In July, 2014, we were in Trivandrum for a few days. As my husband was busy with the event we had come to attend, I had a lot of free time. After breakfast I would walk all around the vicinity of the hotel where we were staying.
It was quite hot and, walking all day in the sun, I longed for a comfortable place to hang out and yet get a feel of the place. It was thus that I discovered Pothys on the nearby MG Road.
After that I took to using that Mall whenever I felt tired. if I really needed something, I bought it but, most of the time, I window shopped to my heart’s content.
I do not know if it was some particular time of the year, but it was always very crowded. Herds of families of all religions flocked there, old and infant.
It seemed to have many items which I would not easily find in Delhi or Pune. As an example, I quote the presence of a Malaysian brand of chocolates: Beryls.
There are small snack stands on the ground floor where you can recuperate energy after the long walks up and down to fill your shopping list or just browsing the many sections.
There are floors dedicated to various departments and lifts to take you there.
I’m sure it is a thrilling place for the average Indian lady who fancies a new sari at every festival or occasion as it has a huge collection.
Here is how it is organised:
On the lowest level are housed fruits, vegetables(quite exotic varieties!), groceries, provisions, dairy products, and other such Items.
The Ground Floor has Cotton, Synthetic, Fancy and Designer Sarees, while the First Floor offers Wedding Silks, Kancheepuram, Arni, Dharmavaram Silks.
The Second Floor keeps Chudidhars, Suiting and Shirting and Dhotis and on the Third Floor, you can find children’s ready-mades and toys.
On the Fourth Floor, it is men’s ready-mades, Wedding Suits and Sherwanis.
Lastly, on the Fifth Floor, you can shop for fashion jewellery, cosmetics, mobiles, watches, luggage items, foot wear, crockery and gift items.
Still, compared to Malls in Malaysia, it lacks the sense of comfort. Perhaps with the size of our population, it is hard to design and maintain that degree of alluring comfort.
however, just like in Kuala Lumpur, here too it appears that large families look on a visit to a mall much like an outing or picnic.
For me it was a place where the air-conditioning offered relief from Trivandrum’s hot climate and I also found a number of items I would not have seen in Pune.
On the whole, I found the salespersons helpful and charming.
Address:
Nikunjam Building, M.G.Road, Salem - Kochi - Kanyakumari Highway, Ayurveda College Junction, Vanchiyoor, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695001