The mall culture that's developing in the cities of India scares me. Of late, numerous mall have come up in my city of Baroda. Many more are coming up. The life style of the people has changed. My mom stated recently that till a few years back, even if people had money, they wouldn't buy any eatables for their children. Now they let children choose what they want to buy. I wonder whether it's it good for little children to decide these things.  Now-a-days, if  friends have to meet, they will meet in one of the mega malls, do some chatting, may be, spend a few hours shopping, eat food and go back home. There used to be a time, not long ago, when friends used to come home, not only to meet friends but their family members too. Times have changed for sure.

May be, I am delving too much into the negative aspects of mall culture. But recently when I went to one of the Mega Stores with my family members, I was in store for a pleasant surprise. No, no, I did not meet a long lost friend. Something better happened. My mom became very nostalgic. The thing is that we were strolling around in the Veggie section of the mall. My mom saw a fruit in the packet. It was not the kind of fruit that I had seen in Baroda before. But she recognised it instantly. We bought a packet home. That fruit is known as Pomelo. Why did my mom become nostalgic? When she was a school going child, she had eaten Pomelo. She told me that her she and her friends used to pool in money and buy Pomelo. They would share it and eat on the way to school. I was amazed to know how a mall and a fruit could take my mom back to her childhood days!!!

Two sides of the same coin? May be. It's the way how you look at it. And yes, I have relished eating Pomelo too. May be, when you visit a mall next time, you may also get a chance to become nostalgic.