It was quarter past seven. The daylight was not completely down. I was in a auto with my face completely out, not minding about my safety and with vigilant eyes reading the name boards of each and every building for I was never been there before. "There it is", i said to myself. The building stood five stories high with glazed windows, prominently divided into three fairly equal phases with ads painted on randomly selected locations. And the name and the logo embossed centrally in Impact font which read
"The Brand Factory - Best Brands Smart Prizes"
Asked the driver to stop and alighted from the auto. Then i climbed the staircase attached to the central phase that took me to the lobby, which had a little walking space that ended in an escalator. As i ascended the escalator, i noticed the central atrium quite deserted. Though Lumbini mall is situated on the highway connecting hitec city and Hyderabad not many seems to be acquainted with this place. Unlike a typical mall there is no necessity to elbow your way through the teeming crowd for it had none.
Before I could explore the mall any further,my mobile rang. It was my friend B on call. He said "I am on the way, will be there soon" and I gave my usual rejoinder "ok". B is one my very good childhood friend. He came to Hyderabad for a vacation. As my schedules were tight and my weekends got blocked by cat coaching, all I could offer him is accommodation for four days and accompany him for a shopping in the evening. But one of his close friend took off from office and offered him full day company. So I was safe. We decided that day morning to meet at the brand factory in the evening.
I placed my mobile back into my pant pockets and searched for the mens apparel section, one of my favorite past time. It didn't have a direct path. One must necessarily pass through the beauty and cosmetics section to reach there. The men section had all leading brands from Pepe to Wrangler arranged in no particular order, in an ambiance that befits the brand. And that they give more importance to the brands was conspicuous as the raiments were not segregated based on type like ethnic, sports, casual etc. The collections were huge. That comforted me; I brought my friend to some good place. But his delay worried me more.
B called me for the second time. I felt a pang of guilt in his voice. "We got struck in traffic and will be there in few minutes" he said plainly and cut the call. "What else can I expect from a guy who is roaming with a girl for girls never keep up time except a very few" I said to myself and went back to my business. I spent my time by doing some trials with the jeans. Added few to my wish list. Yet it all got over very soon. I decided to explore the other sections of the mall. Also attempts to spot some one noteworthy in this already meager crowd proved futile. I felt quite bored.
It was 8:30 when I got another call from B.
"No more excuses" I thought and picked the call.
"Reached" said B
"Oh good, where are you ?"
"Right in front of the entrance"
"Ok. I am coming down"
After few minutes I called him and asked
"I am at the entrance but I couldn't spot you. Come near the steps"
"I am near the steps"
"How can that be ? There is only one staircase over there. How can I not spot you ?"
"I am near the steps" he said impatiently.
"Ok. Is there an escalator in front of you ?"
"Yes"
"What does the caption board in front of you say ?"
"Best Brands Smart Prizes"
"Fine. We are not more than 5m away. yet why none of us can see the other ?"
"How do I know ?"
"Are you at Lumbini mall ?"
"Where is that ?"
"Hey one second. Which place are you in ?"
"I don't know."
"Ask someone near by"
After some time I heard the word
"Abids"
Only at that time I came to know that there are 2 Brand factory in Hyderabad. Then I apologized him about my ignorance and we decided to do our shopping in central which is in the midway between the two brand factories.
Before I could explore the mall any further,my mobile rang. It was my friend B on call. He said "I am on the way, will be there soon" and I gave my usual rejoinder "ok". B is one my very good childhood friend. He came to Hyderabad for a vacation. As my schedules were tight and my weekends got blocked by cat coaching, all I could offer him is accommodation for four days and accompany him for a shopping in the evening. But one of his close friend took off from office and offered him full day company. So I was safe. We decided that day morning to meet at the brand factory in the evening.
I placed my mobile back into my pant pockets and searched for the mens apparel section, one of my favorite past time. It didn't have a direct path. One must necessarily pass through the beauty and cosmetics section to reach there. The men section had all leading brands from Pepe to Wrangler arranged in no particular order, in an ambiance that befits the brand. And that they give more importance to the brands was conspicuous as the raiments were not segregated based on type like ethnic, sports, casual etc. The collections were huge. That comforted me; I brought my friend to some good place. But his delay worried me more.
B called me for the second time. I felt a pang of guilt in his voice. "We got struck in traffic and will be there in few minutes" he said plainly and cut the call. "What else can I expect from a guy who is roaming with a girl for girls never keep up time except a very few" I said to myself and went back to my business. I spent my time by doing some trials with the jeans. Added few to my wish list. Yet it all got over very soon. I decided to explore the other sections of the mall. Also attempts to spot some one noteworthy in this already meager crowd proved futile. I felt quite bored.
It was 8:30 when I got another call from B.
"No more excuses" I thought and picked the call.
"Reached" said B
"Oh good, where are you ?"
"Right in front of the entrance"
"Ok. I am coming down"
After few minutes I called him and asked
"I am at the entrance but I couldn't spot you. Come near the steps"
"I am near the steps"
"How can that be ? There is only one staircase over there. How can I not spot you ?"
"I am near the steps" he said impatiently.
"Ok. Is there an escalator in front of you ?"
"Yes"
"What does the caption board in front of you say ?"
"Best Brands Smart Prizes"
"Fine. We are not more than 5m away. yet why none of us can see the other ?"
"How do I know ?"
"Are you at Lumbini mall ?"
"Where is that ?"
"Hey one second. Which place are you in ?"
"I don't know."
"Ask someone near by"
After some time I heard the word
"Abids"
Only at that time I came to know that there are 2 Brand factory in Hyderabad. Then I apologized him about my ignorance and we decided to do our shopping in central which is in the midway between the two brand factories.
