Top 5 Shopping Malls in Mumbai

Mumbai-Thane has over 40 malls altogether, however not all are worth exploring. I have prepared a list of top 10 shopping malls/ shopping destinations to check out in Mumbai/Thane. Although I am not a shopaholic person myself, but i like to visit such places once in a while and spend an evening roaming about the Malls. I avoided mentioning the names of brands present in the malls as it would make the article very long and boring.

High Street Pheonix
The best mall of Mumbai as mentioned by me in my previous articles, this place is also the house for the poshest brands of the world. located near the Lower Parel railway station, its as such a compound accomodating two malls : Pallidium and Grand Galleria. Some of the major stores are still under construction. A variety of brands, mostly premium ones are present here in addition to the designer-wear stores which makes for a quite costly shopping experience. I bet you'll find brands here that have just one store in India. Overall the location is superb, ambience and crowd is amazing and brands are nice but costly. You can go to spend an evening here and watch a movie at PVR followed by dinner at several multi-cuisine restaurants. Food-court like other such malls is absent and is replaced by full-fledged resturants.
Website: www.highstreetphoenix.com/ 
Address: High Street Phoenix
The Phoenix Mills Limited
462, Senapati Bapat Marg,
Lower Parel (West)
Rating:
Brands: 8/10
Ambience: 9/10
Overall: 9/10

R-City Mall Ghatkopar
Self acclaimed largest mall of Mumbai is indeed quite large I'd say. Only 70% of the stores and space is in use presently and the remaining 30% is under construction. But the place which is open is developed very nicely. This mall has got the widest mix of the brands and i find it the best shopping destination for everyone as the range of brands present is very broad. Located between Ghatkopar and Vikroli, the mall has revived the area. The mall looks very lively to me because of its nice architecture. A large food court which is mostly over filled on weekends and Deccan City Pride Multiplex are the two places to check-out here. Dining can be quite truobling as you'll have to be really quick to steal a table from the crowd.
Website: http://www.rcity.co.in/
Address: R City Mall, LBS Marg, Ghatkopar, Ghatkopar West
Rating:
Brands:8
Ambience:9
Overall:8.5

In Orbit Mall Malad
I have visited all the Inorbit mall in like Pune, Vashi and Hyderabad and you bet they have an appetite for excellence. This place is no exception. Beautiful architecture and plentiful brands make it the ultimate shopping destination. Food court which houses the maximum number multifrious kiosks is an appetizer for anyone, I bet. The mall is very large and has many stores so you'll sure get what you are looking for here.
Website: http://www.inorbit.in/malad/
Address:Inorbit Malls ( India ) Pvt. Ltd.,
Link Road, Malad (W),
Mumbai – 400 064
Rating:
Brands:9
Ambience:8
Overall:8.5


Atria The Millenium Mall
Its the most popular mall among the people of So-Bo. Located in the posh locality like Worli the brands are obviously expected to be hi-end and expensive. Apart from the retail and fashion outlets it also is the premium auto destination The world's top brands like Ducati, BMW and Rolce Royce have their showrooms here. Also present here is the popular entertainment zone Orama- which has a 4-D theater, an ice skating rink and a gaming zone near by the multi-cuisine food-court. Some stores are not fully operative possibly due to high cost but low turnover.
Website: http://www.atriamumbai.in/
Address:Dr. Annie Beasant Road, Worli
Rating:
Brands:8
Ambience:7
Overall:7.5

Korum Mall
I couldn't resist myself from adding a Mall from Thane.
The most popular shopping destination for the people of Thane is located in the heart of the city. The mall is beautifully build. You can see 90% of the stores from the ground floor and thats the beauty of its architecture. Its like a megastructure with stores fitted into the walls. Architecture is simple and the ambiece is pleasent. The brands are from all ranges and affordable I'd say. So after enjoying the shopping you can go out for a movie in Inox or have a pleasent dining experience. But the food court doesnot house too many stores and hence the choices offered are limited.
Website: http://korum.in/
Address: Mangal Pandey Road, Off Easter Express Highway, Thane(W)
Rating:
Brands: 7
Ambiece:7
Overall:7


More on Malls and Shopping in my next article.

Emotional Independence -2

In my previous article i gave a general idea about emotional independence. Now I am going to take the point further and define emotional independence and tell why is it important.
Emotional Independence can be defined as the ability of the mind to be free from the affect of emotions of others, to feel whatever it pleases without being affected by the activities of other people.
Looking at it practically it looks quite natural and obvious that why should an individual be affected by activities and actions of others. But in real life scenario the case is completely different as we know. Human beings will always continue to be dependent on other people emotionally. The ideal case for emotional independence is very hard to achieve as we are very much attached to our loved ones. But it can be achieved to a level where we can modify own behavior and actions irrespective of the emotions. We can supress our emotions to such an extent that they no longer have an affect on us and we can behave normally even in case of extreme emotions.

The whole idea behind being emotionally independent is to be self sufficient and every sense. An emotionally stable individual will always be stronger than someone who is emotionally sensitive. The sensitive individual will bring in emotions into the situations where logic is required and might end up taking a wrong decision directed by emotions. On the other hand an emotionally stable and I'm afraid to use the word but also, an 'apathetic' indivudual will take a better in case of calamity which gave rise to extreme emotions. Being a living being and furthermore, a human being, emotions are meant to be a part of our life. I don't deny that. But I deny the fact that we need to take support of our emotions while taking decisions. Let alone support, one should not even consider ones emotions while taking decisions lest one regret it later. Yes, emotions can be supressed and by doing so one can take better decisions in life. After all its your decisions that will decide the course the course of your life.
I've heard people saying my mind is saying No but by heart is saying Yes. We know that the mind is the only organ in body capable of taking decisions and thinking. Obviusly, heart can't think. So here in this case, we can say that the person is bringing the emotions into play and I bet most of you will go with what you believe your heart is saying. Nevermind.

Finally i'd like to add that emotions can't be fully annihilated as they arise as a part of hormonal and neural signals, but we can achieve a mastery on them with practise.
 

Emotional Independence

Please don't read if you don't like the subject, because it will only get worse from here.

Human beings are meant to live a life of happiness and enjoyment. Yes, pain and suffering are a part of life,but these feelings don't define life. Pain is never to be taken seriously. Life is defined by the positive emotions. Personally, i always try keeping myself calm and regret the few times I've got angry or frustrated because of some other human being. I regret being perturbed because of someone else and I consider it to be my weakness and inability. Why so?

The expression of negative emotions or the mere existence of it shows your dependence on others. If someone else's actions incite you or cause anger, then you should realize you are weak. Anger is the biggest sign of weakness. Weakness, not physical but emotional. You are weak because you are dependent on others. Your emotions are guided by other people's actions. How can it be left to someone else that what you are supposed to feel. Emotions is what you feel, and what you feel is what you are. So, if you grant another individual the previledge of defining you, perhaps you need to start taking life more seriously now.

I have my own way to keep the emotions under control. Whenever I experience a negative feeling like frustration or anger because of someone else, I make conscious efforts to supress it. I supress it by saying to myself that I can't let anyone affect my emotions. My emotions can't depend on others. I repeatedly say this until I am able to supress the feeling to a lesser significance.

However by saying all this i dont implicate that one should not feel sympathy or empathy towards the loved ones. Here i am only talking about the negative emotions that arise due to others. The positive ones should be lived and enjoyed to the greatest extent, because it is how life is meant to be, happy and joyous.

More on the topic in my next article.