Shopping Experience in Delhi

Whenever my cousins come at my place during vacations, we plan going for shopping in various markets of Delhi. For them, shopping in Delhi has always been a fun experience. With so many markets and a range of variety available, Delhi can never disappoint you if you are here on a shopping spree. You'll find traditional markets as well as branded showrooms where you can shop for any thing you want. Nowadays, shopping from glamorous shopping malls has become quite popular. Especially in the summer months, when there is scorching heat outside, people  generally prefer malls, rather than going to the traditional shops of the market.

We also decided to explore some of the popular malls of the city. We went to select city walk(located in south Delhi) to start our shopping in Delhi. Since it was our cousins wedding in the next month, we were looking for bridal dresses and jewellery. The mall has some exquisite designer jewellery showrooms, from where we purchased two rings and a neck piece. Besides this, the mall also has some of the popular clothing brands such as Aldo, Zara, Mango, Tommy Hilfiger, H and M, Promod and Nike. My cousin had to buy a pair of jeans, which he purchased from one of these showrooms. I purchased a beautiful zardosi saree in pink color for the wedding. Once we were done with the shopping we were looking for a restaurant to have some food.

To our surprise, here we could find some of the best restaurants of Delhi. There are a number of restaurants, serving range of cuisines from across the world. Whether you are looking for Italian, Chinese or authentic Indian food, you'll find a restaurant for each. We chose pizza hut where we enjoyed some delicious pizzas. All in all it was a fun shopping experience.

The Popularity Of Tea Cafes

When it comes to tea, there are only two sectors, who are crazy about it, the British and Indians. Even the ones who are coffee loves, will almost always turn to tea sometimes even choosing it over coffee. There is just something about having tea, that is so deep set in the peoples mentality, it could be the bonding experience, or just relaxing after a hard day. But tea manages to bring almost everyone over to its side, no matter which beverage the person would usually like. 

But for some time now, with the influx of all things western and globalization, and introduction of high end international beverage companies, tea had taken a backseat and was almost seen as well low class by many. That is all turning around now, as more and more people are recognizing how healthy and nice tea can be. One can be sure to find a tea café in Delhi or nearby which is specifically centered on tea and has got some amazing selections. And these cafes don’t just serve the typical tea or the masala one at best, but have got exotic and varied versions, from all over the world, served with different types of food items that would go along with them.

These tea cafes are becoming extremely popular, for tea connoisseurs and for anyone wanting to explore the various types of teas. And they really catching fire, with people coming and wanting to give them a try. And what's more, is that they are found between all price ranges, from the corner tea stalls near offices to the high end, luxury cafes where one can find tea from almost every corner of the world.

Even the best of the best restaurant in Delhi, are now offering tea in their menus, for selection of the drinks. Many Asian restaurants too offer their signature green or jasmine tea, which is usually drunk with those meals, instead of water.

Shopping Malls And Shopping Sections!

Shopping malls are one stop shops- especially the malls of Delhi, where you’d find everything from a grocery store to a gaming zone, from clubs to cafes, from gyms to spas and from food outlets to movie theatres!

My favorite things that malls in Delhi have are movie theatres and cafes! How good is the idea of hitting a movie theatre on a weekend to break the monotony of weekdays- and then discussing that film over a nice coffee, with some soothing music going on in the background!

Shopping malls, in fact are built in an interesting fashion where the placement of each section is carefully planned out. Here’s a list of some of the things that you must have come across during your visit to a typical shopping mall.

Why movie halls are generally placed on the top floor?

Movie theatres attract a lot of crowd on the weekend and it serves as the gateway to additional business. Thanks to the pvr cinema timings, a person has enough time to take a trip around the entire mall and come across alluring things. As a result, people just end up buying things that they hadn’t even planned to.

Why check-out counters have toys and magazines?

There is a significant length of queue on the check-out counters and people are doing absolutely nothing when they’re waiting for their turns. This wait makes them buy stuffs like magazines and newspapers which can keep them engaged for long.

Why food court is always attached to a cinema hall?

For the obvious reason that people feel amazingly hungry after coming out from a theatre, these food courts welcome people with open arms. A food court has a large variety of dishes and hence, it appeals everyone!

A shopping mall is a commercial business and there’s no reason why they wouldn’t plan out their shopping sections carefully!

Saket: My One-Stop Destination

That’s right! Saket has always been my one-stop destination. And one of the dominant reasons for this being so is that I have always lived in South Delhi, studied in a school in Saket, and even went to a college in Sheikh Sarai, which is near Saket. Most of my friends too reside in or near Saket. So whether my friends and I felt like hanging out after school/college on weekdays, or had a sudden urge to shop on the weekends, Saket was always the most convenient location for most of us.

Owing to some of the excellent shopping malls, Saket clearly is one of the most popular places to shop in Delhi, not just for me, but for other Delhiites as well. In fact, the malls are not only popular amongst Delhiites; when people from other cities visit Delhi, many make it a point to visit the malls in Saket. Sounds unbelievable? When my aunt from Jaipur visits Delhi with her children, she always visits the Saket malls as she simply loves the selection of brands the malls house.

