Like any other city of the world, Calcutta has undergone change and there are many new swanky shopping malls everywhere. These modern shopping malls have become a rage among young shoppers and why not? They offer best of brands and products at best prices and plus there are food courts, restaurants to hang out.
Any change is good but I feel very sad when I enter old shopping zones of the city which are probably more than hundred years old. The New Market is one such place which has shops selling almost everything including awesome bakery products. The old building with ancient architecture is very compelling but the emptiness there is so haunting. Just other day, couple of years ago it was difficult to step in to New Market during peak shopping seasons.
Yesterday out of pure impulse I walked into another old, once famous a.c market and my immediate urge was to run out of there. It was swanky and clean but very empty. It seemed as though I was the only shopper who had entered the place since morning and the very moment I stepped in all shop keepers starting shouting out loud to get my attention. There was an escalator which was not working, so I decided to take stairs to check out the other floors. But the moment I turned away from escalator it started moving and it took me a while to realize that there was a man sitting there to operate it every time a shopper stepped on it. It came across more as cost cutting measure than energy saving one. It was the same story on the first floor - many small shops and no buyers. Shopkeepers looked desperate to sell but it was scary and I felt like a prey being hounded by many predators.I ran out.
The emptiness, the sudden moment of escalator and voices calling out kept haunting me through the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment