The other day, me and my friend were at the Mall. It was a weekend, and we both had nothing better to do. And now-a-days a Mall is the most obvious place for young people to hang out.
As usual, the Mall was over-crowded. And as we strolled around, my friend suggested we visit one of those big Electronics stores. Unlike me, my friend just adores electronic gadgets. Soon he was lost in his gadget-lust and conveniently forgot that he had a non-electronic friend too...
So I left him to drool and ogle and just strolled around observing gadgets, price tags and people. (What else was there to see?)
The first and most obvious thing I observed were the long queues of people waiting at the check-out counters. My parents never visit the Mall. And a good thing too, because if they visit here, they would be shocked to see so many people spend so much money on (according to them) useless electronic trinkets of luxury. In their time, saving was earning, and one only bought electronic items once a decade or so... But things have changed I guess...
As I passed the TV section, I overheard a family discussing which TV should they get for the Kids' bedroom and which one for their own. No wonder they now call them "personal" electronics. In my parents' time, it used to be "family" electronics. One TV to rule them all, one Radio to entertain them, one Fridge to keep them cool, and as a family bind them...
I approached a section of what looked like household gadgets - Vacuum Cleaners, Shavers, etc. While I was looking at a Vacuum Cleaner that looked like a miniature model of a futuristic car, I overheard a couple talking right across from me on the other side of the display rack.
Guy asks the girl - "What are you looking for?"
Girl: says something that sounded to me like a cross between "epileptic" and "alligator".
I did not mean to intrude or eavesdrop, but curiosity got the better of me. So, pretending to look on casually, I moved round the rack until I was nearly besides them. They were looking at what looked like a very fancy shaving machine cum miniature lawn-mower... The box called it an "Epilator".
Guy: "What, you gonna spend 4000 on a shaving machine?"
Gal: "It's not a shaving machine. It does not trim hair, it pulls them out."
Guy: "Ouch! You are one crazy masochist."
Gal: "Shut up and please go get someone to demo some of these to me?"
The guy stepped away to look out for a sales person and I moved on to the next display rack...
Near by, I saw a kid doing crazy gestures at the wall. He would move his arm this way and that in the air. Like he was doing some magic trick or something. Sometimes he would hop. Sometimes he would grab at the air in front of him like he was trying to catch a fly. Every now and again he would bend this way and that. All the while he kept his eyes on the wall in front of him. It looked very funny. I thought he was daft or something, doing all those crazy antics in front of everyone...
But when I stepped closer, I realized he was just playing a demo game on the new Play Station which uses motion detectors instead of your traditional joystick... Wow!
My friend was still busy ogling at and drooling over iPads. I let him continue his electronic wet-dream...
I roamed the shop until I came back to the checkout counters. The guy and the gal had just bought the epilator and were about to move out. I heard the Girl say "See, I saved 2000 Rs!"
Guy: "What!? You just spent 2000 Rs on that shaving machine!"
Gal: "I expected it to cost around 4000 Rs. But we got this one for just 2000 Rs. See? I saved the remaining 2k... And its not a shaving machine, silly. The name's epilator"
I watched with amusement as they walked out of the shop and wondered what my parents and their generation would think about the girl's idea about Saving Money!
As usual, the Mall was over-crowded. And as we strolled around, my friend suggested we visit one of those big Electronics stores. Unlike me, my friend just adores electronic gadgets. Soon he was lost in his gadget-lust and conveniently forgot that he had a non-electronic friend too...
So I left him to drool and ogle and just strolled around observing gadgets, price tags and people. (What else was there to see?)
The first and most obvious thing I observed were the long queues of people waiting at the check-out counters. My parents never visit the Mall. And a good thing too, because if they visit here, they would be shocked to see so many people spend so much money on (according to them) useless electronic trinkets of luxury. In their time, saving was earning, and one only bought electronic items once a decade or so... But things have changed I guess...
As I passed the TV section, I overheard a family discussing which TV should they get for the Kids' bedroom and which one for their own. No wonder they now call them "personal" electronics. In my parents' time, it used to be "family" electronics. One TV to rule them all, one Radio to entertain them, one Fridge to keep them cool, and as a family bind them...
I approached a section of what looked like household gadgets - Vacuum Cleaners, Shavers, etc. While I was looking at a Vacuum Cleaner that looked like a miniature model of a futuristic car, I overheard a couple talking right across from me on the other side of the display rack.
Guy asks the girl - "What are you looking for?"
Girl: says something that sounded to me like a cross between "epileptic" and "alligator".
I did not mean to intrude or eavesdrop, but curiosity got the better of me. So, pretending to look on casually, I moved round the rack until I was nearly besides them. They were looking at what looked like a very fancy shaving machine cum miniature lawn-mower... The box called it an "Epilator".
Guy: "What, you gonna spend 4000 on a shaving machine?"
Gal: "It's not a shaving machine. It does not trim hair, it pulls them out."
Guy: "Ouch! You are one crazy masochist."
Gal: "Shut up and please go get someone to demo some of these to me?"
The guy stepped away to look out for a sales person and I moved on to the next display rack...
Near by, I saw a kid doing crazy gestures at the wall. He would move his arm this way and that in the air. Like he was doing some magic trick or something. Sometimes he would hop. Sometimes he would grab at the air in front of him like he was trying to catch a fly. Every now and again he would bend this way and that. All the while he kept his eyes on the wall in front of him. It looked very funny. I thought he was daft or something, doing all those crazy antics in front of everyone...
But when I stepped closer, I realized he was just playing a demo game on the new Play Station which uses motion detectors instead of your traditional joystick... Wow!
My friend was still busy ogling at and drooling over iPads. I let him continue his electronic wet-dream...
I roamed the shop until I came back to the checkout counters. The guy and the gal had just bought the epilator and were about to move out. I heard the Girl say "See, I saved 2000 Rs!"
Guy: "What!? You just spent 2000 Rs on that shaving machine!"
Gal: "I expected it to cost around 4000 Rs. But we got this one for just 2000 Rs. See? I saved the remaining 2k... And its not a shaving machine, silly. The name's epilator"
I watched with amusement as they walked out of the shop and wondered what my parents and their generation would think about the girl's idea about Saving Money!
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