Book Stores | the face of new generation shopping

Though primarily referred as Book Stores, they are a lot more than that!!.They have revolutionised the way we shop. They have brought a radical change to the shopping experience in India. Started as Book stores, they have now developed to extensive Book and Music Retail chains.

Mostly located in malls across cities, they attract nearly eighty percent of the crowd entering these malls. It has become a habit for many people to have a walk inside these stores every time they visit the malls.

I have elucidated my shopping experience in these stores. The first thing you notice after depositing your baggage is racks stacked with neatly arranged books ,CD’s and people walking with their heads pointing downwards. The entire environment inside these stores is designed carefully to create the suitable mood among the visitors.

The toy’s section is huge and caters to the demands of all kids. Whether it is a hot wheels car or video games, they have it all. No kid walks out of there without grabbing a toy.
The cute tiny girls cannot stop staring at the magnificent Barbie dolls adorned with stunning gowns and jewellery. The boys cannot part with their cool toys.

The other day, a boy was pestering his dad continuously “Should I buy the Ferrari or the McLaren model, dad?? “ .His dad who had gone mad after seeing the massive collections shouted back “Buy whatever u want, but be quick”.
I have noticed several parents who search for educational games for their kids and explain it to them, while the concentrations of the kids are immersed in the toys section.

Instead of heading to gift shops, the young Romeo and Juliet’s rush to these stores to buy greeting cards and cute gifts for their darling and dear friends. Funky key chains, wall posters, sunglasses, watches etc wow teenagers.

Working Parents search for good novels and cassettes as their kids keep playing and running around the corridors. People in their thirties and forties constitute the major buyers purchasing novels. The ladies who are home-makers spend their time looking at the cookery sets and decorative items to adorn their houses and assist their kids to buy stationary items for their schools.

It’s funny!! Whenever I pass by the Business and Management Books Section, I observe geeky persons and employees dressed in formals surfing these books to improve their skills to stay alive in the competitive market.
Peculiarly one day, I noticed a bunch of guys wearing formals and ties and busy browsing these books...looked like they directly stormed the stores after their meetings!!

There isn’t a better place for retired couples to hang around than these stores. Gone are the days of going to the beach or the temples, nowadays they prefer spending their time in these stores searching for devotional songs, classical movies and religious books.
Once I overheard a conversation between an old man and his wife. His wife asked him” Can we come here more often?? ”

The only empty counters in these busy stores are the Perfume Sections. Even though their lovely scent can attract people, their prices keep the customers away. It is the only the deodorants which finds a few buyers.

Some stores like Crossword and Odyssey have opened mini coffee shops inside, which ideally creates the mood to buy books for few customers.

The previous time i visited the mall, I wanted to have some coffee. My friend took me to one of these mini-shops inside Odyssey. These outlets do not attract much crowd and they surrounded with magazines and interesting books, which make them an ideal place to have a drink. So next time, consider having your coffee at one of these stores.

Chocolates, particularly the imported ones have found places in a few racks , these days. Most of them are sealed in boxes. A child innocently asked his mom to buy the collection of books with chocolate pictures over them...but they were actually a tin of chocolates.

Amazingly, these stores have a very good collection of jewellery with decent price tags. Earrings’, Rings, Bracelets, Pendants and Necklaces are all available in variety of designs and patterns. These items outshine the sales of wallets and hand bags.

Earlier, the Electronics section consisted mostly of earphones, play stations and MP3 players. But now, they have extended to mobiles, cameras, home theatres, tablets and more. You can frequently notice que’s formed by kids, who wait for their turn to play a demo of the play station games. Sure enough, these stores know to lure the kids very well.

Once I noticed a lady buying a watch. Next she went and brought herself a bracelet. Next she turned to a beautiful necklace. Unlike other stores, they house different categories of jewellery and ladies will sure enjoy asking their beaus to purchase all of them.

Stationeries -omg!!The quantity and varieties of stationeries available is staggering. Their collections range from pencils to Mont Blanc Pens. Astoundingly, they house all the drawing equipment's which are very rare to find outside.

Concluding, these stores have added a new image to the shopping experience the malls have to offer. Personally, these stores hypnotize me and I always look forward to shop there.

My friends and their Stupidity

PART ONE:

Everyone has stupidity inside them. But some of them have it more than others .Sometimes their smartness fails and their stupidity gets exposed. Sometimes they accidently blurt/show it out.
There have been a few instances where stupidities of some of my friends have been caught red handed. Here are a few of them.

