The City of Malls
As the plane was descending, the aerial view of Delhi as quite impressive. Flyovers and Grand Separators lit by the golden light of the street lights gave an 'International' feel. My Hertz cab driver was right on time and it took less than 20 minutes to come out of the airport (Approx one third of Bangalore airport's exit time during peak hours) !!! The Delhi to Gurgaon road was a magnificent 8 lane highway.Slowly i was coming face to face with the realities of the much hyped 'Infrastructure Boom' of India. The Skyline was dotted with a lot of construction work , then there were the Star Rated Hotels and also the Office complexes. I realized at that moment why DLF was such a prized catch on the Stock Markets during its recent listing on the BSE. Anyway, i reached my Service Apartment in Essel Towers, though it wasn't a five star accommodation but i loved the ambiance and the surrounding of high rise concrete structures.
Next morning, i headed for the Training Center and luckily the traffic wasn't nasty on the Delhi Jaipur highway (or i should call it a Speedway), i was really happy to know that the trainer, who was also flying down from Bangalore that very morning, would be late. I spent my time chatting with IBMers from Gurgaon . It was a welcome break back into the Hindi Speaking Zone. The training started and was one of the usuals trainings on technology and Supply Chain, about which i don't want to speak much.
Gurgaon is known as 'The City of Malls'. True to its name, just outside the place where i was put up there was a Mall, and about three hundred meters from my place there were two malls, one on each side of the road, there was another '3 Km' mall, which claims to be 1 Km of length on each of the 3 floors!!.
On Thursdays i went to a Pub in MGF mall, which was quite close from my place, around 10:30 in the night, keeping in mind that as Bangalore shuts down by 11:30 pm , Gurgaon may be open may be till Midnight. I was surprised to find that i was the only person in pub at that time of the night!! After two drinks i asked the DJ on why the place was so deserted that day, to which he answered that night life in Gurgaon started from Midnight and the party continued till morning 4-5 !! He suggested me to stay back 1-2 am of the night to see the real 'Crowd' and 'Color of Gurgaon'. I decided to stay back. Around 12-12:30, the place was converted into a dance floor and the crowd started flowing in, most of them working in Call Centers and BPOs in Gurgaon.
Unlike Bangalore, there is no Rock n Roll culture in Gurgaon, the music is primarily Bollywood. By 2 am it had become quite a happening place. I had one more peg and around 2:30 am, i decided to call it a day. I reached my Service Apartment around 3 in the morning and was quite sloshed.
Later,in my bed I kept wondering, what could have been Bangalore's night life had the 'Babus' and 'Netas' there been as generous as those in Gurgaon?Indeed, an opportunity lost for India's 'Silicon Valley'.
Next morning, i headed for the Training Center and luckily the traffic wasn't nasty on the Delhi Jaipur highway (or i should call it a Speedway), i was really happy to know that the trainer, who was also flying down from Bangalore that very morning, would be late. I spent my time chatting with IBMers from Gurgaon . It was a welcome break back into the Hindi Speaking Zone. The training started and was one of the usuals trainings on technology and Supply Chain, about which i don't want to speak much.
Gurgaon is known as 'The City of Malls'. True to its name, just outside the place where i was put up there was a Mall, and about three hundred meters from my place there were two malls, one on each side of the road, there was another '3 Km' mall, which claims to be 1 Km of length on each of the 3 floors!!.
On Thursdays i went to a Pub in MGF mall, which was quite close from my place, around 10:30 in the night, keeping in mind that as Bangalore shuts down by 11:30 pm , Gurgaon may be open may be till Midnight. I was surprised to find that i was the only person in pub at that time of the night!! After two drinks i asked the DJ on why the place was so deserted that day, to which he answered that night life in Gurgaon started from Midnight and the party continued till morning 4-5 !! He suggested me to stay back 1-2 am of the night to see the real 'Crowd' and 'Color of Gurgaon'. I decided to stay back. Around 12-12:30, the place was converted into a dance floor and the crowd started flowing in, most of them working in Call Centers and BPOs in Gurgaon.
Unlike Bangalore, there is no Rock n Roll culture in Gurgaon, the music is primarily Bollywood. By 2 am it had become quite a happening place. I had one more peg and around 2:30 am, i decided to call it a day. I reached my Service Apartment around 3 in the morning and was quite sloshed.
Later,in my bed I kept wondering, what could have been Bangalore's night life had the 'Babus' and 'Netas' there been as generous as those in Gurgaon?Indeed, an opportunity lost for India's 'Silicon Valley'.
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