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| Laad Bazar Charminar |
Laad Bazar ( Urdu:
لاد بازار) or
Choodi Bazar ( Urdu:
کھودی بازار)
is a very old market popular for bangles located in Hyderabad. It is
located on one of the four main roads that branch out from the historic Charminar.
Laad
meaning lacquer is used to make bangles, on which artificial diamonds
are studded. In this 1-kilometre (0.62 mi)-long shopping strip, most of
the shops sell bangles, saris, wedding related items, and cheap jewelry.
This market is very old, in operation since the time of the Qutb Shahis and the Nizams. It is close to landmarks such as Charminar, Makkah Masjid and Chowmahalla Palace .
Shopping
Laad
Bazar is the main market for bangles, it is popular for bangles,
semi-precious stones, pearls, jewellery, products such as silverware,
Nirmal, Kalamkari paintings, bidriware, lacquer bangles studded with
stones, saris and handwoven materials of silk, cotton. brocade, velvet
and gold embroidered fabrics, traditional Khara Dupattas, lacquer
bangles and perfumes.

The
narrow lane is filled with burkha-clad women, bangle shops and old
buildings with wooden balconies, bargaining and haggling is part and
parcel of this market. Shopkeepers employ "beckoning" tactics, placing
an employee at the entrance of the store beckoning passers-by to enter
their shop.
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| Laad bazaar bangles |
Many stores are furnished with a clean, soft cotton mattress
that covers the entire floor. Customers sit on the soft cotton mattress
without shoes, lean against a wall with a round pillow and the sales
person presents all items on the floor. All business is conducted on
this floor and often other employees use the padded area in the back, as
they may be sorting or sewing.
Auto rickshaws near Laad Bazaar
Auto rickshaws and cars are barred entrance from Charminar
end (the preferred entrance) of the strip due to the narrow street
being crowded, and only pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles and scooters,
and sometimes cycle-rickshaws are permitted to enter.Southeast of Laad
Bazar lie the palaces built by different Nizams including the Chowmahalla Palace.