One day in my French class, one of my friend asked the teacher” Ma’am, How do you say ‘I love you’ in French? ”.
She smiled and wrote two sentences in the Board. My friend immediately asked “Does both the sentences mean the same?”.”No” she replied.”The first one means ‘I love you’ and the second means’ I hate you’. In case the girl replies back, you should be able to understand it right!!”Her smart reply put an end to the silly doubts of my friend.

I was telling my friend that most of the important functions this year unfortunately fall on weekends. Functions like Republic Day, Holi..Gandhi Jayanthi...Diwali...All are falling on weekends.
He being a boastful guy quickly cut me and replied “Yes, even Christmas and Good Friday are falling on Weekends.”

One day, my stupid friend who was staying in a nearby area went to have a Hair-cut. Being shy and innocent, he didn’t try searching for a proper Saloon shop for his hair-cut. There was a billboard under a tree that read “Obama Saloon”. He immediately sat down in the shade of the tree and got his hair cut over there. After the hair cut was done, he asked the barber for a mirror. The barber replied “There is a car standing there!! Use its mirrors”. Poor guy even had to pay Rs 70 for this extraordinary special hair-cut.

My uncle had gone to the family doctor for a check up. As they were chatting casually, he said “Nowadays people have gone mad and they rush to shops like Big Bazaar like a fish market. The doctor with a grin on his face replied”Oh...Ok... (Cough) Even I went there today!” I don’t think my uncle went there again.

Some of them are experts in bluffing. As i was walking with my friend in a quite peaceful area of Bangalore, we suddenly heard a thunderous noise. Since air force fighter planes keep circulating around sometimes, I thought it was a just a fighter plane flying.
My friend immediately said “I can identify the planes by their sounds. I think it is an F-16”.Just as he finished saying this, an auto rickshaw passed a few metres ahead of us. It was making the deafening sound we just heard. My dumbstruck and embarrassed friend didn’t have anything to say after that.

Will be continued in part 2.

If the above mentioned friends are reading this, please understand “Iam very sorry. I can’t stop talking and showing off my dear stupid friends.Moreover..

The “SUPER STAR” Phenomena

In the South,watching their favourite star’s movie on the day of its release has become a ritual for a lot of crowd. Doing that has become a habit for most of them and they consider it as their privilege and honour. The Cut out banners, large posters [some as high as five storeys] decorated with garlands welcome the fans to the theatre.

If you think these ardent fans have come to watch the movie, you are wrong. They have come to experience the Thrill, the Sensation and Energy among the audience as they watch their Stars smile, cry, joke and dance to songs. The audience, mesmerized by the film is engaged into Dancing, Whistling and Clapping to their level best.
All this for watching a normal person act in a movie? Who are these stars and why are they so famous??

Well these stars are mere humans, but their acting and movies have caused ripples and appreciation among the masses in cities and villages through the years. It is a long journey before these actors achieve the status of “SUPER STAR”.

Behind this Superstar status lays their Hard work and Struggle that has lasted for decades. Growing from street plays to small film schools to perform in dramas and to do supportive roles as co-artists to lead as actor and then act for years to get the “star” tag and then act for decades and finally after impressing millions of audience with their skills they achieve the “SUPERSTAR“ status.

“Their Acting should be bigger than life. The Scripts should be bigger than life. It should all be bigger than life.”

Achieving this is very tough and requires utmost maximum determination and courage.
“Acting is a question of absorbing other people's personalities and adding some of your own experience.”

Every action of them in every movie is keenly observed and commented by the crowd. They should be able to understand the likings and taste of the masses and enchant them with their acting skills to move the audience and impress them.

“Acting is a nice childish profession - pretending you're someone else and, at the same time, selling yourself”.

One thing is for sure ”Acting doesn't care about your looks”.
Most of the Superstars popularity comes from their larger-than-life super-hero appearance in many films, supported by gravity-defying stunts and charismatic expressions, all while attempting to maintain modesty in real-life.

“Every time our Superstar's movie release, it is like another Diwali for us” says a fan .His comment is justified by the crackers that explode before the first show of the movie starts.

The audience must feel the Exhilaration for having had a fantastic movie experience, Satisfaction for walking out without the feeling of being cheated, Admiration for the Director’s vision and ambition but largely, Pride for being a part of the Indian cinema.

