JOIN USMy husband said it was irrational exuberance. What is our advantage in having an upscale mall at walking distance from home, he asked. I didn’t have a convincing answer to that, but I still refused to scale down the excitement. I kept tab on the progress of the construction and when, after a wait of two years it opened I made sure that we were among the firsts to walk the marbled floors. As predicted, we did not have a reason to visit the place again, in the months since.
Recently, I discovered one, definite, ‘advantage’. The house- guests were senior citizens. They had lived in Bangalore decades back and were keen to see the new face of the city. But a single day of outing was enough to scare them off the roads. We would rather stay put at home and enjoy the weather, they declared. It was then that I got the idea. “Why don’t you go and see the new mall?” I suggested, “It is just close by”. Two hours later they returned, with a purchase. The husband expressed annoyance at the exorbitant prices. “This one purchase of hers cleaned out the purse”, he said. I tried to lift his mood with a cup of coffee, but the phone call he received shortly, did it far more effectively. The caller from the mall informed that the four thousand rupee purchase had entered them in a lucky draw and that their bill had won a gift voucher for Rs 1,000. It seemed too good to be true. If the mall wasn’t so close, I doubt if we would have set out to claim the gift.
A posse of youngsters in uniform welcomed us into the barricaded area. One of them picked up the mike and announced the prize. The visibly embarrassed couple were then escorted to the podium and a photographer captured the presentation scene. The girl in charge graciously opened the envelope and ‘explained’ the contents. There were two gift vouchers for 500 Rupees each, which could be redeemed at the newly opened, Polynesian bar and restaurant and a high-end spa.
To say we were disappointed would be an understatement. The wife, already guilt stricken over the lavish buy, was desperate to get something out of the fiasco.
“We could go to the restaurant tonight for dinner” she said. “It’s not our kind of place” I replied, hesitantly
“Why don’t we just leave this as tip and come out?” said the husband.
It was good to see humour return to his face. “Will you be able to use the other one?” the lady asked hopefully
“I could get a pedicure done” I said. “For one foot?” the man asked. And that set off the laughter. We laughed all the way home. We laughed when we narrated the incident to others.
And even now, when I think about the gift, my mouth widens to a smile.
And that is one gift you can’t put a price on.