Creative Writing

Dear Readers,

It is lovely to see you all again. You must be wondering where I disappeared. Well, if you have followed me on my Google+ profile you may have noticed that I have been very active there.
I have been sharing numerous quotes, pictures and short stories. I have started a new blog to share my fiction stories. So, I would love if you visit my blog called Untold Fiction Stories and provide me useful feedback.
When I was doing research on my short stories website I felt that there were not enough quality communities where budding writers could share their stories and get free useful feedback. So, I have started a new Google Plus community called Short Stories where users can read, discuss and share their stories. The response has been very good so far and few very promising writers have joined the community and started sharing their literature.

Hope to hear from you soon.

With Love,
Gunjan

An Effective Strategy to write your exams

Dear Readers,

Welcome back!!! It's great to see you again. The winter is just getting colder each day in Bangalore. I hope you are all sitting snugly in your homes while reading this article. Today, I am writing about an Effective Strategy to write your exams.

As a school boy I was always afraid of Maths. Maths was always like an enigma. During my tenth standard mid year examinations, I scored very less marks in Maths. Although I was a good student I could manage to score only around 48 marks out of 100. I was very disturbed and discussed about my performance with my mom. My mom was always my first teacher. She always tried to help me and try to coach me and guide me. She asked me if I had not prepared well. I said that I had prepared decently but somehow I could not bring my preparation to the paper. So, she told me few guidelines to answer any examination which I found very useful throughout my career. So, today I want to share this technique with you all with the hope that you will also be benefited by this useful methodology to answer your exam papers.

The guidelines are as follows:

1. Wear a watch and make sure it matches with the time of the examination hall: This is the most crucial part. Time is the most important asset in an examination hall. Every student must make sure that their time is matching with the examination hall time. The exam bill rings at the start and the end of the exam. Also, the bell rings half an hour before the exam completion. But, it is important for every student to keep a tab on the amount of time which goes into answering each question. And, so the student must keep monitoring the time after answering every question.

2. Go through the entire question paper before writing the exam: Every student should go through the entire question paper quickly. A quick glance goes a long way to help the student to judge how many questions he/she is able to answer easily. It also gives a sense of confidence and the student is able to understand the marks pattern.

3. Always start by answering the easiest questions first: Always try to answer the easiest questions first. Remember that the grader takes only 2-5 minutes to check the whole paper. So, you have to impress the grader by leaving a good first impression. This means that the first few questions that you answer must be the ones that you are 100% confident. Never ever begin the exam with an answer that you are not sure of. Try to leave a good first impression so that grader develops confidence that this is a good student.

4. Don't go by the order of questions in the question paper: You can answer the questions in any order. Never go by the order of the questions in the question paper if you are not certain with some of the questions. Let us say, that your question paper has eight questions. If each question were to be divided into three parts say a,b and c. If you start answering with the question 3a and if you are not sure of the answers of 3b and 3c just jump to the next answer that you are sure of answering properly like 5c.

5. Don't spend too much time in answering one question: Most students get stuck with a question and waste too much time on it. So, avoid this mistake and always answer the questions which you are most comfortable with. If you get stuck with one question then just mark as Continued on Page at the bottom of your answer. After you have completed answering all your paper and if you have time left then try to answer this question. Remember to mark the page as Continued from Page on the page from which you start answering the question.

6. Keep your answers crisp and to the point: No one likes big stories. Always try to answer in points and bullets. Highlight the important words.

7. Keep a neat handwriting: A neat handwriting is always important. I never had a good handwriting in my school so I know how difficult it is for the examiners to correct the paper. It took me a great effort to considerably improve my handwriting. To those with a bad handwriting my advise is to practice handwriting every day. Try to write each letter separately rather than joint handwriting. This is so that the words are clear to the grader.

8. Try to answer the whole paper: When you have finished answering all the known questions it is time to answer the unknown ones. Try to use your imagination and best guesses based on the few words you may have caught in your class (provided you were not sleeping or bunking them). You never know how lucky you may get. Also, try to answer the question with maximum marks first. So, you can at least hope that the grader might show some mercy and grant you one or two marks for your effort.

9. Keep a relaxed mindset before and after the exam: Keep your cool before the exam. Don't be nervous. Try not to lose focus by discussing the paper with your friends after the exam. Remember that you may end up feeling negative after a single bad exam and may end up spoiling the rest of the exams as well. Always have a positive outlook and remain calm and confident.

