MALLS, MULTIPLEXES and MULTI-CUISINE RESTAURANTS

With growth of software industry, youngsters and adults are treading a new path – Costly weekends

Weekend getaway is the current trend among the new era youngsters and adults especially the so called Software engineers. Software engineers are people with disposable income, who throng the swanky malls, multiplexes and multi-cuisine restaurants in the metro. Enter a shopping mall on a busy Sunday evening and you can feel yourself being pulled into the mighty hands of shopping wave. The juicy discounts that are being offered by the wide spread competitors tempts a buyer to an extent that he ends up buying stuffs that are quite useless.

Youngsters earn huge amounts which they are puzzled as to how to spend. Most of their spare time is spent in shopping, eating out and thronging theatres.

Welcome to the fast moving world of fantasies.

Shopping malls – Road to Impulse buying

Numerous shopping malls have cropped up to lure people in buying luxuries. Peer pressure also plays an important role in urging people to crave for things which are otherwise useless. “I purchased the 55” plasma TV because my friend Srini has it displayed in his verandah” says Gopi, a software engineer. The fashion curve is surging upwards in Chennai with more potential buyers. Be it the trendy casual wears or the more demanding business suits from the prestigious show rooms of Allen Solly or Kentih Parker, our man always wants the best and latest. This doesn’t stop with apparels but runs down to matching accessories. Things such as sun glasses which were once considered as utilities are now mandatory to boost once own personal looks. The list of attractive brands of sun glasses range from Hugo Boss, Police and Ray Ban. Footwear has already made its mark in Chennai with companies like Adidas, Nike and Reebok opening factory outlets in every corner of the city. It would be a great injustice if the “Queen of dressing” perfumes are not mentioned. They have seeped into the streets of Chennai to an extent that banners sporting brands like Davidoff and Hugo Boss follow us everywhere like the Hutch dog.

Multiplex theatres – Movie magic

Nowadays, weekends without a visit to the theatres are considered wasted. It’s actually a pity that there is a huge crowd even for a crap movie. Gone are the days when the “first day first show” syndrome existed only for movies from big banners. Theatres have been refurnished and Thanks to them, watching a movie at a theatre is more enjoyable these days. All these comforts though, come at a price. The theory is “The higher you pay, higher are the comforts”. Theatres such as Mayajaal and Sathyam, have a chain of screens featuring five to six movies at a time to facilitate a movie-goer to watch some movie and not go back disappointed due to lack of tickets. Theatres have started introducing attractive surprise packages like “Blind Date” where audience gets to watch an unreleased movie along with celebrities. Entrepreneurs are venturing into the most sophisticated way of movie watching, the “I-MAX”. Chennai movie goers are waiting with open hands to welcome this new age theatre.

Multi cuisine restaurants – Aroma to the heart

Innumerable cuisines, whether be it South Indian, North Indian, Mexican or Italian, there is a wide variety to choose from, for an authentic connoisseur of food. The wide range of cuisines exemplifies each in its own unique way. Lunch or Dinner after a movie with friends is the typical weekend plan of a youngster. When you drive from Thiruvanmiyur towards Mamallapuram, there are numerous restaurants lining up the ECR starting from Bazera, Farm House, Hot kitchen and ending up with ECR Dhaba. “I come here specifically to avoid the city chaos and the food also appeases my taste buds” says Vijay a dot com professional. The star restaurants in the city also need a mention as they play the pivotal role in anchoring professional parties. The visually fascinating menu prepared by chefs provides a sumptuous feast. All these exotic food doesn’t take a huge toll on our purse though. Realtors are investing a huge sum of money in bringing up more star hotels of these kinds to suffice the age old saying “The path to a man’s heart is through his stomach”.