Qais
Going for an outing to enjoy the typical Awadhi shaam (evening) doing nothing but window shopping in the Victorian walkways of Hazratganj or ‘Ganjing” as it is popularly known is like a custom in Lucknow, the city of Nawabs. For long, Hazratganj has been one of the favoured destinations for the evening walks through the marketplace. However, in the recent past, the lifestyle of Lucknowites has witnessed a drastic change with the growing mall culture in Lucknow.
Lucknow has a number of renowned malls that have added both to the pace and lifestyle, positively. For Lucknowites, malls serve not only as shopping havens but also as a major destination to recreation and enjoyment. The shopping malls have become an important facet of the everyday life of the city with people flocking the malls for shopping or on most occasions, window shopping.
How it all started?
The mall culture in the city of Nawabs began with the establishment of two renowned malls of Lucknow, namely Sahara Ganj mall and the Eastend mall. After the institutionalisation of these shopping centres in the city, other new malls came up with more outlets selling branded products such as the Fun Republic, Riverside mall, Phoenix United mall and the City mall.
Today, Lucknow boasts of some of the grandest malls with exclusive showrooms of a number of leading brands.. These malls are the highlights of the city today. These enabled the people of Lucknow to shop for international and national brands in the city itself with comprehensive product assortment.
Shopping malls have now become the most sought after places of interest with Lucknowites frequenting the malls in a big way. It has revolutionised the shopping behaviour and lifestyle of the people in Lucknow. These malls are an integral part of the way of life in the city now.
Why is it the “In Thing”?
The malls of the city offer a delightful shopping experience to all the shopaholics of Lucknow. The convenience of getting good quality products of leading brands in everything right from clothing to grocery makes the mall culture more prevalent.The ambience of the place acts as an icing on the cake with spotless, sparkling floors, centralised air-conditioning, clean washrooms, escalators and courteous sales staff to make sure you have a great shopping experience.
Moreover, the kids’ play and gaming areas act as added advantage for those kids who do not want to go to the markets for the dread of getting bored. All the malls in Lucknow city have a large number of people visiting every day and experience a massive pull of visitors on weekends and public holidays.
Food Courts, Multiplexes, Gaming Zones etc. are adding to the mall culture
The presence of food courts, multiplexes and gaming zones in the malls have made it all the more favourable for family outings. Malls now serve as one stop fashion, food and entertainment solutions for Lucknowites. So people can go to the mall for shopping and end up watching a movie in the multiplex finishing it an eatery in the food court, all housed in one place.
The growing mall culture in Lucknow has not only changed the lifestyle of the people but has also resulted in a boom in the retail as well as the real estate sector. More and more projects of shopping malls are coming up in the city to add to the fast changing pace of the life for the people living in Lucknow which is otherwise accustomed to laid back lifestyles and old world charm.
