Stopping by the Palladium on a sunny afternoon

The buildings are lovely, bright and tall..

My cousin is still not here, I'll ve to call..

The sloth says that he'd be there in 10 minutes..

But knowing him, I'd take that as infinite..

Phoenix mills.. I was here last, when Big Bazaar was a big deal..

Now it is some place where even a kleptomaniac wont steal..

I cant believe how much this place has changed since then..

I feel like a yawning Rip Van Winkle freshly out of his den..

I walk into the Palladium, the AC is good and its apparently Wi-Fi enabled..

Most of the access points are password protected or just don't work.. Does no one bother to look beneath the label?

I see a Diesel outlet..Something that I'd never seen outside Loot Mart..

I had plenty of time to kill, it seemed like a good start..

I walk in.. The store guy takes my proficiency in American English for granted..

And stumps me by asking if I knew what I wanted..

I cant concede that I'm just there to kill time, so I enquire about denims, size 34..

He give a nodding smile... I fear that he's seen blatant liars like me before..

He undertakes an excavation into the shelves, it seems size 34s are not the regular clientele..

All skinny eyes stare at me.. I could drown if only my waist would fit into the perimeter of a well..

I take a good long breath and pull up my pants.. It fits!! It fits!! It fits!!

I casually glance at the price tag safely tugged inside the pockets... Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!

10,795 is what it proudly states... 10,795 in Rupees, not the Rouble..

I carefully get out of 1/3rd of my monthly income.. I don't want no trouble..

I come out with a sheepish smile, the skinny eyes still stare.. I lie that the pants that fit, don't fit..

The wise ass!! by this time, he's managed to find a size 36 as well! but I say that I'm not mentally ready for it..

I walk out wondering how a place so exorbitant could exist..

but then again, with enough resources, how could greed resist..

I make a mental note of coming back some day..

with that much more money and that less fat my way...

but till then if i get the urge to buy a pair of diesel jeans..

Loot Mart, it is! Loot Mart, it is!