Invitation Business

Chawri Baazar in Old Delhi used to be the CBD (Central Business District) before the evolution of New Delhi... Actually it too today is, being the wholesale market of all the goodies. Chawri Baazar and Chandnichowk still do carry the typical essence of the old capital city in terms of society, living, relations and also business. This particular place has its own name as the wholesale card market. Invitation cards available all over India are mostly supplied from this place. With 500+ registered shops to deal with a grand variety of Invitation Cards, Chawri Baazar probably is the biggest market in India dealing with paper products.

Chawri basically is a Marathi word with a literal meaning of a meeting place. The place was not so before Independence but was the first wholesale market of Delhi. The card business started shaping up only in the 70s and one part of the market flourished in the paper and wedding card business. With narrow crowded lanes, small shops and colorful paper products all around, this place prints announcements to many occasions.

I personally was in 'Archit Gallery' and was just randomly asking about the range of cards... Wedding card prices can go up to Rupees 135 per card starting from Rupees 5. Quite strange! The guy also showed me a card with a beautiful soft purple linen lining and a metal laser cut emblem on the front page with a price tag of 100+. It definitely was a beautiful design.