Apart from the top brands, my favourite mall in Saket recently remodelled its food court that not only brings together some amazing outlets together, but is also super cool. The whole setting is aesthetically designed and structured and I absolutely love dining there. Many events like exhibitions, book launches, etc. are also launched in the outdoor area, making the place all the more exciting. In addition to this, there are some superb clubs in Saket Mall, making it ideal for once-in-a-while parties that I like to attend.

And there is a reason why Saket is my one-stop destination. Apart from fulfilling my shopping and dining needs, it fulfils my entertainment needs as well. From great bookstores to cinemas with multiple screens- it has it all. There is really nothing that I need and am unable to find in Saket. With so many memories, this place will always stay close to my heart, no matter what!

Trip Down The Memory Lane

It is a pleasure to come back to the city where you were born. For me it is Delhi. I was born here and spent a few years of my magical childhood here in the capital before we moved to Bangalore. I have been there ever since. It was my job that brought me back to Delhi after years. Strangely enough I didn’t feel alienated in the city given the sharp contrast in the culture of Bangalore and Delhi.

I put up in South Delhi very close to where I used to live during my childhood days. One fine day I went to explore down the memory lane and tried to identify the places with a few pictures that I had with me. Clearly, the house where we used to live had given its way to a four storied building and nothing was left of it. Somewhere I felt a bit bruised. Nevertheless, I went to a complex where I often used to visit with my parents and was surprised to see the place still existed only changed to a whole new level. It had one of the most popular movie theatres in Saket and numerous other food joints and cafes! I tried to find my childhood but I failed again. Change proved to be inevitable once again!

Almost tired, I gave up the idea to find those days which now only existed faintly in my memory and in a few photographs. I visited a few places to shop in Delhi and amazingly, I located a toy store which I distinctly remember to visit when we used to stay here! It was a euphoric moment for me as I entered and I remembered the ‘uncle’, now sufficiently old not to remember me. I smiled at him, bought a small token of memory form that place and left. It was my happiest day in Delhi. Some emotions do not have any explanations!

The Trend Of The Cafes

Whenever someone imagines a café the first image to come to mind is that of a quaint little establishment in Paris, against the backdrop of generation’s old buildings, and soft music playing from a wayward musician. The whole setting just begs to relax and lose themselves in the aroma of coffee, some pastries and forget about anything else.

And that is one reason why cafes in general are so popular across the world. They are much more relaxed compared to the formal vibe from proper dining places, be it for lunch or dinner. Even economically, there is much growth in the business of cafes as opposed to other establishments.

Delhi is a hub of many things, culture, heritage, arts, a glorious mix of modern and history. And one can find multiple activities to do here, from the cinema lovers or the crafts enthusiasts, or the health nuts; there are gyms clubs in Saket, Malviya Nagar and other places too and malls and other recreational activities one can take advantage of.

One thing that Delhi has a lot of is cafes, and they are rising in popularity, especially amongst the younger crowd. Cafes are excellent places, where people can go to spend a few hours, relax and have some light snacks at affordable prices.

Cafes are essentially great places for people who do not really want to consume a heavy meal, yet would like to have something filling, without shelling out a lot of money. Cafes in Delhi cover a wide span of themes, from hippy to calm, to cheerful. And they are exquisitely decorated too; nothing very expensive, but more in terms of creativity and many also display any type of arts created by the patrons there.

The first choice these days for people is going to a café, since they are more compact, and are nowadays offering very unique choices in terms of food and beverages too.

A Shopping Mall Is A One-Stop Shop!

The idea of Shopping sets us in the right mood! I don't know a person who is unaffected by the charm of shopping! Checking things out, getting engaged in the trial rooms and finally coming to the right piece- every part of the process brings joy!

There are multiple places to shop in Delhi. We have street shopping sites and individual showrooms. And we also have giant Shopping Malls into the popular sub cities of Delhi. To me, the Best Places to shop in Delhi are the ones which are complete packages. A typical Shopping mall is more like a one-stop shop where you can shop, eat, drink and indulge in an activity. Here's a list of things that you'd often find in a shopping mall of Delhi.

•    A food court: A food court has become a feature of a shopping mall, and why wouldn't it! We have to have a good place to eat after we are tired of running around the shops! A food court contains multiple kinds of outlets  offering a range of dishes, drinks and desserts!

•    Game zone: This is where you can leave your toddlers when you're busy buying clothes! The Best Kids play zone in New Delhi consists of everything from video games and paint balls to outdoor activities like Bungee- Jumping and toddlers' pools!

•    Coffee Shops: Having a nice chat with your friends and discussing about what you've shopped can happen over a good cup of coffee, and that is exactly why shopping malls contain coffee shops somewhere in them.

•    A grocery mart: The lady of the house would understand the pleasure of finding a mart inside a shopping mall! How delightful it is to pamper yourself with the clothes and accessories, and then getting what your home needs- right there!

Indeed, shopping malls are blessings!