Sunday, January 24, 2010

Technically transformed!

I have never considered myself a geek. And I'm definitely not a gadget freak. I could never put 2 and 2 together without struggling. I was not even part of the show-off tech-savvy brigade that promises a phenomenal understanding of the new gadget that has hit the town - they either own it in a jiffy or save up for a couple more months researching thoroughly about the product, and its upcoming newer versions before making the proud knowledgeable purchase.

Like my husband, for instance, who would not settle for anything less than a Macbook, an IPhone or a Canon EOS 40D - now eying a Nikon D3 or D700 (not that I would know the difference - GRIN).

Naturally, I was shocked beyond words when I first discovered a passion in myself that was more than the usual 'look of interest'. This was in October 2008 when I first laid my eyes on HTC's newest launch, HTC Touch. Since I'm not too much into the technical specifications of any product, I didn't really care about its GSM/EDGE/BlueTooth/2MP Camera, SD Memory card storage and the like. The few things that caught my obvious attention and made me lust after the Touch were its attractive looks, sleeker design, and feminine appeal. I spent all the money I had in my account, besides swiping the 'privileged customer credit card' which I had refused to use for over two years.

I guess that's how the lure of technology works, or it is my own greed that was speaking for my irrational self at that time. Anyway, I spent way too much money (much more than the cost of all my previous cell phones put together) on a gadget which I took a fancy to - quite unreasonably and illogically. After safeguarding and using it to my heart's content, I lost my neighbour's-envy-owner's-pride mobile on a sleepy evening (sigh!), just a month after celebrating its first anniversary.

That broke my heart and I promised myself that I'll never again look at another gadget in my life - expensive or otherwise. I planned to settle for a simple cell phone that is sleeker, sexier, and feminine-looking (but of course) and would help me make calls, send messages, maybe take a few pictures, transfer songs via bluetooth, and perhaps browse the net for a bit... and Nokia 3600 slider suited my requirements perfectly.
Indeed was I happy for a year. And now technology tempts me again. I should have realized that the pulls of materialism are much stronger than one can imagine - especially when you're trying to move away from materialistic pursuits. Or so you think! Hmph!

I've a good-enough mobile in excellent working condition but I'm eying a HTC HD2 and still debating on whether I should spend 37K (in fact Rs. 1,000 more than an Iphone - wider grin!!!) on a mobile, however sexy its looks and appeal are, especially because I'm a housewife with no tangible source of income.

As if that wasn't enough temptation, my heart went all out for Fiat's new entrant - Fiat Linea Emotion. A cool car with excellent technical specs (yes, I understood most of it I think), I prefer it in either Fox Trot Azure or Pearl Champagne color :P. And yes, it comes with an affordable(?) price tag of just Rs. 7.5 lakhs for the petrol version. Does it really matter that I've a comfortable silver gray Maruti Alto which I've been using for the past 2 years and which had been faithful and never failed me even after a 1000-km-at-a-stretch drive?
The story doesn't just seem to end here.

It got me thinking about not just the pulls of materialism but also about how easy accessibility has become. Internet gives me all that I need without me having to set my foot out. I can inspect the product from various angles, understand the specs and the works thoroughly, check out the price, and probably even book for a test drive / home delivery. Without asking anyone (read experts) for information! All one probably needs to think about in today's world is one's bank balance. If you have enough zeroes (preferably after the one), in your account, you're good to go. As simple-n-easy as that - for the lucky ones I mean!

But now, where do I go?

Thursday, January 7, 2010

New turn for Hyderabadi malls

I went to Hyderabad and returned without much ado. So what? Plain irritation at petty politics marred my trip this time. But this post is not going to be a detailed discussion on politics and the burning Telangana issue. Like I care! How does it matter to me if one State is divided into two or 20? All I care for is some peace of mind, and a piece of land I guess. Is that a difficult bargain in return to my services to the society?

