Visit to Mani Square

Keeping my trend of mall hopping alive, I paid a visit to the recent addition named Mani Square Mall on the EM Bypass this weekend. Before I go further, here's a brief note for the enthusiasts (as per the Mall guide distributed for free) :

Location: 164/1, Maniktala Main Road, 9th floor
(Beside Apollo Gleneagles Hospital)
EM Bypass, Kol-54.

Floors: Basement+4 floors

Car Parking space(multilevel valet serviced) : for more than 1500 vehicles

This shopping mall is launched by the Mani Group. The best thing about this place is that it stays relatively empty as compared to the other hot spots like City Center or Hiland Park. Perhaps the absence of a nearby housing complex or the approach road (parts of which are still under construction) could be a reason. Nevertheless, with its spacious interiors (the 3rd floor food court is spread across 25,000 sq foot while the dining space measures 50, 000 sq ft), it is a good place to catch up with your friends over a cuppa sans the crazy weekend crowd.

It seems that Spencers-the Hypermart has got a penchant for the basement. Like South City Mall, here at Mani Square too, they have booked a major part of the basement for their store. At Mani Square, you will get almost all major brands under the same roof. Koutons (basement, also called the lower ground floor), Westside, Lee Cooper, Woodlands, Levis, McDonald's (ground floor), Reebok, Nike, Adidas, Turtle, Reid & Taylor (first floor) etc are some of the names worth mentioning. The E-Zone (that stocks electronic appliances) is a big attraction on the second floor. Nik-Nish, another possible show stopper on this floor, is yet to open its doors. The third floor houses the food court. Apart from sipping coffee at CCD, you can get a variety of cuisines here ranging from the chaats, deserts, kebabs as well as South and North Indian dishes. A Scary House, the Indian version of the Horror House on this floor, is still under construction though what it will have inside is still a closely guarded secret.

The topmost floor ie the fourth floor is reserved for specialty restaurants. Only Machaan and Shack Lounge have started their operations and the others listed in the directory are yet to set shop. Machaan has already been featured in one of the leading Kolkata dailies. The entrance looks impressive with two Egyptian pharaohs standing guard while the dimly lit interiors try to replicate the hunting ground with machaans (that's the theme behind the name of this eatery).

All in all, I feel that Mani Square is poised to be the next happening spot on the EM Bypass. Once the IMAX theatre (a 3-screen multiplex) at Mani Square is opened for the public, this place will be a serious competitor for the other shopping malls.

South City Mall

Last Sunday, I went to the South City Mall with a friend. Situated on Prince Anwar Shah Road, this shopping mall is believed to be the largest in India, spread on a sprawling area of 6,00,000 square feet. What I liked the most about the place was its well-planned layout. The wide corridors of South City Mall has seats, some wooden and some cushioned sofas, where people can rest their tired feet before getting up again to explore the area. This mall has something or the other for almost everyone. So, grocery store (Spencer's), several clothing stores, bookstores, a full floor serving delicious dishes (different counters are there to serve delicacies belonging to different regions) and a cinema hall (Fame), all can be found under the same roof. We even managed to sneak into the parking lot from the top storey to get a nice view of the surroundings and the spiralling parking zone. The only bane appeared to be the absence of an elevator that could directly take you to the topmost floor. So, we had to take the escalator, hop down at each floor and then get on the other one going to the next higher level. This small problem notwithstanding, I simply loved the place and think it's worth a dekkho.

Lastly, a caution to all those willing to visit the mall in the evening. Plan your road-map cleverly as the place in front of South City Mall suffers tremendously from traffic jams in the evening. I myself faced a big problem while returning from there and had to break my journey into three shorter versions, not before walking a distance equivalent to three bus-stops as I couldn't get any vehicle (no buses, autos or taxis).

Image: Inside the South City Mall (Courtesy: Avrajyoti Mitra)