Chennai isn't charming, but it does offer good shopping -- if you want a one-stop shopping destination, head to Spencer Plaza (opposite Taj Connemara), or City Centre, the latest addition to Chennai's mall lineup. With around 400 shops, Spencer Plaza is said to be the largest shopping complex in South India: Two outlets worth looking for here are the famous FabIndia, where you can pick up cotton garments, kurtas (tunics), and ethnic furnishings and linens (if you hate huge malls, you can try the outlet at Ilford House, 3 Woods Rd.; tel. 044/2851-0395 or 044/5202-7015); and Hidesign, the latter a Pondicherry-based outfit renowned for top-quality leather goods, created by Indian craftsmen as well as internationally renowned Italian designers. (Hidesign is also in the Ispahani Center on Nungambakkam High Rd.; tel. 044/2833-2111 or 044/5214-149; here you can also pop into Casablanca for men and women's wear, don't miss the Gecko linenwear). While you're on Nungambakkam, head over to Khader Nawaz Khan Road for the most dense concentration of designer wear in the city (as well as, bizarrely, a Marks & Spencer). If you're not going to Pondicherry, this is where you can browse the goods produced by the community in the City of Dawn at Naturally Auroville Boutique (tel. 044/2833-0517). For housewares, handicrafts, and antique furniture, visit Kalpa Druma (71 Cathedral Rd.; tel. 044/2811-7652 or -1695). Go to the Taj Coromandel's Khazana Shop (37 M.G. Rd.; tel. 044/5500-2012 or -2827), for silks, saris, and various objets d'art in an upmarket, luxurious environment. Across the road from the Coromandel, Central Cottage Industries Emporium (672 Anna Salai; tel. 044/2433-0809 or -0898) is the fixed-price government emporium with a virtual monopoly on package tourist shoppers. Farther up the road is Poompuhar, the government emporium of Tamil Nadu (818 Anna Salai/Mount Rd., near Higginbothams), which has a better selection of art pieces unique to the state -- pick up a Tanjore painting or woodcarving or bronze figurine. The Victoria Technical Institute, also on Anna Salai, showcases embroidered and crocheted linens and smocked children's wear made by nuns for charity.
The Design Store on C. P. Ramaswamy Rd. (tel. 044/2499-7157) is a fine option for trendy, quality home decor with an ethnic touch. Eco-warriors should head for Prana: Live Natural (D6 6th St., near Chintamani, Anna Nagar East; tel. 044/4217-0077) for organic clothing for men and women, all natural or naturally dyed (or "safe-chemical" dyed). Cane & Bamboo (21 Marshalls Rd., Egmore; tel. 044/2852-8672) is a good shop for curios and gifts -- trays, bowls, spoons, lamps, and other handicrafts made of different species of wood sourced from all over India -- and managed by the knowledgeable Mrs. Thangam Philip, who can tell you about the different artifacts she stocks. Amethyst is excellent for lovely Western-style clothing and other souvenir handicrafts made with Indian fabrics and design elements. Even if you have absolutely no intention of buying a silk sari, you must visit Nalli Chinnasami Chetty (9 Nageswaran Rd., T. Nagar, near Panagal Park; tel. 044/2434-4115; www.nallisilk.com), a Chennai institution, where you can't help but fall in love with the exquisite silks, including the famous Kanchipuram silks. T. Nagar also has an outlet of Kazaana Jewellery (the other is on Cathedral Rd., the first shop in India to introduce a "guarantee card" to buy back any item at market rate); this street is incidentally also the best place to look for clothing bargains, while Pantheon Road is the place for cheap but attractive linen.
