so right now i'm concentrating on the screen in front of me and i'm about to write about the very first thing that strikes me. alright the south city mall. this is the place where i spend half my existence (still cant call it a life) here at home. it's this luxuriant air-conditioned 'four tier-ed' mall with polished floors and gleaming walls which boasts of the impressive tag of the largest shopping mall in india.
it might be the fact that it has both a shopper's stop and a pantaloons,or the fact that it has the biggest brands in the marketing chain vying for the shopper's attention or the icing on the cake (note: 'four tier-ed' ; a term normally used for wedding cakes) - a mega 6-screen multiplex (fame adlabs) on the second floor, that draws the residents of the city to it like a magnet. consecutively, the incredible amount of traffic on the road on which the mall is located(prince anwar shah road) is a common and not-so-pleasing sight. for the same reason, it has been described as 'evil' rather than good for the city where traffic congestion is an increasing problem. "a necessary evil" say the die-hard shopping fans.
that, again, strikes me as weird. because the exorbitant (to say the least) prices associated with the 'big daddies' in the brand market make shopping impossible and even a harmless bit of 'window shopping' embarassing. ritu kumar's for example. i think the salespersons in question would pass out if an interested customer(?) ever entered the place.
one of the very few stops (:|) for a regular south city-goer is spencer's. the MRP tag has never looked sweeter. it is common to shop for groceries and general necessities there. there is also a candy stand with a multi-coloured display of brilliantly wrapped chocolates and sugared candies, that lures kids (and their hyperventilating parents) like the proverbial lorelei (sirens,who lured lost sailors unto jagged rocks to their doom). i say 'doom' because the prices are so extravagant that they should be illegal. :|
then there's my favourite stop. starmark. *sound of trumpets*
once you arrive at starmark, you stop for a moment to take in the sight. the breathtaking sight of books, arranged to mesmerize the eye. it's a world of colours. bags, games, remote controlled models of airplanes,cars - a child's dream. the average adult seems pretty bowled over too.
it is a favourite pastime of mine to pick a book and enjoy a quiet read on one of those quaint wooden chairs...a blissful couple of hours.
phew! all that typing's made me hungry. here's what i shall do. i shall take three consecutive escalators to the very top floor and go for a chicken arrabiata (pasta) at the food court!!
yes the food court. you can ask some random person for directions or do the smarter thing and follow your nose. the delicious wafts of the vast array of dishes you get there is hard to miss. there are all sorts of counters, categorized in terms of dishes (pasta, kebabs, etc) or in terms of regions (republic of china, state of bengal, state of punjab) complete with a fast food counter. though panipuri-s are much more fun when they're made with grossly unhygienic water and served in quaint leaky,leafy cups.
the thing that sets apart the new kid on the block from the rest of it's kind is the overtly pleasing layout of the place. the infrastructure is similar to that of a ship, with the showrooms on each floor built on the periphery leaving a clear space in the middle. there are certain locations where leaning against the railing, one can get a "titanic view" of the entire mall (reason i said ship). at the very least, there is no other mall that i have seen, where it's a common sight to see people generally standing around drinking in the awesome sight.
well you get the picture. :D. the south city mall is basically a (slightly misleading) picture of what the upper middle class of the city can achieve.
