body has no clay in it the whole craft becomes stranger and more interesting.

The bazaars

Johari Bazaar for jewellery — kundan, where stones are set in pure gold foil without claws so the gem appears to float, and meenakari, enamel fired onto the back of the same piece so it carries a hidden second design.

Bapu Bazaar for textiles: block-printed cotton, bandhani and leheriya tie-dye, quilted razais, and mojari slippers — a good pair bends easily in the hand.

Tripolia for lac bangles, made over a flame in front of you.

Your guide

A female expert, which is why solo women travellers and families book this one. Her job is your side of the transaction: telling handwork from machine work, knowing what a thing costs before you ask, and handling the negotiation if you would rather not.

Say at the start that you want to be taken where locals buy rather than where shops pay commission, and a good guide will simply do it.

Four options

Guide only; guide with a private tuk-tuk; a half-day shopping tour; or the full version with the pottery workshops.

Practical

Four and a half hours. Whatever you buy is yours to pay for; nothing is included.

Blue pottery travels badly — ask for it double-wrapped, and carry it rather than checking it.