Bhubaneswar Mall Culture - A Massive Whopping Affair

Two interesting things here in Bhubaneswar, the "malls" and the journalism. The following story from online journal Odisha Diary sums up both rather succinctly methinks. (Do not for a minute be fooled into thinking this town is "cosmopolitan" as we know it in the rest of the western world.)

Odisha's Capital city Bhubaneswar booming with mall culture

Report by Priya Priyadarshini; Bhubaneswar: Shopping has always been an interesting and exciting piece of flavour for all people who do enjoy it to the maximum length. With the reviving mall culture one can equally get the essence of brands and their utilities. It is something like a combo pack where one gets the range of simple stuffs starting from house chore items to the glassware touch. Each item with the unique portrayal of excellent artiwork and design wear.

Moving to the Orissa's capital city one can witness things on a growing up service. Though things are yet to get the perfect glow, viewing the troupe never lacks the pleasure. One is highly bestowed with the displayed stuffs that are vibrant in colour, texture and price as well. In Bhubaneswar the mall culture is a decade long phenomena when people started to carve their accounts with new inputs and that for with a happy note of brands and varieties. Malls are more of an enjoyable ride for many. Scrolling the segments not only we do get the new beats of brands but also sense the dreams turning reality.

“If a consumer wanders in a mall, he gathers sufficient knowledge about products. Choices and preferences come thereby keeping him up to date about products:, says Shiba Biswal a mall culture admirer.

While contrary to this statement Shashi Mohanty a book lover feels Bhubaneswar needs to revive in terms of mall culture as it lacks various other facilities provided by other city services.

In the capital city the malls are more a centre for the young scions.  Be it Big Bazar, Pantaloons, Pal Heights or The World each has it’s own package that deals with the prospects of improving lifestyles. Getting the latest flick and track from the ‘M planet’- the music store house and redressing your style with the best of suits, brands and clothes everything and all under single roof only. Similarly, packaging the seasonal and annual fruits and vegetables along with all the kitchen stuffs from the most reliable source is a great boost of the mall culture. Even the best of all jewellery stones do add another feature to the concept. It is always said that shopping with a bit of good food makes the ride a memorable one. Be it Baskin Robbins Or Pizza Hut, Moginis Or Spencer with all food stuffs one is certain to explore the best for the taste. 

Over the span of time the behaviour of consumer has moderated a lot. Malls can be adjudged to be the sole factor behind this. Earlier it was shopping only but with the mall structure it is more like a happy go fun ride where one experiences a lot regarding the basics of shopping as an adventure. Time saving idea is equally prevalent over here.

Well it is the most comfortable place for youngsters to breed their ideas at the best. Placed with the updates from the techno world there is equal; placement of novels, bestsellers and top 5 to relish one’s knowledge. Even the concept of coupon cards and membership cards do make it easier to shop. Malls are a way to boost your house with the maximum of things. As one can get discounted rates on varieties of occasion. Bumper prize, summer special, winter offer, even certain game points all at the end for every individual. While malls are the centres of experiencing the wildest shopping spree, kids do get their own world to explore in the dreamy land with each game stuff to pull their nerve straight. 

Though the youth culture appreciates the ways of presentation of stuffs yet gives a second thought to the pocket as well before stepping into the buildings. “I am pleased to get the ultimatum without any duplication as one gets the best of some designer wear. Again a place where I am free to deliver my thoughts with friends of my essence thereby grooming the know how of the latest fashion, “says Ankita Ray an aspiring media student.

Bhubaneswar is certainly taking a metro look having an assurance of recycling and renovating things with the mall culture and this is the just the beginning of the maximum whopping affair yet to activate the city dwellers.

http://orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=26755

The Joys of the Share Auto

Until I acquire my own wheels, the only way to get around Bhubaneswar is to use auto-rickshaws. There are a few bus routes but the "autos" are everywhere. There's two ways to get a ride in an auto, firstly and most commonly is the "share auto" which is where an auto runs from point A to point B and picks up and drops off along the way. The second is "reserved" for which you pay a hefty premium and that auto will take you all the way to where you want to go.

With limited financial resources, time on my hands and a general curiosity about doing things with the locals, I find myself in share autos most of the time.

A newcomer to Bhubaneswar would have no idea about the system as street names and addresses either don't exist or are hard to come by. After a couple of months here I'm finally figuring out the lay of the land, not to mention the share auto routes and the prices I should be paying.

The guys on my neighbourhood routes to/from Kalpana square are great and never try to overcharge me. In fact I find that most of the time the prices are fair. The great autowallah swindle is something that irks many a foreigner in India.

If I want to get from the south side of Bhubaneswar (where I live) to the north side, it can take me an hour and up to five different share autos.

