Nov 23, 2012 01:09 PM
30776 Views
(Updated Nov 23, 2012 01:33 PM)
"There was a time when teenagers in Kolkata went to parks and lakes for romance, nowadays they go to Shopping Malls."
The emerging face of Kolkata in recent times has seen a boom in the retail market. A plethora of malls have come up in the city adding testimony to the fact. The most prominent among these is South City Mall, the hottest hangout zone in South Kolkata!
South City Mall is located in the prime location of Jodhpur Park and Lake Gardens area. It is well connected by buses and auto rickshaws. There is also a taxi stand just outside the mall. This good connectivity provides opportunities of easy commute, leading to a great footfall in this mall everyday. You will be amazed to know that you will need to queue up to enter the mall on weekend evenings! The ambience and decor of South City Mall is simply awesome. It's colorful, joyous and carnivalesque always. The exterior of the mall is always decorated in festive colors and lights. Special decorations are put up during the Durga Puja and the Foundation Days of the mall. There is also a grand decoration in the Ground Floor always.
Let us now see what special attractions does the mall have in store on its different floor levels:
Ground Floor: You enter the mall and you are amazed to see the grand structure, the lovely ambience, the colorful decor and the vibrant shops filled with happy looking crowd. The spacious lobby allows opportunities for product promotions. Cars and Bikes are promoted always everyday and so are fashion cosmetics. Infact, there are makeover sessions arranged here and I have once even seen a fashion show which featured catwalk by models! The venue also hosts performances by music bands and launch of new music records. The major shops in this level are Little Wonder, a shop offering a variety of products for your toddler; Cookie Man, producing yummy cookies and inviting you to taste one with the aromatic smell from far across; the ground level of Pantaloons and Shopper's Stop; Gaatha, the bridal wear shop; Titan Watch showroom and Himalaya Opticals. There are other eminent shops too like a Clock Shop, a shop of lavish household items and a shop of Diamond Jewellery. One interesting corner in the ground floor is an Art Gallery alley where paintings are hung from walls and you can have a look and admire for free. It allows young painters to organize their exhibitions.
Basement Floor: This one is dominated by Spencers who have a huge outlet offering almost everything under the sun. I am particularly fond of the Fish Market, as it was the first time I experienced a clean and air conditioned fish market. Now, of course many others have come up. This floor also has an outlet of Sony World, Presto who offer wonderful items with your personal photos; Fabindia, and Eyecatchers saloon.
First Floor: Hop on to the first floor via the escalator or the elevator. You have this floor dominated by Pantaloons, Shopper's Stop and other eminent clothing brands like Ritu Kumar, 109 F, W and others. There is also an accessories and bags showroom by Hidesign.
Second Floor: This level is very colorful and interesting because of the presence of the large multiplex run by Fame. There are around four movie theatres. The ambience is very colorful, warm and comfortable. The food is costly though, but the movie watching experience does give you a lot of positive energy. On the opposite corner, there is the book lover's paradise run by Starmark. It is a huge outlet having a great variety of Books. You can quietly sit in their and read through your favorite book. There is also a Kids Zone where your little ones can enjoy themselves. Starmark also features a section for movie CDs and DVDS, a section for Greeting Cards, stationary items, like files, folders, pens, photo albums, and also toys for kids. There is also a small cafe for quick bite offering snacks, doughnuts and good coffee.
Top Floor: The top floor is the Garden of Eden for food lovers and gourmets. It has a huge Food Court offering great varieties. The different kind of cuisines you can get in the food court are - Chinese, Korean, Punjabi, South Indian, Bengali, Mughlai, Chaats, Juices, Cakes, Snacks and Gelato. Some hot favorites are Raj Kachori, Chicken Sizzler and Chocolate Doughnut. I love the Gelato Italiano outlet too. In addition to the Food Court, this floor has outlets from Cafe Coffee Day, Cookie Jar, Subway, KFC, Pizza Hut and others. All these brands offer good food and I have hanged out in all of them. It has been a good experience all through. It does not stop here. There are restaurants too. The most prominent ones are Benjarong, offering mouth watering Thai Cuisine, Flame 'n Grill, offering a grand buffet of Kebabs that I bet you can't finish and my favorite Mainland China, serving quality chinese food always. There is also a fitness shop by Bodyliner in this floor, which is a bit ironical, as it might remind food lovers that they need to work out as well!
So what makes South City Mall special to me? Just it's existence and the fact that I can be there, by myself, a face lost in the crowd, watching the sights and sounds around me and soaking it in. A visit to this place gives you so much positive energy that it almost satiates your heart. You don't need to shop, don't need to eat, for enjoying this mall. Just enter here, roam around, experience it, and you will be happy. You can come across people from all the stratas of the society, it's a sea of different kinds of human beings. You might find a familiar face too on a typical day. The teenage couples no doubt love it, because they now have an air conditioned ambience where they can chit chat for hours. Let love bloom!
Perhaps Kolkata needed South City Mall, more than it needed Kolkata. And we the Kolkatans need it too now, it's almost a part of our lives!
