The First

A journey need not always have a destination.. or have a profound meaning attached to it. A simple outing can turn into an experience of sorts..or as in my case, give material to kickstart a blog.

Before starting on anything, a simple introduction is in demand- the simple ASL - age/sex/location - filling in those blanks would describe me as a 24 yr old girl, living and enjoying her life in India's maximum city Mumbai. High ambitions, high attachment to friends and family, high desire to eat good food ALL the time- high is a word which defines me often- and why should it not, when i'm standing high at 5 feet 7 inches.

Which brings to fore a 4th dimension which I identify with myself - good humour. But if going by how most people react, this was another of my many "poor jokes".

So this was a brief interlude and now the story starts.

I was out celebrating, for no reason, on 15th august. Simple plans, nothing too grand. Land at a mall, a little window shopping, some lightening of pockets at the essential things pending, which i shall strike off my list, and back.

The little trip wasn't bereft of its own woes or jubilations. Rain made its appearance after many days, and for a while I was transported back to the fond days of cruising around in my special vehicle Maruti 800, on the chandigarh roads. Wide roads, green lanes. Chandigarh was truly heaven. In the rains, it looked especially beautiful..

I was jolted back, literally, when the auto ran over a pothole. Suspension isn't very big on Indian autos. Just for the record, the above-mentioned beloved car was sold off for scrap the very same day, having faithfully, loyally and lovingly served its time for over 15 years.

Inorbit, being Inorbit, was full. Specially being India's 64th Independence day, people were out declaring how much financial independence they have in the post Lehman world- and along with that everyone sported miniature indian flags, probably to remind themselves what day is actually today.

The usual scene was on. My first stop is always the bookstore. The demographic distribution is always the same. Post 40 were in majority. In the fiction/non fiction, more so. The relatively younger generation is spread near the magazine section, or the cookbooks, or books more inclined towards self motivation, instant success and so on. The only kids spotted are always near the DVD section... if only everyone could instill in their kids, the joy of reading and getting amazed by your imagination, like my mom did.

Moving on, it was a riot at the food court. A young couple tried hard to placate their bawling 2 yr old with donuts (mad over donuts, yum! I went for one myself) The kid dodged her head left and right to avoid the offering, finally deigned to take a bite. Chubby cheeks, even more stuffed with the donut, the child looked a treat! The donut must've appealed the taste buds of the toddler, because a minute later, she reached out with a pudgy hand for another bite. the couple's smile hid their sigh of relief. Crisis solved!!

Seating spaces overflowing, serpentine lines at food stalls, big garish posters screaming SALE!! or HALF OFF!!, people rushing around with harried looks trying to locate missing shopping bags, or missing leftover change from the previous extravagance, or at the bottom of their worries, a missing family member.

I watched all this from my own cozy space at Ruby Tuesday, (where i'm very much tempted to take an annual membership), a book in one hand and a forkful of tangy pasta in the other.How I wished I had brought my camera along, and this blog could have been punctuated with real people,and their real emotions. 

Malls are a frenzy of activity, a celebration of varied human emotions, their needs and enjoyment. The flavor of this instant, efficient and fast world. I personally love malls - EVERY off day my destination is a mall.

My personal salary drainer? The Mall. The origin of the first blog? The Mall. And the one stop for all cuisines possible? Malls.

Readers shouldn't be stupefied if my next blog might just turn out about food- at the mall. 

This one for those, who always believed my written word is okay enough for everyone to read about.A product of the "Arpita Mishra Left Brain creative division" dishing out the musings and experiences of an uneventful trip. Hope everyone appreciates a first attempt. Special thanks to mom, who pushed in her own style, to take a "next step" in writing; to Chinu, who criticized and edited many of my writings impartially; pop, who always thinks I'm the best; mama and mami, who on FB, as well as recently, encouraged me to write more, Bhola - who's always amazed at how much I can write!, and Shelza who once said to me and Vriti- you girls write so well, you should start a blog or something - and that's when the idea sunk in.

Lots of love