Okay politics and frustration aside, I had time to marvel at the new face of Hyderabad. I guess the city never ceases to surprise me. Air-conditioned APSRTC buses were one of the first things I noticed while nibbling a garlic bread at Pizza Hut in Banjara Hills. I wondered if the special service is area-specific - but what do people in a plush locality with super-fast swank cars need air-conditioned public transport system for?

But apna Hyderabad has become really posh bhai! Isn't that a good thing? Just when I thought there were more malls opening in the city than the number of people who can afford to shop at leisure without the need to keep track of the crisp currency notes left in their wallet, GVK One opened with lesser fanfare but definitely more patrons.

That took time to sink in. And when I started taking in and getting used to the enormity, the grandeur and the spoiled-for-choices environment at this place, I was taken on a surprise trip to the new mall that opened in the vicinity of another plush locality called Hi-Tech City in a much closer proximity to many prominent IT parks.

There you are! Inorbit Mall! It was nothing like I've ever seen before in Hyderabad. It reminded me so much of superstores like Walmart and Nordstrom where I used to spend most of my free time during my two-month stay in Mountain View, CA. Only much bigger, with five storeys of floor space as opposed to the single storey of the US superstores... Wow, that's definitely not what I was expecting from Hyderabad. I was, in fact, praying that Walmart and Starbucks should open chain stores in our very own city.

Inorbit is so huge that I was quite tired after checking out the neatly spaced out and well-arranged stuff in the ground floor itself. And I wondered - much too aloud to the liking of the crowd around - who had the patience or the energy to check out all the floors before hitting the food joints on the fifth floor. I went straight to the topmost floor as I needed to appease my growling stomach. Though less than a tenth of the entire floor was opened, the choices of food - both snacks and elaborate meals - were mind-blowing and pretty promising too.

So there I was - on the fifth floor of Inorbit trying to choose between a McDonald burger and a Tibbs Frankie, taking in the rest of the scents, well... odors in some cases, and letting my eyes wander warily around the spectacularly spacious mall. I finally settled for a burger and kept munching on while I was discussing - okay, all right, it was a torturous dramatic monologue my poor husband was subjected to - (in a rather animated tone) all things I liked and didn't like about the mall.

What I liked:
  • The space was definitely something I loved. And also the neatly arranged shelves with much wider berth between them that let people shop peacefully without irritating other consumers while jostling for space. Definitely not normal for a Hyderabadi superstore!! And it definitely doesn't trigger claustrophobia-ridden panic attacks.
  • The other feel-good factor is the feel of the store itself. At least I felt comfortable, at ease and pressure-free. I felt no obligatory need to buy stuff.
  • Plus, there were things which would attract all kinds of customers from different strata of society. If one can get over the initial inhibition of entering into a mall of such magnitude, it's a nice place to hang out - just for the works or the food.
  • The ample parking space is another good thing about the mall considering the nightmarish parking experiences elsewhere in the city.
Things I didn't like much:
  • It's a bit too huge for anyone's liking. One tends to get intimidated by the space at times... especially on a New Moon night. Hahaha! I hope they don't get greedy and mess with the arrangement of the shelves (I did spot that greed at a few places on the first floor).
  • I do feel that they should have stuck to one- or two-storeyed mall philosophy, rather than the current five-storey structure, as they have space on their side.
  • Forgetting where you parked your car is certainly out! You need to keep track of the alphabetical order and the specific cellar floor unless you want to face the frightening prospect of getting lost and going around in circles to locate your vehicle.
All in all, I had a nice feeling about the place. This is one mall I might keep going back to - no matter how far away it is from home - the way I used to frequent Walmart without ever getting tired of it. When I broached the Inorbit subject with friends, they had mixed reactions. 'Too big and suffocating', thought a few, 'too good', 'very cool' were other obvious, anticipated reactions.

So here's three cheers to the undaunted spirit of Hyderabad - Telangana or no Telangana - and its umpteen new malls!

Monday, January 4, 2010