I hope these points will help you to tackle your exams confidently.

With Love,
Gunjan.

Why is Narendra Modi such a dynamic Prime Minister?

Dear Readers,

Welcome back. It is great to see you all again. It has been a very busy political week both in India and the United States of America. Some remarkable political decisions have been taken in both these leading democracies of the world. Both countries have taken decisions which will influence the lives of millions of people in these countries in the years to come. As new pages of history have been written, let us see why Mr. Narendra Modi is such a dynamic Prime Minister?

Mr. Narendra Modi had taken oath as the Indian Prime Minster a couple of years back in the year 2014. Before this position he was the Chief Minister for the state of Gujarat for three consecutive terms. Let us try to see what all accomplishments he has achieved in his short term as the Indian Prime Minister.

1. He buried all the diplomatic visa row with the United States as he soon as became the Indian Prime Minister. He thus ensured that he had buried all the past differences and that he was willing to look forward in the interest of his country men. By doing this he exhibited the greatest trait of a successful leader which is to Put Others Before Self.

2. He invited Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif from Pakistan and leaders from other neighboring states to his swearing in ceremony. By doing this he opened the room for diplomatic dialogue with the troubled neighbors. He went even to the extent of attending the wedding ceremony of Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif's grand daughter. He took a big security risk when he travelled to Pakistan without major security arrangements. This shows that he was willing to negotiate peace with his neighbors and he did everything possible to achieve it.

3. There were lot of incursions by China along the border and the issue of Arunachal Pradesh has also been a thorn in the flesh for both these countries. He travelled to China to strengthen diplomatic ties and to woo China into helping India to join the elite league of United Nations. The Chinese incursions have reduced considerably since his visit. The mutual trade between these countries has also improved due to this diplomacy.

4. He has travelled to Japan a couple of times already. He managed to garner several trade deals and technology transfer deals like the bullet train and metro train construction deals which have proved beneficial for both the countries. He has also signed few defence deals and nuclear energy deals with Japan which has helped India to counter threats from China and provided a great ally to us to restore the power baance in Asia.

5. He has maintained great relations with Russia which has been the longest military ally of India. We have been working together on building fifth generation Aircrafts and supersonic missiles. Russia has leased us nuclear powered submarines and also delivered our biggest Aircraft carrier. Our best fighter planes are the Russian made Sukhois and Mig jet planes.Our biggest achievment I consider is the indigenous manufacturing of the supersonic Brahmos missiles. These are the fastest supersonic missiles in the world in their category range and are extremely lethal. India is considering supplying the Brahmos missiles to countries like Vietnam. This undertaking has made India an arms exporter now. We are among the worlds largest arms importers already. Now, we have acquired the ability to export arms as well. The missile transfer and the sale of Indian made helicopters to Vietnam has helped India to make a great new strategic ally.

6. Modiji has travelled to United States. His visit brought huge crowds to the streets of Newyork when he gave his historic speech at the Madison Square garden. The hearts of a billion Indians was filled with pride when our Prime Minister gave a great speech which showcased our achievements to the whole world. Now, it is a known fact that the United States of America is our greatest ally in this twenty first century. We have signed numerous trade deals, technology deals and arms deals. United States of America had helped us to become a nuclear super power and also vigorously pushed India's case for a seat in the United Nations council. Our mutual interests and partnership has paved the path towards a great future for both our countries. When president Obama visited New Delhi to attend the Republic Day this year he gave proof of our great friendship to the whole world.

7. He had travelled to far nations like Mongolia building new allies. But, his visit to Saudi Arabia was most remarkable. He negotiated new trade deals and also made a new ally in fighting the terrorists. We have also built great relations with countries like Spain and France which has helped us in our technological and military operations. France is helping India by delivering nuclear submarine Scorpene and fifth generation aircraft Rafale. Spain is helping to build High speed trains.

