Chennai’s City Centre Mall

Chennai’s latest mall is a delightful surprise. I was charmed by the classic sense of aesthetics that the mall showcases, which is almost non-existent in malls these days.

So, I landed for the 2^nd time in the space of a fortnight in a terribly HOT Chens. Yes, I am MAD! This time, it was some work and the chance to meet an old friend of mine, Latha that dragged me there. The previous time was aboard my brother’s ship when it came to India - thankfully the ship was completely air-conditioned and I was spared Chennai’s suffocating and sweaty heat then. Anyway, the long and short of it was that I was in Chennai and amidst the good times that a catch-up with old friends brings and the rush that a customary visit to Pantheon street evokes [thanks to the awesome bargaining that this kind of street shopping offers], this mall stands out in my memory of this trip.

The first thing that strikes one is the unique European architecture, almost Grecian to an untrained eye like me. In an age when steel and glass facades rule the landscape, such a classical style, reminiscent of a bygone era, is a welcome change.

Coming from India’s latest mall city, Bangalore, I don’t care much for malls, except in a truly functional way – it’s a pleasure to find parking and everything one possibly needs under one roof. Having seen malls in different cities, the mantra for a new mall seems to be bigger, the better with a good dash of glitz and lighting. Infact, liking a mall for its aethestic sense is probably unheard of, though I do like the Al Madina mall [that's the name i think] in Dubai with its Arabic street look and unbelievable waterways – making one forget you’re in a desert zone and not in Venice.

The Chens City Centre almost looks a beautiful monument that one visits as a tourist – and then one sees the sign boards of the top brands beckoning, sans the neon and flash. The ornate clock at the top, the Grecian detailing along the outer walls, the western street lamp dotted entrance, the picture perfect frills in white interiors, the stained glass painting and the lavender coloured wall, complete with the white outlining for windows, the large scale wall paintings in a Renaissance style – even the small urns attached to the walls at the inner entrance with Chennai city centre, borrowing from the holy water urns that one finds in churches – all unbundles the surprize styling that this mall displays. Add to this, the top shopping outlets [including Landmark], Inox movies and an average spread of restaurants and you have a mall blockbuster mall.

A mall like this in Chens! I was in shock for an entire evening, Latha will attest. This round goes to Chens I think. Go visit if you are in the city.