Malls popular hangout for couples

Privacy and pleasant ambience make them ideal meeting place

Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/DNA
Thursday, June 26, 2008

Young couples cozying up and engaged in sweet nothings is a common sight in most shopping malls in Vadodara. Visit a swanky mall and you will encounter couples in every corner -- either chatting or just freaking out. They are mostly there during noon hours on weekdays. Many of them could be found sitting in cafeterias of these malls.City gardens, university campus and road corners as spots of rendezvous are passé. The new trysting place is the mall. Malls are 'cool' with young couples since they offer privacy and a chance to 'be your own self'. These are preferred over other meeting places as couples can move around comfortably inside without inviting the nasty glare of passers-by. Afternoon hours on weekdays are the best time for them as there are very few visitors during this time. The relaxed ambience --- air-conditioner and availability of refreshments -- have added popularity and charm to malls.Vikram Wagle, a person managing a mall in Fatehgunj, said, "Mall witness heavy rush during weekends and evening hours but you will not find much people coming during the noon for shopping. So, those who come during these hours are young couples as they can enjoy moments of togetherness when there are less people around."Ritesh Shah, a commerce student in MSU, finds mall the ideal place to spend time with his girlfriend. "I like to hangout with my girlfriend in a mall as it has a pleasant ambience and is disturbance-free. Apart from that, it provides other entertainment too. Sitting in a mall costs less than an AC restaurant or café," he said.Hiral Dave, a management student of the law faculty, echoes Ritesh's sentiments. He said, "I and my girlfriend prefer to go to malls as we are not disturbed by security staff and people don't stare at us. We prefer to go there in the noon hours of weekdays when less visitors drop in and more couples like us are there."Anup Ram, a helper at a food outlet in a mall at Manjalpur, said, "Maximum number of young couples come in during noon hours. The outlet bursts at the seams with young couples sitting around the cafeteria. They order food and beverages and while away time. There are times when they cozy up too much and we then have to remind them that they are in a public place."