So the system takes a little getting used to and is very intimidating to newcomers but once you've got the hang of it city starts opening itself up to you.

In the past couple of months I've had some really cool experiences with locals in the share autos. Just in the past few days here's some of the "joys":

1. I took a reserved auto on Sunday to meet my friends for lunch at the Mayfair Hotel. It was pretty far and pretty hot so I thought I'd do it in style. I got the autowallah down from Rs80 to Rs70 but he didn't really know where he was going. We stopped along the way for him to check the price with his mates and he told me it should be Rs80. I could've argued we stick to the agreed price but what the hell, he has to make a living and what is Rs10. So at the end when I paid him, he was so happy to get the extra Rs10 and we had a laugh and shook hands. A couple of days ago I went down to my corner auto hub to get a share auto and he was there. He was so happy to see me he shook my hand enthusiastically and had all his mates do the same. We reminisced about Sunday's ride to the "Maypair" (f's aren't pronounced in Orissa, it is substituted by a p). Gorgeous!

2. The other night I was coming back from a meeting and got in a share auto at Kalpana Square. The women are always in the back and the men in front with the driver. I've had as many as nine in an auto before. We had a lady in the back with some shopping bags, then me, then two other ladies with a child aged about three also had to squeeze in. The lady on my right wasn't happy to squeeze over too much and it didn't leave much room for the two other ladies, let alone the child. I grabbed the child and stuck him on my lap so that we could all fit in. Not sure how this bold act would be viewed by the locals, the mum asked him if he was okay and he did the cute Indian head wobble to say yes. He sat comfortably in my lap the whole way to their stop.

3. About half way down from Kalpana Square to where I live in Brit Colony there's a roundabout where we turn. I call it the cow convention of an evening because there's scores of cows that head there when the temperature cools. Loads of dogs too. A few days ago we stopped there to let some people out and they were fixing up the payment. I was in the back seat, at the edge. Perfectly timed, a cow walked up and stopped with its rear less than a metre away from me. It then started to relieve itself. Right there! Not knowing quite what to do, I just had to hold my breath and turn my legs so none of the poo sprayed up on me.

Yes, life in India is never dull!

Calcutta

A few of us headed up to Calcutta for the weekend for a bit of a break. Calcutta is only 7 hours away by train - that feels like nothing after the Delhi commute.

Calcutta was the former capital during the British Raj, before it was moved to New Delhi. It is a huge city that has some beautiful colonial architecture, wide, tree-lined boulevards, and, much to our delight, footpaths. 

The main reason for the trip was to see a game of IPL Twenty 20 Cricket at Eden Gardens. The local team is the Kolkata Knight Riders and they played the Chennai Super Kings. There were some stars out on the field with MS Dhoni (India's captain) heading the Chennai team with help from Mike Hussey and Doug Bollinger. Brett Lee was bowling for the local team which is owned by one of Bollywood's biggest stars, Shah Rouk Kahn. It was a pretty slow game with Chennai struggling to get 130 in the first innings. Most of the attention of the crowd was focused on Mr Kahn and his Bollywood cohorts. Kolkata came in firing and was clearly going to win the game but it was delayed after about 8 overs due to rain and then called off. Kolkata won by 10 runs under the Duckworth Lewis method which means they've got a chance to reach the finals series.

One of our friends here in Bhubaneswar also planned a new social movement activity for that day. International Day of Service, conceived right here in Bhub, is a day where people can go and volunteer at a local orphanage or aged care home. The aim is to motivate and mobilise volunteers. The first event was held on Saturday and due to us being in Calcutta we hooked up with an orphanage there. So after arriving at 6am, showering and getting breakfast, we were off to the orphanage loaded up with face paints and big smiles. The kids were just gorgeous and once they warmed up we had a ball. I think the photos say it all.

What a dollar buys

In my second week here I finally found a nice little local market to buy my vegetables. Shopping here in Bhubaneswar is very different to shopping at home, for a number of reasons.

Firstly, shopping is done either early in the morning, or in the evening after the sun goes down. Actually, most things here are done in that way. The hottest part of the day is anywhere from about 10am until about 6pm. Most places close down around lunch time and then reopen at dusk. It takes quite a while to get used to.

We are now getting into the the hot and sticky summer. I woke this morning at about 7am, drenched in sweat. I checked the temperature then, it was 29 degrees with humidity of 91%. Highs today should reach 41 degrees. Only two or so more months of that to go.

Back to the veges... most things you buy by the kilo, or panch sau - 500 grams. I try to get only what I need so as I don't waste food, but if I do, it just goes to the cows outside. The food here is also seasonal. Right now mangoes, cucumbers and watermelons are in season which is fantastic.

This picture shows what I bought on my first market visit. It cost about 46 rupees which is about one Aussie dollar.