By Mukti Sharma
It was not the first time I had visited the
Great Indian Place
Shopping Mall at Noida. Huge Space, good ambiance, number of food courts,
different sections for various thins, a special slot for bride and
bridegroom shopping; all in one line. Think of the famous brands and you
will find it here. Reebok, Adidas, Lee Cooper, Orra, Archies, Botanica
Herbals, Levis, Wills Lifestyle, Liberty, Mc Donalds, Subway, Moti Mahal
Deluxe, Vogue, Cannon, West Side, Bizzare – all are placed inside this
huge Shopping Mall.
Shopping Malls are mushrooming everywhere. Take one right turn in the
Centre of any Major City of India – there is bound to be one. The
vastness of Shopping Malls is so much that a City cannot be imagined without
a Shopping Mall in its corner. Slowly and gradually people are getting
habitual of Shopping Malls. The main objective of shopping has centered down
to one roof, under which all the major shopping can be done. Be it
Delhi ,
Mumbai, Calcutta
or Madras, there are so many shopping malls that one looses count of it.
These days Shopping Malls are popping up like Mushrooms not leaving smaller
cities like Lucknow (
Sahara
Mall) and Hyderabad. Even smaller cities have them too.
But as people are liking more of
Shopping Malls
– one can shop in Mid June too at outside temperature of 47 Deg C, the
charm of Old Age Shopping is fading away. There used to be a time when two –
three people would gather and go the local Market for Shopping. Walking on
the road, sipping juices and cold drinks or coffee; munching road sides
tikkas and Bhelpuris, looking at the shops, talking – shopping was
done.
Shopping Malls have changed the entire way of Shopping. These two –
three level high storied buildings, fully covered and Air Conditioned, with
famous food joints and sections for all sorts of varities, the shopper is at
ease. Multiplexes Theaters have made the choice more easy. But despite of
all these advantages, these Shopping Malls have a major drawback – the
prices. The prices of things seem to be skyrocketing. Go for buying a 2 yrs
old baby's clothes - see they began from Rs 200/-. Ask someone for a 2 mts
of cloth, out of which the entire attire of the baby can be easily made
(with free hand), one ends up paying the hefty price. Rs 200/- is just the
beginning, it goes as far as Rs 2000/-. Now that would be something out of
which you can buy a piece of Denim for yourself. If you are buying a baby's
bottle, it would be something around Rs 150/ -. Cross the road, go to a
normal shop, that same bottle would come for Rs 80/-. See the huge
difference. Short top, short skirts, priced upto Rs 2000/ - seems to be a
small price one ends up for a 2 mtr cloth. And look at that transparent
white gala shirt – that comes for Rs 1500/-. Ask the shopkeeper what is
so special about it, with a blank face he will tell you – Its Pure
Cotton, Madam. Nobody asks them what for they are charging so much.
Suddenly after moving for 2 hrs, you realize your hunger pangs. Turn
towards the top floor with food courts. See the Menu -from the starters, the
price begins from Rs 250 / - Rs 500. And thats the starters. Now look at the
main Menu – Palak Paneer for Rs 200/-, Shahi Korma for Rs 350/-,
Mughlai Chicken for Rs
500/-, Sheekh Kebabs for Rs 320/- and the
Matar Paneer for Rs 150/ -. If
you want to try out something International then be ready to shell out
anything between Rs 500/- Rs 800/- for one variety. And as you order all
this, suddenly you have a rich – richy feeling ; something quite
different from what you used to feel while eating the chicken tikka from the
street vendor while shopping in the market.
After eating this sumptuous looking meal, which costed your pocket a life,
you begin your shopping spree ( spree as you literally throwing your hard
earned money in the hands of beautiful quacks!). Look at those cute baby
shoes. How lovely, new design and the colors, yes they are beautiful. Ready
to pay. Just Rs 420/- . What you hear that sound! Did I read it right???? Rs
Four hundred and twenty for a Two Year Olds Shoes – who doesn't even
know how to put feet on the ground – forget walking!!! Gosh! Suddenly
the Air Conditioner seems to be Room Heater. And you feel like fleeing away
..... And as you are walking away, dragging away your little one, there is
the Multiplex Theater. Inox or PVR or any other such movie theater. And that
is a good respite. Lining up, its going to be a good rest. As you reach the
counter, naming the running movie and tickets for two – Rs 600/- comes
the reply. At this point you almost faint.
The day flies away without the murmur, your head heavy, legs tired and the
back giving up. With large holes in the pocket, you come out smiling,
thinking – at last its over.
