Malls

I enjoy going to the malls, it’s the world presenting itself in its most ostentatious classy look, with its squeaky clean floors, eating joints that promises to satisfy even the taste buds alien to the planet earth, Cafés that intoxicate the air with the aroma of roasted coffee beans and cookies which makes everyone whiff their way to them, store dummies at their elegant best behind the look through glasses, popcorns, French fries, softies, chats, colas, escalators, lights and more lights it's a flashy world all together. A first look inside a mall might make one ask the question if the experience one is going through is one of déjà vu because all over the country every mall with its people look the same whether it be the malls in Delhi, Kolkata or Chennai they all seem similar at first look, this experience of déjà vu that a guy like me might go through inside a mall might be because of the cosmopolitan nature of all these Indian metro cities. It takes a while for the environment inside a mall to sink in to a point where in the differences become profound to a level that one can recognize that its not the same people or realize that its not the same mall, more than the act of being a vagabond in the way roaming inside a mall it’s the people who come to these malls interest me the most, especially their faces.

Every face inside a mall has something to tell faces that seek attention, faces that are all alone, faces that are obscure, faces that are in a pensive state, Faces that gleam with pride for its carrying the bag that carries the logo of the exclusive designer store that it’s just been to, faces that are wrinkled yet trying to catch up with the future, faces that feel out of place, faces that are in expectation of that special some one, faces with prying eyes, faces that are tiny crying for that “one more” chocolate or ice cream, and their little smile on their faces once their mission gets accomplished, faces in anguish wishing if he or she had stopped with one child, faces in pain wishing to be single all again, withered faces in wonderment about how things have changed, Faces that look into each others eyes as the world around them disappear like a smoke in the wind leaving them all alone for eternity in the paradise that’s made of love,. hmmmmmm yup !!!! the “paradise” that we are talking about here is the Mall, yes the edifice that houses apparel stores, eating joints, multiplexes, jewelry stores, designer stores, gaming parlors, super markets, art galleries the place that’s all about noise and crowd some how transforms into paradise for some people, yes the very “Eden” the place that’s all about divinity and bliss comes alive for some people who don’t mind the thousands of cavillous eyes looking at them, who don’t mind letting their cone softies melt and make the table and their attire look as clumsy as it would if some one had splashed a milk shake across it and at them while they were busy looking into each others eyes, and for many others who breath by measures its just a Mall we are talking about. Coming back to the faces in the mall, there are faces that stand out in the crowd and there are faces that are made to be part of the crowd but never the less its all faces and every face is unique as it carries a story behind it and every face will stay unique until it carries a smile on it :). ….. 

Prasanna Kumar