Bombaypolis Moments.... Part 4

"Mall ratting" is the in-thing now. The established malls are having amazing footfalls , while the newer ones are struggling to survive. The crowds throng malls, on weekends, not only for shopping, but also for window-shopping, "timepass" and live shows....

I often wonder what proportion of the foot-falls in a mall would be genuine customers? Very few, I guess. That's why stores are not able justify the cost of their existence in malls, are rentals remain high. That's why stores barely survive for about a year and then move out....

In womenswear boutiques, males always have a harrowing time while the women spend hours and hours on their "retail therapy". This photo shows a chubby kid, sitting beneath hangars of women's wear at the Biba store, visibly very bored and irritated, while his mom and sister shopped away to glory..... It was a scene I would never forget....

Little kids have a great time mall-ratting - demanding balloons, ice-creams, toys, Happy-Meals, etc. This little boy was thoroughly enjoying his Happy-Meal and Coke outside one of the malls at Goregaon. All this, while this patiently waited..... Such things are a treat to watch.
But, all this if you are lucky to get parking space for your car....

While we may have graduated to glitzy glass and chrome malls, foreign brands, designer wear, fast food chains, some of our communities remain extremely sexist, with a marked preference for the male kid. One can see such a discrimination by practised by supposedly well educated parents. I came across these interesting stickers during a recent routine medical test at a suburban laboratory recently.

Yes, pink or blue, we still love you.....

With the onset of the Monsoon, Bombay has suddenly become very pleasant and green. More on that in the next edition of Bombaypolis Moments.....