As a child, going to the neighbouring Nilgiris to buy a chocolate was a high point for me. Departmental stores were not very common, we used to go to small vegetable stores or a small fruit seller and buy what we need.
Now, with the huge influx of people from tier II and tier III cities to metropolitans like Bengaluru, the influence of westernisation is rapid and undeniable. But it seems like instead of focussing on the highlights of different cultures, we are taking all the wrong parts of it.
Malls have become go-to places for anything - whether to hang out, eat, catch a movie, shop; these are social destinations. But people dont have much use for a mall. More often than not, they dont buy anything, they just point and stare. Its more a playground for kids to run around. I think people just go to malls to basically stare at other people and get away from the heat. They may occasionally try out clothes to see what fits and then buy it online.
The mall came to the city a long time back but it is dehumanising the entire system we had. I remember going to the small family-owned shops to buy things. Parking was a problem but you get to meet these salespeople who know you, remember you and know what you want. Now salespeople in malls dont care, they just stand around, concerned with how they look and the conversations with their colleagues.
When I say its a mall world, I dont just mean the physical structure, its the idea behind it. Everything is given to the people on a platter - they can watch, eat and shop whatever they want, all at one place. These people may have a degree, but they dont have exposure. Its almost like you keep them only as educated as you want them to be. They fall prey to the mall culture happily, buying things they dont need.
Getting the best deals in Amazon doesnt mean you are getting the best products, you are just getting stuff for cheap. Myntra and Flipkart is not giving you quality; they are just force-feeding rubbish down your throat. And because you see that 80 percent discount, you feel that Oh my God, I have beaten the system. Little did you know that you could do without that junk.
I am not saying we should go back to the single family-owned businesses but retaining the identity of a city gives it some charm. Going to Chickpet to buy something in the middle of all the chaos or having a sandwich is an experience. Places like Vienna or Venice attract people because they have some bit of their heritage there. Instead of building random giant structures, you can redo places like Commercial Street or Brigade Road to make them clean and more pedestrian friendly.
These iconic landmarks are what we showcase to friends from other places when they come for a visit, its the face of the city that we project to the world. Even if we have hundreds of malls, the usual Nandi Hills or Bull temple or Lalbagh are our must-visit attractions. We should focus more on them. Dont let malls take away our identity. While malls in America are miles away from each other, Bengaluru has a mall on almost every other street. We dont need so many. We should focus on promoting small shops and creating accessible ways for small and local groups to sell their stuff. Lets build a thriving street culture and focus on providing street food which is hygienic. Lets realise that malls are not clean just because they have glass and chrome. Sadly, our culture now is one where we are very happy following what is given to us. The one person who doesnt do that is called a thought leader. Thought leaders are people who spend a lot of time focusing on how we can evolve from where we are. The problem is right now there is so much mediocrity in society that even one person who is doing a little bit more than mediocre work is seen as a legend. Thats the mall world - we dont know what we are, we dont know where we are. We have just become a dumping ground for the west. And we think that we are developing as a city.
As a child, going to the neighbouring Nilgiris to buy a chocolate was a high point for me. Departmental stores were not very common, we used to go to small vegetable stores or a small fruit seller and buy what we need.
Now, with the huge influx of people from tier II and tier III cities to metropolitans like Bengaluru, the influence of westernisation is rapid and undeniable. But it seems like instead of focussing on the highlights of different cultures, we are taking all the wrong parts of it.
Malls have become go-to places for anything - whether to hang out, eat, catch a movie, shop; these are social destinations. But people don't have much use for a mall. More often than not, they don't buy anything, they just point and stare. It's more a playground for kids to run around. I think people just go to malls to basically stare at other people and get away from the heat. They may occasionally try out clothes to see what fits and then buy it online.
The mall came to the city a long time back but it is dehumanising the entire system we had. I remember going to the small family-owned shops to buy things. Parking was a problem but you get to meet these salespeople who know you, remember you and know what you want. Now salespeople in malls don't care, they just stand around, concerned with how they look and the conversations with their colleagues.
When I say it's a mall world, I don't just mean the physical structure, it's the idea behind it. Everything is given to the people on a platter - they can watch, eat and shop whatever they want, all at one place. These people may have a degree, but they don't have exposure. It's almost like you keep them only as educated as you want them to be. They fall prey to the 'mall' culture happily, buying things they don't need.
Getting the best deals in Amazon doesn't mean you are getting the best products, you are just getting stuff for cheap. Myntra and Flipkart is not giving you quality; they are just force-feeding rubbish down your throat. And because you see that 80 percent discount, you feel that 'Oh my God, I have beaten the system'. Little did you know that you could do without that junk.
I am not saying we should go back to the single family-owned businesses but retaining the identity of a city gives it some charm. Going to Chickpet to buy something in the middle of all the chaos or having a sandwich is an experience. Places like Vienna or Venice attract people because they have some bit of their heritage there. Instead of building random giant structures, you can redo places like Commercial Street or Brigade Road to make them clean and more pedestrian friendly.
These iconic landmarks are what we showcase to friends from other places when they come for a visit, it's the face of the city that we project to the world. Even if we have hundreds of malls, the usual Nandi Hills or Bull temple or Lalbagh are our 'must-visit' attractions. We should focus more on them. Don't let malls take away our identity. While malls in America are miles away from each other, Bengaluru has a mall on almost every other street. We don't need so many. We should focus on promoting small shops and creating accessible ways for small and local groups to sell their stuff. Let's build a thriving street culture and focus on providing street food which is hygienic. Let's realise that malls are not clean just because they have glass and chrome. Sadly, our culture now is one where we are very happy following what is given to us. The one person who doesn't do that is called a thought leader. Thought leaders are people who spend a lot of time focusing on how we can evolve from where we are. The problem is right now there is so much mediocrity in society that even one person who is doing a little bit more than mediocre work is seen as a legend. That's the mall world - we don't know what we are, we don't know where we are. We have just become a dumping ground for the west. And we think that we are developing as a city.