Chudi Bazar has become a must-visit destination for merchants from nearby districts of Maharashtra. — Photo: Surya Sridhar
Hyderabad: While the Laad Bazaar near Charminar is renowned for its amazing collection of lac bangles that draw buyers from all parts of the country, there is yet another market of bangles located nearby, albeit a lesser-known one, which generates a lot of business and employment opportunities for the locals.
Rows and rows of colourful bangle shops line the old Top Khaana Road, Begum Bazaar, which is just a few kilometers away from the Laad Bazaar. The bangle shops of Top Khaana Road in Begum Bazaar exclusively deal with bangles that are made up of glass and plastics.
Moreover, a majority of the bangle shops at Begum Bazaar deal in wholesale markets and they are favourite hunting grounds for merchants from districts who are looking for a good bargain on particular bangle designs. Over the years, the market has also become a must-visit destination for wholesale merchants and retail shop owners from nearby districts of Maharashtra.
Varieties of bangles made of metal, glass, and plastic are available at the market, and most of them are imported from Firozabad, which is the hub of the glass bangle industry. Apart from Firozabad, bangles are also imported from Mumbai, Delhi, and Jaipur areas.
Many who come here prefer to buy glass bangles. The price of the same starts at Rs 50 per dozen and goes up to Rs 150 to Rs 200 per dozen, depending on the quality and design, said another vendor. According to some vendors, the market generates almost a crore every day during peak season.
The market also is known to attract a lot of women customers from the local areas of Charminar and Begum Bazaar. The sale of bangles experiences a surge during the wedding season and during prominent festivals such as Ramzan, Dasara, and Diwali. Families from all districts of Telangana, including Hyderabad, come here to purchase bangles at wholesale prices.
“A few house owners established shops here first in 1969 but now, there are over 100 shops selling bangles at the market, said Vijay Kumar, owner of a bangle store at the market. “With the substantial increase in the number of people visiting the place, Chudi Bazaar has become a shopping hub and grown exponentially in the last 40 years,” Vijay added.