Bangalore's Hip, New Shopping
When I first came back to India in 1996, I remember noticing that I was the only person wearing blue jeans…. boy, have things changed. Today, designer brands are in: Adidas, Levi’s, Reebok, Wrangler, Nike, etc. Every person under the age of 25 are caught only wearing jeans, and everyone seems to have an infatuation of the United States.
Case in point: I went to a shopping mall today called “The Forum.” Now, you’re thinking, “how exciting, a mall“, but keep in mind that a mall didn’t exist in Bangalore when I last came in 2002. “The Forum” reminds me of a Galleria or any other high end shopping mall, but on a slightly smaller scale. The top floor is a movie theater with seven screens, featuring all of the latest Hollywood and Bollywood films. I saw “The Da Vinci Code”; the experience was the same, minus the intermission halfway through the show.
The mall featured any store you could think of: among the stores I care about (the electronics stores), I saw a Bose and an Indian Apple Store (called Apple Centre). I didn’t realize iPods were so popular in India. 
Oh, and they even have a “Lush”, which isn’t in Dallas, I don’t believe. Maria loves this store.
After the movie, we were all starving, so we went to find a place to eat. Our options: First, the food court, which had a Pizza Hut, Subway, and a bunch of Indian fast food places.
Our second option: The second of its kind in India… a McDonalds! I couldn’t believe I’d be so excited about seeing a McDonalds.
We decided to eat here. Take a look at the crowd; I don’t think I’ve ever seen an American McDonald’s this busy before.
The menu was interesting: McDonald’s first attempt in the Indian market ten years ago was a disaster. They tried to serve Indians the crappy food they serve in the US, but the Indians wouldn’t accept that. Now, the food is catered to Indian tastes. Would you like a McAloo Tikki, a McVeggie sandwich, or a McSamosa? I chose the McMaharaja Chicken sandwich… it was essentially a Big Mac with chicken, and a spicy, Indian flavored sauce. It was honestly the best McDonald’s sandwich I’ve ever had.
So that’s my tour of the new Bangalore shopping style. My only question is: why do Indians want to be American? I guess time will tell the answer.
