If you are a true blue Kochiite, chances are that, you will not return from a visit to the Lulu Mall, without bumping into at least one acquaintance of yours. It has happened to me every time I have been to the mall, not that I am complaining.
I had never really taken a liking towards shopping
malls mushrooming in cities, nor had I been a person who used to frequent malls
that often. Now when I come to think about it, I feel that may be I had been
wrong about the whole “Mall” concept. I do not know whether these malls are
good for our GDP, whether the economy benefits from it or not – those are
topics better left for B-School aspirants to discuss during their Mock GDs or
to people with better brains than me. However I do know one thing, if they have
the power to bring people who are busy creating islands for themselves, then
God bless the concepts of malls.
There used to be a time, when the Marine Drive and
Subhash Park were the most frequented places of a Kochiite. I used to, and I
still love taking those walks alongside the backwaters in Marine Drive. But
from the simplicity of the parks and the backwaters, now a new place has found
prominence in the favourites list of Kochiites – ‘Lulu International Shopping
Mall’. Whoever would have thought that a seemingly deserted piece of land in
Edapally, would one day be home to the largest shopping mall in India!
“Want to watch a movie?”, “Want to meet up with
friends?”, “Want to binge on great food?”, or “Want to shop for groceries?” –
“Head to Lulu Mall” is the answer that you are most likely to get from a
Kochiite nowadays for any of these questions. Weekday or weekend, morning or
evening, Lulu is always bustling with people. The success of the mall can be
attributed to many factors, state-of-the-art infrastructure, excellent
management, and an experience that was totally new to Kochiites. There is
something about Lulu Mall that attracts old and young alike. Lulu Mall in a way
has redefined the image of malls from one that is youth centric to one that
caters to the likes of all age groups. Grandparents with their grandsons and
granddaughters are a common sight in the mall. I feel that the mall has been
successful in attracting even the most reclusive Kochiite towards it.
What I like the most about the mall is the crowd in
the mall. I like to believe that somewhere in that crowd, I will be able to
find a familiar face; someone who I haven’t talked to or seen in a long while;
someone to whom I would have said, “We will be in touch”, but to whom I could
not have kept my word; someone near and dear to me, but who had just become a
contact in Facebook or WhatsApp. The joy on seeing your long lost friend, or
that distant relative of yours, or simply someone who you know, is
unparalleled. I have experienced it many times in Lulu Mall.
Though Lulu Mall can never oust Marine Drive from
the top position on my list of favourite places in Cochin, it does give it a
tough competition though. Long live Lulu Mall!
