Day 226 of Indian places giving smiles – the mall paradise of Gurgaon
We crossed the toll plaza from Delhi and entered the state of Haryana and the first city I saw was Gurgaon, so called because it is supposed to be the native place of famous Guru Dronacharya. Gurgaon is also a part of the National Capital Region. In 2003, I had associated it as the place to go for mall shopping.
We were greeted by the Ambience mall which in 2003 was probably the biggest mall in India. My husband had heard about the famous micro-brewery of this place and just had to try out for himself the other fine dining experiences. There was a time when my daughter and me would regularly come all the way to Gurgaon only to shop for the latest fashions and we made sure that our driver took us to almost all the 36 malls in the locality. And we ogled at all the display in the gold mall which reminded me of the gold soukhs of Dubai.
Truly Gurgaon represented what I considered the new materialistic side of human nature. I was lucky to get a chance to stay at a friends place in one of the many swanky residential complexes in the area and I got a chance to experience their high standard of living with their sprawling houses and fancy cars. In contrast I saw the migrant labourers next door who were struggling to make a living and I had long chat with one of them who was pedaling the cycle rickshaw that I was in. Before the arrival of the Delhi Metro, it was very difficult to commute from Gurgaon without a private vehicle and these cycle rickshaws were in great demand.
Whether you are an Indian or a foreigner if you want to get an idea of the absolutely different cultures in India, then you must compulsorily spend few hours at the culture gully in Gurgaons latest opulent attraction – the Kingdom of Dreams. A small sample of the variety of artifacts, decor, cuisine, music, dance, shopping from almost all the 28 states of India can be experienced at one place in a few hours. For Bollywood fans there is even a broadway type musical show to stun the senses. I was so thrilled at the diversity in India after my visit to this most happening entertainment spot of Gurgaon.
Gurgaon is everything I associate with the ability of India to change with the times and in my opinion I am not sure whether this drastic shift towards materialism is really welcome!
So which Indian place made you smile today?
Please share your experience with Indian places that make you smile.
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