My experience of shopping malls in India happened purely by chance after I shifted my place of residence to the outskirts of my city. I found that the distance to the nearest mall had shrunk and it became convenient to unwind after work by catching the occasional movie at the immediately struck me was how well maintained and clean these malls were, specially the public conveniences. No paan stains, no spitting, no dust, litter or foul odour- the curse of any public space in urban India. By itself, that is remarkable, but these shopping malls are also symbolic of another significant landmark. They are the prime drivers of an organized retail revolution in the country. At the rate new ones are coming up, it’s virtually a mall a minute. According to a recent KSA Technopak study of the Indian retail industry, there were just three shopping malls (of at least one lakh sq ft retail space) operating in India in 2000. By 2008 that figure is expected to reach 343. By 2008 almost 18 million sq ft of mall space will be developed across 12 cities in India, with 54 new malls coming up in Delhi alone. Significantly, a number of new and proposed malls are located in small towns. For India’s middle classes, riding the current economic upturn and a jump in disposable incomes, they represent the new temples of retail worship.
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