It was already noon when our train emptied out its passengers. The midday sun teasingly confirmed that weather would be of no respite links of london charms. At the very outset, I made it a point not to behave like the run-of-the-mill (silly) tourists, indifferent to the intrinsic Rabindrik texture of day-to-day life at Santiniketan, and just thronging there for some cheaper kantha, batik and dokra! After all, I am already loaded with information about the place I visited several times before. I know if it’s a Saturday, the best way is to spend the afternoon in the open market near Ballavpur, popularly known as the ‘Khoai baner anya haat’. I am also aware that just a few years ago, the vanishing mallards of Ballavpur became a major concern for the environmentalists. I started as a self-proclaimed guide to my not-so-clued-up husband and our rickshawallah did the rest links of london sale. The sun was still up, but a fresh breeze was blowing from the canal through the rows of eucalyptus. The market, situating at a distance of 3 km, is famous for various handicrafts-made of clay and bamboo, bead and seed jewellery, and of course, kantha and batik! Stalls are mostly run by locals, and some by erstwhile students of Kala Bhavan. It is a social outing for local elite, and a favourite jaunt for foreign day-trippers. There are food stalls selling phuchka, chaat, ghugni-all that you can savour in your city. But how about hot momos wrapped in lotus leaves? Try it in Anya haat. Next morning we hit the road towards Amar Kutir-an obvious pick for a shopaholic traveller links of london. It was just around nine, the leather unit was yet to open. The swans, back from their morning cruise, hurried towards an ash-white Kopai. The towering statue of Tagore stands tall in the compound. Founded by [Rabindranath], it was formerly a commune or ashram for political prisoners who were released from the colonial British jails in 1922. Later it was transformed into an institution for revival of village arts and crafts links of london on sale. The cooperative, Amar Kutir Society for Rural Development, established in 1978, is designed to promote handicrafts like leatherworks and fabrics catering to the taste of an international market. Their principal raw material is well-tanned sheepskin, which is made into fashionable bags, files, photo-frames or jewellery boxes. Unique are the coin-pouches, which take the shapes of deer, elephant or owl.