Finally, the moment arrived: I visited the mall in Patna.
Last summer, Jeff told me stories about the newly constructed mall, which has
the first escalator in Bihar and was a source of constant fascination. I’ve gone
back a few times in the last two weeks, and every visit is an experience.
First, the escalator: in the year since the mall’s
inauguration, some people have learned how to use the escalator. Others, not so
much. It’s pretty remarkable to watch grown men and women huddle around the
first step, determining the safest entry point. When we walked up, I overcame
my usual hesitation to take pictures of people because this very sweet older brother was trying to cajole his sister onto the escalator – she kept putting
one foot on, getting pulled up while her legs spread under her, and then
jumping back to safety. Poor thing!
The mall itself is quite impressive. It has floor after
floor of major Indian and international brands (Nike, Adidas, Dominoes, etc.). I
actually bought workout pants at the Nike store, mostly to see if I could. That
deserves a whole other post in itself.
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| Can you imagine never having seen an escalator before, and encountering this? |
The mall is pristinely clean, and the shop windows glisten
with expensive merchandise. There’s a Café Coffee Day, and a Dominoes and Pizza
Hut facing one another (we prefer Dominoes pizza, but appreciate that Pizza Hut
has a version of baked pasta). There’s an arcade out of the 90s, with simulated
car racing, air hockey and a very precarious ride for children. There’s also
the 5D theater that Jeff visited last year, and the Scary House that I’m
desperately trying to convince him to come into with me (no success yet).
There’s also a Food Court, with prominent Patna eateries
like Roll Mafia (paratha rolls stuffed with yummy things). And of course, there
are the not-as-prominent eateries, with great signs:
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| "Icy N Spicy: Ice Creams, Shakes and Chinese" |
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| Subtitle: "Just Come for Purity & Taste with Surity!" |
Perhaps most importantly, there’s a Big Bazaar, a
supermarket chain out of our dreams when we lived here, with a shelf full of
peanut butter and Nutella and a whole wall of different cereals. All it needs
is bagels and salad and we would be all set here (don’t worry mom; I’m
definitely coming back soon).
And what self-respecting grocery store wouldn’t have a
confounding security process? First, the guards at the entrance used plastic
zip ties to shut every opening in my backpack (including the pouch with my wallet),
presumably so I wouldn’t steal anything (or buy anything):
And after we’d paid for our items, they used more plastic
ties to seal our grocery bag shut. After which we were directed to the security
guard at the exit, who checked our receipt against our white, opaque bag and
marked everything OK. It must be quite a challenge to recruit security guards
with x-ray vision.
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| We're still in Bihar, after all. |
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