Yesterday, I wrote about the liberty of women at shopping. But when it comes to the season of sales, their quest for buying more and more of the obsolete and older merchandise at lower rates multiplies. The out of season clothes are sold off at throw away prices, much to the delight of low budget women.
One of the mega shopping complexes at Lahore Fortress Stadium was however different. Right on the first of the month, they had announced 10% discount on almost everything in the store. Except for fruits, vegetable, confectionary and meat, everything was available on discounted prices. I along with my family, on a trip to Lahore, wandered into the store not knowing of the discounts. And I found the place thronged with people as if everything was for free. People were roaming with carts full of household items, while many had come just to enjoy.
And quite naturally, the discounted prices also lured us in and soon we had a cart full of our monthly grocery and confectionary. The discounts were also offered on readymade clothes and everyone was trying to fit in the jeans and shirts to make hay while the discounts lasted. My sons also bought jeans and T-shirts, while I also got lucky to find a full sleeved thing, as due to my height and size I seldom get anything readymade. We also bought ready2eat meals from a wide variety available in the store.
And when we tried to check out, there were long queues on every cash register. The snail placed move forward was both annoying and disturbing as some impatient people at the back would keep pushing forward despite seeing the blockage – just like impatient drivers do by honking on a red light. I took a few shots of the rush and the chaos from my mobile camera, until I was asked by a store manager not to take photographs – I wondered why. The jittery crowd was turning into mayhem slowly and gradually. But I was more worried about the hot meals that I had bought, which were getting colder. After a long wait and pushes and pulls, we finally made it to the cash counter and checked out. But in the process, the boxes of ready2eat meals were turned upside down and we opened to eat, it was more of a mess and less of a ready thing.
Having said that, I really enjoyed the weekend and the shopping despite the rush and the hassle. One enjoys when with people – otherwise desolateness is killing and torturing. So whenever you have time, go out where people are having fun and making merry. That is life.
