If you have been to one mall, you have been to them all. I say this not to disparage these ugly monstrosities that give millions of us access to free air-conditioning and clean washrooms, but to point out that we now spend more time inside them than is good for us. This isn't a rant about consumerism either, even though it has been pointed out by many that we purchase more than we have ever needed. It is simply a reminder that there is a world outside them with the potential to offer a lot more happiness than window shopping can.

I grew up in a Bombay that had no malls. It's hard for a millennial to understand what that feels like because it sometimes feels as if our weekends have always involved excursions to a Phoenix or an Inorbit. It's true though, and the absence of giant shopping centres encouraged us all to seek avenues of entertainment that didn't involve the use of a credit card. We didn't have credit cards either anyway, because the salaries we were paid back then wouldn't buy us dinner at a fancy restaurant today.