8. He showed to the whole world that India does not tolerate terrorism lightly. He sent special armed forces to Bhutan to fight the terrorists who had attacked our army. Similarly, he gave a befitting reply to Pakistan who has been perpetrating cross border terrorism. The terrorists killed 19 Indian soldiers in Kashmir recently while they were sleeping in their camps. The brave Indian army gave a befitting reply by performing surgical strikes across the border and successfully destroyed several terrorist launch pads which were planing to send new terrorists to India to cause further disruption and mayhem. Prime Minsiter Modiji has sent a strong message to our neighbors to either stop terrorism or be ready to bare the consequences.

9. Within India, he has started great education initiatives. He had been instrumental in sanctioning several new educational institutions like the Primier Indian Engineering college Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in several new cities. He had also started new initiative for rural education and girl education.

10. Modiji has undertaken the Swach Bharath Abhiyan or the Clean India Campaign to help India become clean and get rid of diseases.

11. He had started the SMART city initiative to build world class well planned cities.

12. He has launched the Aadhar scheme to create unique identification for every citizen. Also, he has helped millions of rural people in the country by encouraging them to open  bank accounts and to keep their hard earned income secure. He has also started Pension and Insurance scheme for all the Indian citizens.

13. We successfully launched the Mangal yaan or the Mars Orbiter at a small cost of just 400 crore rupees. This is the most economical space mission to Mars ever. Our space mission has immensely flourished under his able leadership.

14. He has a given a boost to the Indian manufacturing sector by pitching for the Make In India campaign. Now, everyone from Tesla to Microsoft to Google and Apple are helping India to achieve this dream.

15. He has been promoting the use of Technology to help Indians to connect and grow their businesses. He has encouraged farmers to use latest scientific techniques in farming. We could see how Urea fertilizer was produced at such high scale and helped our farmers. He has also encouraged Banks to provide loans to farmers at very economical interest rates.

16. On the day United States elected its 45th president, India was doing something equally remarkable. Our Prime Minister took a major step against corruption by demonetising 500 rupees and 1000 rupees notes with immediate effect to curb black money. Almost 86% of Indian currency is present in these denominations. Although, there has been a temporary inconvenience to the general public. But, the entire nation has been supportive of this bold and wise decision. This decision will go a long way to help in having transparent elections and curb terrorism which is being suported by the huge flow of fake currency in the country.

In short, the whole nation is proud that it elected Modiji as it's Prime Minister. In him we have all found a visionary and a great man who is returning India to it's lost glory.

We salute this man and wish him great success in all his endeavors. I would like to end this article with the following note which is their on all Indians lips "Har baar sirf Modi Sarkaar" (Every time only Modi government).

Please drop me your valuable comments and feedback which always encourage me to write more.

With Love,
Gunjan

My secret for delivering a good presentation

Dear Readers,

Welcome back!!! Thanks for all your support and encouragement. This week the blog's viewership crossed 10,000 views and is currently just a little shy of 11,000 views. I am most surprised and happy that within just 45 days of starting this blog we have achieved this milestone. I am most humbled by your kind words and encouragement. Today, I will be telling you how a timid school boy like me became a good orator. Also, I will be sharing my secret for delivering a good presentation with all of you.

I was an above average student in school. But, I was very shy. I used to feel afraid to give any presentations in class. During my eight class, our English teacher asked all of us to prepare on any topic and give a presentation in front of the whole class. I was really terrified by this ordeal. I went to home and told my mom about the presentation. She asked me to speak about the deadly Latur earthquake and what we should do safeguard ourselves in the event of an earthquake.

I did a little study about the earthquake and prepared well for my presentation. Next day, my teacher started asking the students to come one by one and present their topics. A lot of my classmates were really confident and were speaking very well. I was listening very attentively and was feeling very nervous. When my name was called I went to the front of the class and began my speech. My English was fluent so the words were coming out quite well. However, I could not stop my legs from shaking. I was very nervous and my hands and legs were shivering with anxiety. Somehow, I managed to complete my speech. My teacher told me a few encouraging words and my classmates also clapped to support my effort. But, I knew in my heart that my presentation was a failure. My friends told me that although my speech content was nice but I could not do justice to it because of my body language. That day, I resolved to become a better speaker.

I went home and shared this experience with my mother. She told me that next time before a presentation, I should spend some time in front of a mirror rehearsing the speech. From then on, I started observing how my school teachers used to give their lectures in the class. Some of the new teachers used to blankly look at the walls or the room corners. They used to avoid any form of eye contact. Some other teachers were too loud or expressive. Few of the teachers were very mild and their lecture was barely audible. Basically, I used to study the lecturers as well as the reactions of the students. So, it gave me a fair idea of what was the best manner to deliver a speech while keeping your audience engaged.

