In the old city of Hyderabad, at the roads where culture, prayer, history and indulgence converge, lies Laad Bazaar. A bustling street which begins at the foot of the Charminar, Laad Bazaar is not just part of Hyderabad’s history but also a locality where its culture thrives. 

Locals claim that the bazaar was set up by the erstwhile ruler Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah as a shopping destination for guests attending his daughter’s wedding. The proud father is said to have named the Bazaar after his daughter Laad. And even today here is where most of the Muslim grooms and brides in the city shop for their wedding trousseau. Laad Bazaar is where women of all cultures come for their fix of tinkling mellifluous bangles. But Laad Bazaar is no place for the voyeuristic tourist looking for keepsakes. This is a place for those who seek to travel and live like a local, and for those who want to visit the single largest market for lac and stone bangles in the country. 

There are few places in Hyderabad that have as much character as this market. Shops in the Bazaar have been around for decades; some for more than a century and so it is not un-common to find three generations of men running a store. Push-carts, showcased stores, and street side racks, everyone displays a mind-boggling variety of bangles. Shopkeepers here will tell you that Laad bazaar is the only place in India with over 40 bangle shops in one area. From Rs.6 to Rs.10,000 there are bangles here for everyone, from school-children to celebrities. Talkative hosts, the shop keepers will pepper conversations with anecdotes like the ones about the slim gold and silver bangles made of hollow glass. So lightweight are the bangles that the locals claim a sneeze can send them shooting six feet in the air and a laugh can blow them eight feet away. Fond of their trade, most have christened each bangle variety with interesting names like Jeena teri gali mein- living in your streets and Shehensha kada- King of bangles.

While you will gush at the variety on offer, the bangles that are bound to mesmerize you with their shimmer are the expensive and unique hand-crafted lac bangles, made by craftsmen whose families have been in this business since generations. With tens, hundreds or even thousands of shiny coloured stones set into them, these bangles are a pleasure to look at and wear. The process of making these bangles is a time-consuming and delicate one, as fascinating as the end products themselves. And so if you are struck with the desire to know how your bangle came to be as pretty, you could always request the shopkeeper to take you to his workshop to see how these bangles are made.  

Though bangles hog the limelight in the market, in reality Laad Bazaar is not about what you can buy there. It is mostly about the experience of life in that lane, for it is here that you will find true-blue locals who wear their heritage like an archaic couture costumes. Friendly and gracious, they are ever willing to talk to strangers, offer them a drink, and share morsels of their lives which the visitors can then carry back as memories.  So if you are really keen on experiencing the Hyderabad’s culture of hospitality, Laad Bazaar should be your destination of choice.