The Mall culture and other trivia.

1. The Mall culture.

The numerous shopping malls dotting the cityscape have changed the concept of spending a holiday. People throng these massive arcades where shops of all varieties, alongwith facilities for entertainment, rub shoulders with one another and makes shopping a wonderful experience, amply supported by the availabilty of 'plastic money'.

Another significant factor that attracts crowds to the malls is that one doesn't have to drive through clogged and overpopulated roads looking for specific shops - it's a one stop shopping! Parking - which, otherwise is a pain due to dwindling sites - is also easier within its precincts.

We'd gone to the nearby 'Gold Souk Grande' to catch up on a new Malayalam movie and couldn't help but join in the general exuberance of the popcorn culture!


2. Another Gandhi Jayanti is here.

02 October is synonymous with Gandhiji. People come out in large numbers on a cleaning drive under the glare of the arc lights of the media. I've always wondered as to why we remember that we live in filth, only on this day, to go into a frenzy of collective cleaning and again lapse into insomnia till the next Gandhi Jayanti.

Probably, it's the guilty conscience deep within every Indian that he's living in a make believe world prone to corrupt practices, where the values and principles that Gandhiji tried to inculcate in his fellowmen have been conveniently forgotten. By resorting to 'shramdaan', some sort of spring cleaning is achieved off this guilty thought, perhaps!


3. Onam celebrations are still on.

Yes, Onam is still being celebrated with verve and fervour in many parts of the state - in fact, I'd an invite for an Onam lunch today. In my opinion it should be termed as 'Onam - on - Dussehra! The ongoing celebration is because of the fact that most people had taken off on leave, to be with their near and dear ones, during the actual period. Strictly a matter of convenience to celebrate the festival with their official counterparts - the authenticity of the dates be damned!!

My afternoon was, indeed, a very interesting one. A residential welfare association, nearby, where my friend is an active organiser was the prime mover. Children, ladies and gentlemen participated in the lively and colourful cultural programme prior to the sumptuous lunch spread. My favourite was the 'thiruvathirakkali' put up by the ladies.