<p class="bodytext">Like much that has changed in Bengaluru, the way its denizens buy gold, silver and platinum too has changed. I don’t speak from personal shopping experience; my financial position and inclination don’t allow that. I speak from observing the vast number of people who stream into Jayanagar in their dark SUVs and are an unbridled menace to pedestrians.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Earlier, they used to go to the old Pete part of town (for all its IT-BT-start-up pretensions, it is only a town posing as a megapolis) or Cantonment’s Commercial Street to stock up on jewellery for upcoming marriages in the family. Slowly, the new kids in town with their flashy showrooms and forbidding saleswomen made their presence felt on MG Road. And now in Jayanagar.</p>.<p class="bodytext">When and how this started is lost in the mists of time, but it was probably at the turn of the millennium. Some historians of this suburb may know precisely which major seller first decided to drop anchor on 11th Main, 4th Block, aka Aurobindo Marg. Many others followed suit in a classic case study of the herd mentality. Today, it is a bustling hub of jewellers of all hues. Marble Street in Adugodi got its name from the many granite and marble sellers. So, it is only logical that 11th Main (given the various lanes branching off from this arterial road which are home to over a hundred jewellery stores) should be called Jewel Street. It is not official yet, but it is just a matter of time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On the plus side, it’s an employment generator – these stores are gainfully recruiting showroom assistants, security and housekeeping staff, valet parking men, Internet service providers and CCTV unit guys, among others. The ancillary service sector keeping Jewel Street humming is a story by itself.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The downside is the traffic mess. From large vehicles navigating through once-quiet, residential streets to a sudden influx of shoppers who strut around self-importantly. They may have put down large sums of money for their family jewels, but they don’t own the roads, which are still public property and need to be respected as such.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Where does Jewel Street go from here? Online sales of these precious metals crafted for personal adornments have not taken off and perhaps never will. At best, online stores will provide a preview of what’s available and drive buyers to physical stores in Jayanagar. This commodity is essentially a real-world item, and there are so many emotions linked to purchases that AI can perhaps never mimic.</p>.<p class="bodytext">So, Jayanagar is stuck with Jewel Street, for better or for worse. One only hopes the traffic problems are, unlike diamonds, not forever.</p>
<p class="bodytext">Like much that has changed in Bengaluru, the way its denizens buy gold, silver and platinum too has changed. I don’t speak from personal shopping experience; my financial position and inclination don’t allow that. I speak from observing the vast number of people who stream into Jayanagar in their dark SUVs and are an unbridled menace to pedestrians.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Earlier, they used to go to the old Pete part of town (for all its IT-BT-start-up pretensions, it is only a town posing as a megapolis) or Cantonment’s Commercial Street to stock up on jewellery for upcoming marriages in the family. Slowly, the new kids in town with their flashy showrooms and forbidding saleswomen made their presence felt on MG Road. And now in Jayanagar.</p>.<p class="bodytext">When and how this started is lost in the mists of time, but it was probably at the turn of the millennium. Some historians of this suburb may know precisely which major seller first decided to drop anchor on 11th Main, 4th Block, aka Aurobindo Marg. Many others followed suit in a classic case study of the herd mentality. Today, it is a bustling hub of jewellers of all hues. Marble Street in Adugodi got its name from the many granite and marble sellers. So, it is only logical that 11th Main (given the various lanes branching off from this arterial road which are home to over a hundred jewellery stores) should be called Jewel Street. It is not official yet, but it is just a matter of time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On the plus side, it’s an employment generator – these stores are gainfully recruiting showroom assistants, security and housekeeping staff, valet parking men, Internet service providers and CCTV unit guys, among others. The ancillary service sector keeping Jewel Street humming is a story by itself.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The downside is the traffic mess. From large vehicles navigating through once-quiet, residential streets to a sudden influx of shoppers who strut around self-importantly. They may have put down large sums of money for their family jewels, but they don’t own the roads, which are still public property and need to be respected as such.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Where does Jewel Street go from here? Online sales of these precious metals crafted for personal adornments have not taken off and perhaps never will. At best, online stores will provide a preview of what’s available and drive buyers to physical stores in Jayanagar. This commodity is essentially a real-world item, and there are so many emotions linked to purchases that AI can perhaps never mimic.</p>.<p class="bodytext">So, Jayanagar is stuck with Jewel Street, for better or for worse. One only hopes the traffic problems are, unlike diamonds, not forever.</p>
