Amanora Town Centre, Amanora Park Town, Hadapsar Pune 411028 (Photo credit: Ravi Karandeekar)

Since Sunday I’ve been in Pune the “cultural” capital of my state – Maharashtra. Known for its slow paced life in  a mainly academic city, Pune has transformed beyond recognition from the days when I was a kid. At one time we used to walk every where, cycle to far off places, eat at home and occasionally go to Kwality’s or Latif’s, take side long glances at Dorabji’s, buy biscuits from Kayani’s and generally think of nothing more hectic than which movie was playing at the Club. For the past twenty years, Pune’s mushrooming colleges and educational institutes have brought in students from places far and wide that Marathi is rarely heard on the streets. In fact Marathi is rarely heard even in private homes with most families having at least one person “over there” and grandchildren sporting distinctly Yankee accents.

Laxmi Road in Central Pune (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Going to Tulshi Baug or Main Street has become not only passe but downright avoidable. With Tulshi Baug bang in the middle of the city where only the foolhardy would venture to take their own car, rikshaws positively refusing to stop to either take you there or from out of there, it is obviously off the shopping radar. Similarly, with Main Street looking decidedly dowager, we only land up going there out of loyalty or nostalgia. Traditional shopping has been completely drowned by the new malls that have sprung up sometimes opposite one another!

Yesterday I visited AMANORA, the latest in the malls of Pune. This gigantic mall  at Magarpatta which is still largely empty is pure competition to Phoenix Market City on the other side of the river at Lohegaon. We spent a wonderful two hours yesterday browsing through the shops at Amanora. Though most of the shops are still to be occupied, there was a nice lively feel to the place. Of course at two in the afternoon there were very few crazy shoppers around but I can imagine the buzz on a weekend or later on in the day. Going past old favourites like Biba, M & S, At Home , Big Bazaar, Crosswords and even a Bata, made me realise that there was absolutely no need to go from shop to shop in the hot sun when you can easily spend that time in a climate controlled environment.

Two distinct blocks with a courtyard in between  offer shoppers two distinct shopping areas. The West Block with its pricier retail outlets like Mark & Spencer and fancy dining options and the East Block with more affordable stuff and an 8 screen multiplex. With lots of watering holes like Cafe Coffee Day ( there are three outlets in this mall), TJ’s with its own homemade brew, and upscale dining options like Mangi, Zambar, this is surely the best place to spend a few hours or so especially on a hot day!