Shops and premises

The Banarasi silk weavers of Madanpura and MubarakpurVaranasi, Azamgarh

Hand-woven kadhua brocade

Buy from the weaver or a cooperative if you can. Turn the sari over — if the motifs float on threads across the back, it is not kadhua.

Ram Bhandar and the Kachori Gali countersVaranasi

Kachori-sabzi, jalebi and launglata

Open early and finished by mid-morning; the queue starts before seven.

Blue Lassi and the Thatheri Bazaar lassi shopsVaranasi

Thick lassi in clay cups

The malaiyo sellersVaranasi

Winter milk foam sold from head-carried trays

November to February only, and gone by ten in the morning.

Keshav Tambul Bhandar and the old paan shopsVaranasi

Banarasi paan, cured and folded to order

The Bhadohi carpet loftsBhadohi

Hand-knotted wool and silk carpets

Ask for the knot count and whether the piece is loom-certified; the belt's child-labour history produced the certification systems now used across the industry.

Nizamabad black pottery workshopsNizamabad, Azamgarh

Black clay ware inlaid with silvery patterns