After a couple of years, I was able to deliver a speech very confidently in front of the whole class. Sometimes, I used to imagine that there were a lot of pumpkins in front of me if ever I felt any nervousness. During my Engineering days, I had a chance to deliver several presentations which made me very self confident. Talking in front of so many people without hesitation helped to build my personality. I get a lot of appreciation from my friends, classmates and my colleagues for my presentations.

So, I want to share the secret of delivering a good presentation with all of you.

1. First point is to choose a good topic which interests you. If you choose, a boring topic then you cannot expect to engage your audience for too long. 
2. Second point is to prepare well for your presentation. You should try to collect as much relevant information as possible. Also, try to do a thorough case study and try to gather as much unique points as possible. Remember that no one wants to listen to the same old stuff. Always, try to add some new points which are not known to majority of the audience.
3. Third point is to keep your presentation a secret. If your presentation gets leaked then the audience won't be interested anymore.
4. Rehearse well. If you are delivering a speech then rehearse as many times as needed to make you feel comfortable with the topic. You can request your friends, wife or parents to sit in front of you and you can rehearse in front of them. This will give you more confidence when facing the actual crowd. Do not make prolonged eye contact. Always make it a point to look in each side of the audience for a few seconds and then turn to the other side. This will help to keep the audience more engaged.
5. Always time your speech. This is very important. Please do not drag your speech. Keep your speech crisp and to the point. Try to take all questions at the very end so that there is no break in continuity. If you extend your time limit then you may risk losing the attentiveness of the audience.
6. Keep your power point presentations professional and elegant. Do not add any flash pictures or glossy images. These images divert your audience from the actual presentation content. Do not add too many sentences in the power point slides. Keep key words in the slides and use them to make your speech.
7. Do not forget to do a spell check on your power point sildes.
8. Use some mnemonics to remember the key topics. You can write them off in a small paper slip or in the notes section of your slides.
9. Always feel calm. Speak in a normal tone and avoid any theatrical effects. People feel more connected when a person speaks normally except if he is some kind of celebrity. The most important part of a presentation is that your message should be effectively communicated to your audience. 

I hope you all liked this article. Please drop me your comments below this post. You can also send me an email. If you liked this post then you can share it on various social media using the icons listed below the post. You can also click on the +1 post button to indicate your support.

With Love,

Gunjan

How my Uncle was saved from a mugging by remembering a Moral story

Dear Readers,

Welcome back!!! Hope you all had a great weekend. Today, is the Karnataka Rajyotsava (Republic) day. It was on Nov 1st of 1956 when all the Kannada speaking regions in South India were unified into a single state called Karnataka. I am a resident of Bangalore city which is the capital of Karnataka state. Today, I will discuss with you a real life incident which my Tayaji (Paternal Uncle - elder brother of my Dad) had shared with me. He had narrated how he was rescued from a certain mugging by remembering a moral story from his childhood.

So, let's begin with the moral story first. In the olden days, when there were no roads people had to travel a great deal on foot. They had to cross dangerous areas and forests to cross from one city to another. As such people used to prefer to cover most of the journey by daylight. One day an old lady was passing through a forest. She was carrying a box full of silver coins. The coins were meant for her daughter's wedding. She had taken a loan from a money lender and was returning to her home with the money. As she was walking through the forest she heard a horse treading towards her at a great speed. As she turned, she saw a handsome and well built young man on a white horse. She called out to the young man to seat her on the horse since she was very tired. But, the horseman took a quick glance at her and rode on swiftly without caring to stop. The horseman had only gone a few yards further when a quick thought passed through the old lady's mind. She thought that she was lucky that the horseman had not given her a lift. What if this young man had pushed her away during the journey and rode away with her money ? She thanked the Gods and kept walking.

Meanwhile, the young man was also thinking of the same thing. He remembered seeing a box with the old lady. And, his gut feeling told him that it contained something valuable. He thought to himself that why not give lift to this old lady and push her away after riding for some distance along a lonely stretch.With this thought in mind, he turned his horse around and rode back to the old lady. Seeing him, the old lady froze in her tracks. The young man smiled at her wryly and himself offered her a lift this time. Since, the old lady had already read his game she replied to him saying that she had also thought about the same thing which the young man had thought and which had brought him back. So, she asked him to take leave and refused to go along with him. The young man saw that his game was up and he quietly rode away.