Most of these “Fans” watch the movies umpteen times and still feel the joy and excitement as the first time. Apart from watching their star’s movies, most of the fans have created fan groups, fan websites and fan communities and keep interacting among them to share the latest news and discussions. These groups support their stars and participate in various activities.

These fans pray to god to ensure the "Movie is a Grand Hit" and also pray that the "Movie runs for 100 days". Some of them go to extents of shaving their head and offer their hair to god. A few of them go to extreme levels of piercing their skin.

These fans motivate their superstars to perform better in their forthcoming movies. Some of the superstars have returned back from retirement to act and enthral their fans.

They have become so famous that are elevated from being just another very popular actor to nearly a Demigod status among the masses. Several stars are called by special nicknames kept by their fans. These Superstars have spread their popularity to various countries also. Few of them have become Asia’s highest paid actors.

I believe it is this SUPERSTAR phenomenon that will showcase the Tamil cinema and its fans to the world and expose the creativity, passion and expertise of the Kollywood Movie Industry as a whole and make people from other countries acknowledge and love our stars and films.

2014, Aug 13: (in fb)
Brad Pitt: THALAIVA, Super Movie.How do you manage to kill 15 people around you with a flip of your body?? Awesome!!

Babies and their magic spells:

Mistake not, babies are very powerful. They can achieve things which many of us cannot. They can bring enthusiasm and fill people with energy.

All of us love babies. Its slightest actions and moves are appreciated by us. Look at a baby for several moments. In that time, that baby may smile, wrinkle her nose, cry, yawn, twist up his face or share a new expression. Their funny and stupid actions make us smile and laugh. ‘Their warmth and touch is piece of heaven ‘.These innocent kids may cry and cause great trouble to its mother, but it’s their smile that motivates his mom to care and love him further.

Just the other day, my cousin and his one year old kid had come over. All my family members stopped their work and started playing with him. When he danced to the tunes of a Bollywood song, more than the child enjoying the music, it was my family who were enjoying his dance. Soon, all of them started clapping and dancing around in their places. Whether it was my eight year old brother or my eighty year old grandmother, all of them rejoiced the scene.

‘A baby also changes your dinner party conversation from politics to poops ‘.
It controls the style of living of the family. They make us changes our schedules and priorities.

Grandparents who have grandkids are happier than ones without them. Also, most of the parents will agree that their babies give them a moment of satisfaction and made them understand the meaning of life.

“Having a baby changes the way you view your in-laws. I love it when they come to visit. They hold the baby and I go out.”-

Surprisingly, the attention that a parent pays to his or her child increases the security that child feels and leads to the development of trust, self, and independence. When infants receive negative or minimal responses to his/her attempts of communication, the trust element fails and sets the child of doubt and suspicion. A lack of positive emotional interaction also minimizes an infant’s independence.


Some wise old man saying “You can’t imagine your life with kids, until you have them, then you can’t imagine your life without them.”

A baby is like the beginning of all things, hope, a dream of possibilities. A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bank balance smaller, home happier, clothes dirty, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.

Pls Note: The writer here is not married and does not have a baby. He has described only his observations and personal views.

Young at Old

Gone are the days when the old people used to go to temples daily, offer prayers throughout the day, and watch TV soaps in the night. They want something more exciting and interesting!!Times have changed and so have they!!

They want to be in limelight even after their retirement and are in no mood to sit in the house idle and doing nothing. Proof??

Here u go;

At the newly opened McDonald restaurant in Bangalore, things weren’t the same as at other outlets. McDonalds’ used to be a common place of hangout for youngsters grabbing their burgers and coke after college and chatting in the backdrop of songs of Madonna or akon etc. But this wasn’t the case here. The outlet was filled with ladies in their early 60’s ordering burgers and French fries and chatting amongst each other. Even the backdrop songs were different .Songs like Boom Boom Robo da from endhiran, a blockbuster rajnikanth movie were being played. The old ladies couldn’t stop relishing their burgers in midst of their favourite songs!!

Malls are now increasingly visited by the old couples. The grandmothers and grandfathers prefer to visit the popular malls with their grandkids and son/daughter on weekends. Several health problems like knee/ankle pain haven’t stopped them visiting these places. They are taken around in the wheelchairs provided by mall’s customer service. Some shops have been opened particularly targeting these customers.

