Eclectic designs, trendy unusual patterns, delicately embellished clutches and kurtis have been suddenly dotting the horizon, leaving me nervously twitching. What is the illicit source of these much-coveted acquisitions, I wonder? Street bazaars which have been over flooded with export surpluses seemed quite plausible, but this was more than that. Until I discovered the phenomenon called the flea market in Delhi’s uppity urbane malls. The mall setting, food stalls, hassle-free browsing all ostensibly were an attractive enough package.
However, I always associated flea markets or yard sales with images of old books, clothes, electronics, exciting curios and other knick-knacks that served little or no purpose. But the city-bred fleas are different. They are fatter, more exuberant; making easy targets of the innocent and the big-walleted. There is nothing exciting about them. Banal shops with ordinary clothes. Up and coming designers thrive on them by showcasing their ‘original’ ensembles at ‘throw-away’ prices. Jewellery makers pocket huge margins whilst offering the same products at four times the cost.
The product line-up itself ranges from stationery to garden furniture, to even floral concepts, all with the commonality of being overpriced and overvalued. I once made the unforgivable mistake of offering my friend an all-you-can-buy experience at one of these malls, at a time when this oncept was new and unexplored. Little did I know that this ruthless city now belongs to the rich and the famous, often seeking pleasure by catching innocent by-standers unawares. And the result was – 2 broke, famished girls with bags full of utterly useless bizarre stuff they’ll probably never use.
However, I always associated flea markets or yard sales with images of old books, clothes, electronics, exciting curios and other knick-knacks that served little or no purpose. But the city-bred fleas are different. They are fatter, more exuberant; making easy targets of the innocent and the big-walleted. There is nothing exciting about them. Banal shops with ordinary clothes. Up and coming designers thrive on them by showcasing their ‘original’ ensembles at ‘throw-away’ prices. Jewellery makers pocket huge margins whilst offering the same products at four times the cost.
The product line-up itself ranges from stationery to garden furniture, to even floral concepts, all with the commonality of being overpriced and overvalued. I once made the unforgivable mistake of offering my friend an all-you-can-buy experience at one of these malls, at a time when this oncept was new and unexplored. Little did I know that this ruthless city now belongs to the rich and the famous, often seeking pleasure by catching innocent by-standers unawares. And the result was – 2 broke, famished girls with bags full of utterly useless bizarre stuff they’ll probably never use.
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