Now, let's see what happened to my Uncle. My Uncle used to run a transport company back in the 90's. Bangalore was a quiet place back then and the IT boom had only just begun. The roads in most part of the city used to be deserted and dark by late evening. One evening, a cargo was being unloaded from his trucks onto a building using a crane. While unloading, the crane got stuck and the work had to be stopped. The laborers were very tired and said that they would repair the crane in the morning. It was already quite late in the evening. The time was around 11.30 pm and my uncle was carrying some cash which he had received as a payment for this cargo. He went to the main road and waited for an auto rickshaw (a popular three wheel motorized ride in Asian countries) to get home. He was waiting for about five minutes when suddenly he saw an auto rickshaw and he waved at it. But, the auto rickshaw guy took a quick look at him and kept moving. After moving about fifty meters, the auto guy turned around and came back. A passenger in the back seat approached my Uncle and asked him to take a seat. My Uncle took a good glance at this fellow. He was a well built fellow and had put on a scarf around his neck. And, there was a steel chain tied around his wrist and he was smoking a beedi (thin Indian cigarette). He was holding the beedi in a most sinister way between his knuckles. There was something wrong written all over his body language. Also, he seemed to be drunk. My Uncle sensed that something was not right. Some warning bells started ringing in his head. Also, all this time the auto driver had not shown too much interest in giving him a ride. My Uncle suddenly recalled the above moral story and his gut feeling instructed him to avoid taking this auto rickshaw. He was afraid that he would be waylaid and be mugged by these two men. He refused the passenger's offer for a lift and asked the auto guy to move on. After sometime, a city transport bus came along and he boarded it with a sigh of relief.

I will not suggest that the Auto guy or the passenger were actually muggers. But, sometimes it is better to trust one's own gut feeling. It is very difficult for other people who are not in the situation to judge what someone else did at that point of time. But, it is best if we can avoid a situation when our gut feeling is warning us. Also, we never know how a moral story could possibly end up helping us in the most unexpected fashion. I will let you decide if he was right or wrong to relate the two incidents.

I hope you liked this article. If so, kindly provide your valuable feedback by entering your comments or sending me an email. Also, I request you to share this post with your friends or recommend it on Google+ by clicking on the +1 Post button below this post.

With Love,
Gunjan.

How Hari Singh Nalwa set an example to uphold the dignity of women

Dear Readers,

Wish you all a very happy Diwali!!! May god bless you with a happy, safe and joyous Diwali and help you to fulfil all your good wishes. Today, I want to write about a very sensitive and important topic. I will be discussing on the topic of "How Hari Singh Nalwa set an example to uphold the dignity of women" with an excerpt from the Sikh history. I want to dedicate this article to all the women in the world.

Women have always been respected throughout the ages. Women have been an integral part of the society. They have been warriors, queens, doctors, discoverers, inventors, engineers, lawyers, accountants, CEO's etc. They have held an important position at home as well. They have played the roles of daughters, sisters, wives, mothers etc with great dignity and humility. We cannot ever imagine a world without women.

Yet, these are troubled times. We see everyday in news how people are humiliating women. Whether these people are terrorists or Presidential candidates they should learn how to show respect to women. After all, have these men forgotten that they came to this world out of a Mother. I hope if this message reaches out to such people it may bring them some shame and  remorse. At the same time, I want to show my support to all the women and inform that not all men are bad. There are other men who promise to support you and stand up for you. I come from a country where we revere women as Goddesses and with that sentiment I want to tell you a real incident that will infuse each women with pride and self respect.

India was the richest country in the world for a very long time in history. As such her riches have attracted several discoverers, scholars, traders and also plunderers. The Indian sub continent is surrounded by the sea on three sides and has the great Himalayan mountains towards the northern side. Most of the invaders have attacked India from the Khyber Pass in the North. Most of the invaders have been the Pathans from Afghanistan. These are tough people and nobody had ever defeated them in their own territory. This history was changed when the mighty Sikh general Hari Singh Nalwa defeated the Pathans and setup the Sikh kingdom in Afghanistan. He secured the Khyber Pass and prevented any invasions to our country from that route.