Restaurant, malls what else?? Maybe Tours!!

The old ladies and gents in the neighbourhood get together and form groups. They conduct and attend various singing/bhajan classes and also plan their outdoor trips themselves. After making plans, they find travel agents nearby who arranges buses. Not only are they self-dependant but they are also self confident to go to these trips. Several such trips have enabled them to view various temples and sight spots outside the city. These trips are very memorable for them as they travel with people of their same age and are able to share their experience and stories on their way.

Apart from doing young stuff, they want to look young too. No one wants to show their age. They regularly dye their hair; some hit the gym to stay in shape. Several Beauty-treatment procedures for the old are being opened.

Several couples save money and spend it to visit places abroad or go for world tours after retirement. The government’s plan of extending the retirement age to 62 would just ruin those plans.

Gadgets are also increasingly used by them. Cell phones, Mp3 players are with them at all times. They also get interested on seeing new devices like I phones, Tablets, LED screens.

In those days, communication between two old friends staying at different cities used to be via telephone or postcard/letter. But now, we have easier and interesting ways of communication.
1. Email
2. Social networking sites-Facebook , Orkut, twitter etc

Few days back I got a friend request in Facebook. When i opened the tab to see the friend who was sending the request, I was in for a rude shock. My 85yr old grandfather had just sent me a friend request in facebook. Looking at his profile, I noticed that he already has over 80 friends. He updates status and comments frequently. Wonder if he has joined Google plus before me!!

Even though few of them may not like how the culture is shaping up, they can’t resist enjoying the fun and thrill that the present has to offer to youngsters.

THEY EXIST!!!

Many of us might not follow the traffic rules .Sometimes; we cross the roads blindly or park our vehicle in No-Parking areas!!But among us, within the city there exist some species which know and follow the traffic rules. They posses some good manners also!!

Yes, they are called COWS. Read on and you will know!!

The following sentences are 100 % TRUE.

While I was heading towards airport in Bangalore, an unusual scene happened in Jayangar. There was a cow trying to cross the road. Initially before crossing the road, it LOOKED RIGHT for vehicles and then crossed the road after realizing that the road was free. I was shocked and thought it is just an illusion. But my shocks were true. After reaching the middle of the road, it rotated its head again and looked LEFT at the oncoming traffic and then crossed the road again.


Another day, I was travelling in the car and there was a cow moving ahead of us .There was a car parked ahead of the cow, so the cow moved right. But there was something odd. It swayed its tail to the right before moving right. After continuous horns by cars behind it, it moved left and gave way for the cars. Again it wagged its tail to the left before moving left. Nice of it to give indication before it turns!!Lol!!



After the above incidents, I started giving more attention to the cows in the road looking for more such interesting incidents.

There was one lazy cow sitting relaxing by the road side. And the best part-it was directly sitting under the Parking Zone sign board. Nice Coincidence!!

Another interesting fact, cows always walk behind one another unlike us where we walk beside each other ignoring the busy roads and traffic.


Do these things happen only in Bangalore?? No, i have noticed similar odd stuff happen in Chennai also!!

The Chennai weather proved to be harsh for the cows also. One of the cows actually stepped inside a Volvo Ac Bus waiting in the bus stand as it couldn’t bear the heat outside. A child sitting in the front was shocked and started shouting!!The conductor had to rush and push the cow outside.

In Chennai near the HP petrol bunk in Vadapalani, i noticed a cow standing and facing the road. I thought it was just crossing. I was wrong!! Its back was right above the garbage bin and its shit fell right into it. Nice cleanliness habits!!LOL!!


I looked for reasons behind these abnormalities and Wikipedia provided the exact answers I wanted.

Many of you would have come across Darwin’s theory of Evolution. Some quotes from Wikipedia which gives the explanation,
"An animal or plant is developmentally flexible if when it is raised or transferred to new conditions it develops so that it is better fitted to survive in the new circumstances". Genetic changes may result in visible structures, or may adjust physiological activity in a way that suits the changed habitat.

The same applies here. Humans have destroyed the fields and erected buildings and constructed townships. So the animals staying in those areas either adapt to the change or become extinct. Surprisingly it looks that the cows have adapted to the traffic and busy streets of the city!!

Pretty much, we can few Cow Crossing Boards in our city.They might prove useful!!