When I arrived in Delhi there were no malls in Vasant Kunj, a part-scrub suburb nearby my house. A few monsoons hence (just add water and bounteous cheap labour) and now there are three massive malls side by side, with another sibling rising fast. It may sound snobby but malls are the death of culture! Nothing interesting comes out of them. But just like sweaty-palmed consumers the world over, India's rising middle-class love em. While this is a little bit sad, it's also a marker of how fast this place is growing.... Malls = disposable money = prosperity = higher wages = buy more stuff. But also: Malls = screaming demonstration of what 'the haves' have and the 'have nots' don't. One day, all the world will look like a mall and we'll reminisce about the time when getting on a plane led to exciting adventures in far off lands. Prove me wrong world. Please!
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