Life
Bazaar On Wheels
 Who would have thought you could pick up a wedding necklace at your neighborhood Marriott Hotel or a designer outfit while sipping chai at a local Indian restaurant?
Yes, if Indian Americans can’t go to the bazaar, the bazaar is coming to them! Over the past few years name brand as well as emerging designers have come to Los Angeles, Chicago, New Jersey and New York to sell their wares, holding trunk shows in restaurants and private homes. If you happen to move in Indian circles and live in the suburbs, invitations for designer wear and jewelry shows materialize in your mail all the time. Some cards are elaborate and upscale with invitations to cocktails, others more prosaic, single sheet fliers with the where and when. Designer Sonia Kumar of Silver Tulip in Delhi is one of the popular designers who bring in their collections every summer. Preeti Arora, a banker in Long Island, has organized exhibitions for her for the last seven years, drawing large crowds. For those who want jewelry which looks real but isn’t, there’s the fabulous fakes of Art Karat, one of the big players from India that has turned this concept into a fine art, with upscale shows in hotels in several states where there is a large South Asian population. The company, which designed the elaborate jewelry in several movies including Devdas and Monsoon Wedding, has stores in India. |
