Where there are girls, there’s a fashion street! Ok, so we don’t have one designated area like Mumbai’s Fashion Street or Colaba Causeway or even Delhi’s Khan Market, but we do have our own hangouts where girls flock to check the latest in fashion trends. And mind you, we are nowhere behind the metros! Try elbowing through the crowd on Maruti Galli on any Sunday evening and chances are you will take a detour and avoid the mad rush! Fashion savvy belles flock this area for their weekly dose of retail therapy.
Belagavi has its favourite fashion hotspots and they are mostly situated around the golden quadrangle of Ramdev Galli, Khade Bazaar, Ganpat Galli and Maruti Galli! (now also Bhendi Bazar). The ‘step-in-and-it’s-over’ sized Ramdev Galli has the most celebrated fashion haunts for Indian and Western fashion, or may be the most extravagant sarees that are so much part of every bride’s trousseau or the otherrs stocking the staple Zardosi and Work-sarees and dresses, among others. Khade Bazaar had become synonymous with huge stores and now with Jewelery stores. Ganpat Galli has a charm of its own, maybe the simpler cousin of Pune’s Tulshi Baag! From hawkers peddling fruits and socks, combs and locks, kerchiefs and a multitude of tiny shops selling your everyday ware, it is a very unlikely destination for fashion.
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The best fashion destination so far is Maruti galli.
With its wide roads and endless rows of shops , it offers the ultimate shopping satisfaction without being poncy. Girls, especially, love the shacks selling earrings, kundan and jadau imitation jewelry at the stall below Dr. Chattre’s clinic or one besides it, a couple of them at the corner of the Maruti temple which offers great bargains, some clustered mid-way around Arvind Complex. Young girls, accompanied by a bunch of friends, check out various chandelier earrings, hair clips, kundan sets, bracelets and bag a handful of the bounty before heading towards the snack shops. Mahila and Uday Vastu Bhandar and recently opened Uppins have been the quintessential shops for every young girl’s quota of cosmetics and accessories for years. They have had on offer anything from wool and perfumes to soaps and gift articles, something that helps when you are out with mom for a wholesome shopping experience. Maruti galli has an easy going way about its street vendors hawking beautiful leather bags, kurtis, sofa covers, hair bands, mirror-work bangles, bindis and household articles. Image may be NSFW.
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Then there are tiny outlets behind Kaveri Cold Drinks that sport colourful shoes, bags, artificial flowers and the like. It’s a hidden cluster actually. A lazy stroll on these streets will ensure you pick up some goodies on your way back home.
Belagavi has various other places for the young girls’ fashion needs, including some amazing stuff at Tilakwadi’s Deshmukh Road, Ambedkar road, Shahapur Khade Bazar, Angol area, etc. , but the charm of this Golden Quadrangle still remains unmatched. A trip to this area tops the list of the ‘Must-do’ list of every college girl and surprisingly, it has lived up to its expectation.