One night, two Pathan spies were watching over the Sikh tents at night from the cover of a few bushes. There was a lady spy by the name of Bibi Bano (Bibi means respectfully Lady) and she was accompanied by a male spy Gul Khan. The Pathans were bewildered by the grit and courage of Hari Singh Nalwa and his Singhs. Bibi Bano expressed her desire to meet Hari Singh Nalwa to Gul Khan. Gul Khan told her that the conquerors never showed any respect to women from the conquered lands and it would be very unsafe for her to meet the Sikh general. He said that he would not allow her to take such a risk and held her hand tightly. But, Bibi Bano was adamant and also she pointed out that she had heard that the Guru's men (a reference to Sikh people who have ten gurus) always showed utmost respect to all women. Saying this she pushed Gul Khan aside and ran away from the cover of the bushes to the place where Hari Singh Nalwa's tent was setup. On approaching the tent she found that two Sikh guards were posted outside. The well armed Sikh guards on seeing her asked the purpose of her visit. So, Bibi Bano expressed her desire to meet the general. One of the guards noticed that she was carrying a dagger. But, the other guard told him not to worry and said that that all people were welcome to the Guru's home (a reference to the belief that the homes of all Sikh people are Guru's home) even if it happens to be an enemy with a weapon. Saying this informed the general and arranged an audience of Bibi Bano with him.

On entering the tent, Bibi Bano greeted the general with the words "Sat Sri Akal" (a greeting in Punjabi language which means God is the Ultimate Truth) and he greeted her with the same words. The general requested her to be seated and got seated himself. Bibi Bano then asked the general why he had conquered her land. Hari Singh Nalwa asked her with humility if it was wrong to defend one's own land ? He said that the Sikh people had only conquered this land so that they could defend their mother land. He said they had no interest in establishing any kingdom but that they only wanted to secure their people from the repeated invasions of the Lodhis and Pathans from Afghanistan. After this conversation they both discussed on lot of other topics. At the end of their conversation, Bibi Bano was very much impressed by the Sikh general. So, she mentioned to the general that it was her desire that if she has a son he should be like Hari Singh Nalwa. Put in other words, she expressed her desire to marry him.

Hearing this, the general became very offended and questioned her if she was trying to humiliate him? He said that all Guru's men were ordered to have only one wife by their Guru and they were asked to show respect and treat all other women as their sisters. He asked her to take leave immediately . As she was going out Bibi Bano snubbed him saying that she had heard that no person had ever left the Guru's court (or home) without have their wishes fulfilled. But, today this was proved wrong. Hearing her snub, the general became thoughtful and told her that if no one had ever left the Guru's home empty handed then neither will anyone leave the house of a Guru's Sikh (Sikh means Disciple) empty handed. Saying this he ordered the guards posted outside to get an expensive Shawl from the nearby tent. The guards brought the shawl and handed it over to Hari Singh Nalwa. He asked the guards to put the shawl around Bibi Bano. After this was done, the great Sikh general fell to the feet of Bibi Bano (touching feet of another person is a way of showing respect in Indian culture) and told her that from now on she was his Sworn Mother. He said that since she wanted her son to be like Hari Singh Nalwa then what better than Hari Singh Nalwa himself becoming her son.

Seeing his humility and greatness, Bibi Bano was so touched that she started crying. Tears rolled down her cheeks and could not stop weeping. She said that she was proud to be the Sworn Mother of a great person like Hari Singh Nalwa. Saying this she departed with her heart full of pride. And, while leaving she quietly proclaimed that if a normal Sikh was this great then how great would be their Guru ?

I hope we should all follow in the example of the great General and protect the dignity and honour of every woman. Please provide me your valuable feedback by writing your comments or sending me an email.

With Love,

Gunjan.

How E-Commerce is slowly killing Malls ?

Dear Readers,

Welcome back!!! It is great to see you again. Hope you are having a great day. Today, I want to discuss about How E-Commerce is slowly killing Malls and Why Malls may not be the best places to open your shop or start a new business in Bangalore anymore.

