What to buy in Kolkata

Tant is Bengal's everyday fine cotton sari, light enough for the climate. Baluchari is a silk sari with mythological scenes woven into the end piece, made today around Bishnupur and protected by a geographical indication; jamdani is a fine muslin with woven motifs. Gariahat is the dependable place for tant at prices that do not assume you are a visitor; Byloom and Weavers Studio show contemporary handloom.

Bengal's running-stitch quilting of layered old cloth, now also used on saris, stoles and cushion covers. Weavers Studio has kantha made on site and an archive of antique pieces; the state emporia sell work from the Nanoor kantha cluster.

Dokra is lost-wax cast brass: figures, animals and lamps from the Bikna cluster. Terracotta horses and tiles come from Bankura and Panchmura. Both are sold at Dakshinapan and the Biswa Bangla stores; terracotta is fragile, so ask for proper packing.

Patachitra is painted in frames on long cloth scrolls that the painters sing as they unroll them; Naya village in Pingla is the best-known centre. Chhau masks of clay, paper and cloth are made at Charida in Purulia for the masked dance that UNESCO lists as intangible heritage. Both villages are among the state's Rural Craft Hubs, and their work reaches the city's emporia.

College Street is described as the largest second-hand book market in the world, with more than 300 bookshops. Dasgupta & Co. has traded there since 1886. On Park Street, Oxford Bookstore (since 1919) has a deep India-focused catalogue; Seagull Books in Bhowanipore sells its own editions of literature in translation. See bookstores in Kolkata.

Rosogolla and sandesh are the classic take-home sweets; West Bengal holds the geographical indication for Banglar Rosogolla. In winter, sweet shops switch to nolen gur, date-palm jaggery tapped only in the cold months. Heritage names include K.C. Das, Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick and Bhim Chandra Nag. See sweets of Kolkata.

The Russell Exchange off Park Street, believed to be the oldest surviving auction house in Asia, holds Sunday auctions from around 11:00: colonial furniture, gramophones, cameras and bric-a-brac. On other days you can buy from the stock directly.

Biswa Bangla is the West Bengal government's brand for the state's handloom and handicraft; its Kolkata stores include Dakshinapan on Gariahat Road South, 17 Mother Teresa Sarani near Park Street, the Mishti Hub at Eco Park and the airport. Dakshinapan in Dhakuria gathers the emporia of many Indian states under one roof. Prices are fixed, and the brand works with the state's craft villages, such as Naya, Bikna, Charida, Panchmura and Nanoor.

Red-brick Victorian arcades with a clock tower, trading since 1874: around two thousand stalls of textiles, jewellery, luggage, cheese and confectionery, plus the century-old Nahoum's bakery. Almost nothing has a fixed price, so bargain without hurrying. Esplanade is the nearest metro. See New Market.

Gariahat in the south and Hatibagan in the north are where Kolkata families buy saris, kurtis and bangles. Evenings are liveliest; in the weeks before Durga Puja both are packed.

Byloom, in a converted house on Hindustan Park, for Bengal handloom with a contemporary eye and T-shirts printed with art from Tagore's 'Sahaj Path' primer. Weavers Studio in Ballygunge for kantha, shibori and block print made by over 250 craftspeople.