Whenever guests come over from abroad, their favourite shopping haunt is the the Central Cottage Industry. No amount of cajoling or persuasion will convince them that there are other places to buy traditional Indian handicrafts. Over the years Central Cottage Industry has become an institution in itself. Conveniently located at Colaba it is definitely a shoppers paradise.

The timeless bakura horse which over the years have come to represent the central cottage industry continues to attract buyers of Indian artifacts from all over the world. And the Central Cottage Industry is synonymouswith excellence in Indian handicrafts. A Government of India enterprise it has strived hard to promote Indian art and craft in the domestic and international market. It was in the year 1948 that the Central Cottage Industry had been set up and it had outlets in Mumbai, Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai.

You can pick up jewelry bags, shoes, fabrics, furniture, furnishings , lamps, carpets, toys, jute crafts and one thing which is from the best of the craftsmen in the country. The articles available at the the emporiums have been handpicked from all over the country, from some of the remotest sections where resides some of the most gifted artisans . Be it Bengal, Kashmir, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh or any of the north east Indian states you are sure to find a piece for your drawing room. Speaking to Tirath Singh, manager Cottage Industry Emporium,"Our products sell mostly among foreigners for we offer some of the best of Indian handicrafts. But demand for the higher price range categories is notvery high. Most of the things that sell is of the price range Rs 200 to Rs 2000."

But today Cottage Industries Emporium has to face stiff competition from various other showrooms. It is slowly losing its exclusivity. It is no longer the only store in town selling the best of Indian handicrafts for as Singh said "Some of the leading stores are luring customer and as a result demand for our merchandise has gone down to a great extent. And the problem is that since Cottage Industry is a government run organisation we find it increasingly difficult to handle competition for whatever we do we have to get government permission which is a difficult proposition."

Address:

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Marg,
Mumbai - 400 039.
Phone: 284 4194, 202 7537
Fax: 202 1101
Url: www.centralcottageindustry.com