The Mall culture is a relatively new one in Bangalore. We had large shopping complexes when I was growing up in Bangalore. We had large shopping complexes like Gupta Market, Alankar Plaza, Jayanagar Shopping Complex, Utility building, Unity Building etc. We would get all sorts of clothes, shoes, food, toys, beauty products, travel bags, purses, perfumes, watches etc in these shopping complexes. But, there were no movie theaters in these shopping complexes. There were lot of single screen theaters in Bangalore in areas like Majestic, Malleswaram, Jayanagar etc. But, then came along the ingenious business idea to club the two things together. Hence, started the Mall culture in Bangalore in the late 90's with the advent of multiplexes inside large shopping complexes.

The Malls were much bigger and grander in scale than the largest shopping complexes in the city. People were excited to see the glittering lights and escalators. The well dressed house keeping staff added a very professional look to the area. There were all sorts of small and big restaurants also stacked into the same area. There were scary houses, bowling alleys, pubs,  paint ball, Gaming areas etc. People were lost for choice when it came to shopping for clothes. There were the world's best brands competing alongside with the local discount brands. There were numerous electronics stores as well. People could buy their dream TVs, Cameras, Refrigerators, Washing Machines, Cell Phones etc in these stores. There were also stores for beauty products, hair salons, massage parlors, coffee shops, ice cream parlors, toy stores, book shops all in the same mall. There were also Grocery stores and Vegetable outlets. In short, people were spoiled for choice. But, the icing on the cake were the multiplexes. You could now watch your favorite movies by booking them in advance over the internet. There was no longer any need to stand in long queues or pay for black tickets anymore. Someone had just brought the entire city together and placed it in a single mall.

Malls have been a successful business venture for almost two decades now. The success of this venture has grown like a wild fire in Bangalore. Now, we have malls in every major part of the city. In fact, we would rarely find a prominent area without a Mall these days. In fact, real estate people also promote their new apartments by saying that they are in the locality of a major Mall. But, then the days of every successful business venture are numbered. The down slide of this business has also started already. With the advent of E-Commerce people are getting great discounts on almost anything they purchase. Also, there is the ease factor of buying stuff without leaving the comfort of your home. With the middle man (read the show rooms or the mall stores) out of the picture warehouses are shipping products directly to the end user. There is no longer need for a retail store to sell the product. This new marketing model has hit the malls very badly.

You could argue that there are still so many people venturing into the malls. Yes, that is true. But, let's analyze which stores are these people actually visiting and what are these people actually buying ? Most malls have several budget restaurants. There are lot of affordable food chains like Mc Donald's, KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza etc in every mall. There is also a large food court and one or two affordable restaurants like Sagar, Kamat, Rajdhani etc in every mall. But, the maximum percentage of the people come for only the movies. Malls were mainly targeted for the middle class families. And, middle class people are the smartest buyers. They are the most careful people when it comes to handling their finances. Most of the people just window shop. Some smarter people planning to buy some phone or electronic product get a nice hands on or a demo from the mall retail store. But, they always either end up buying in the E-Commerce store or ask the retail store to reduce their price to match with the E-Commerce store. This trend has started to slowly kill the mall business.

Many shops are shutting down in Malls each day. In fact, maintenance cost of a mall is so huge owing to the 24*7 lighting, house keeping staff, security staff, business tax etc. Also, the malls are mostly empty on week days and generally have large number of visitors only over the weekends. There are many malls like Gopalan Sirsi Circle Mall, Magadi Road ETA Mall etc which have only got a multiplex along with few shops. Most of the mall is deserted and the shops are all shut down. The few open shops are having very few buyers and they are not able to afford the exorbitant mall rents. There are few new malls which are under construction since several years or where the construction has been abandoned owing to huge financial losses.

While nobody can predict the future of the mall business. But, it may not be a great idea to start a new shop or business in a mall without carefully evaluating the risks involved. The people will still continue to enjoy the multiplex experience and the fast food centers would also continue to be full. Maybe the business men now need to focus on what really the customers want ? Maybe opening multiple multiplexes in a single mall and increasing the fast food centers could help to revive their business. Also, people like to buy discounted clothes, beauty products etc. It may even be useful to have a Grocery store. After all, a profitable business is always the one which keeps up with the changing times.

I hope you all liked this article. Please send me your valuable feedback and I will be happy to reply back.

With Love,
Gunjan.