This story is part of “How Tech Changed It” — The Better India’s series that looks at how technology has transformed the sectors, systems and everyday experiences around us. From how we travel and learn to how we farm, build, communicate and access healthcare, each story traces the journey from what it was like before to what it looks like today. Because technology isn’t just about new gadgets or breakthroughs — it can change how an entire sector works, making things faster, smarter, safer, more accessible and more efficient.

There was a time when finding something special meant walking through a crowded bazaar.

You knew which lane sold the best bangles, which shop had the freshest spices, or which potter made the prettiest diyas. A shopkeeper’s reputation travelled the old-fashioned way: through neighbours, family, passing customers and word of mouth.

For artisans and small sellers, the market was usually just as local. If you made embroidered bags in a village in Kutch or painted ceramics in Khurja, your customers were largely the people who came to the town, knew a trader or happened to find your products through an exhibition.

Today, that same journey can end very differently.

A customer sitting thousands of kilometres away can discover an artisan on a website, browse their products, pay digitally and have the parcel delivered to their doorstep.

Technology has not necessarily replaced the bazaar. In many cases, it has stretched its walls far beyond the town it once served.

From village homes to a website

Pabiben Rabari’s journey offers a glimpse of what that transformation can look........

© The Better India