Store Review: Vaibhav

From the moment that women step into this shop, they cease to be women anymore. In their new avatar as the hunters of fine bargain, their plight can closely be compared to that of an ill fed zoo tiger, who, with the lazy blink of an eye, suddenly finds himself cramped for space amidst a herd of deer grazing calmly inside his very own cage. New Vaibhav, may not be such a cool place to hang out for real life members of the Panthera tigris clan, either of the caged or the wild variety (or the hungry or the well fed variety), but the 2000 plus women (and men) who horde it on a daily basis, sure do make their killing.

First the grass facts. Located in the immediate vicinity of the Koti bus stop and the Osmania Medical College, this “Family Fabric World” has a lot of issues to deal with. The first, the three thousand & fifty fourth, and the last of them being the supercrazy doses of human traffic that pass by. Vaibhav dangles out its bait, (read bargain) and waits for the bite. And the hunter becomes the hunted. Oh hell, being hunted was never this good. If you’re the one who’s just starting out in life, and need some decent dinner wear, or wanna attend that friends engagement, here’s the place to begin. If you’re the one, who’s got to where you are by being smart (read stringy) but now unfortunately need to buy miles and miles of sarees to hand out to your never ending line of in-laws or outlaws for your daughters wedding, here is the place to be once again. Then again, if you’re of the stinky super-rich types, and 50 quid don’t mean a thing to you, but don’t want to miss out on a Kanjivaram silken that other middle and upper class stores are out of, or never had, here is the place to be again. But don’t miss out on the following statutory warning. If you’re the type who can’t quickly decide on whether to have spinach or bhindi for a home lunch, this is NOT the place to be. Either of the following scenarios may emerge. A, you’d freeze from decision paralysis, or B, you would see your husband freeze to the spot, trying inanely to stammer a protest when the charge card bills do find their way home.

In store service can make you feel pampered on an off day, with over a 100 attendants at a given time. A bunch of ladies stepping in in the morning and leaving only in the evening are not unseen of here. The store itself is more like four stores in one, with each floor dedicated to a different section. No prizes then for guessing correctly, that you would find the wedding wear on the ground floor. Want designer sarees with handwork on silk? Stay on. Have a budget of Rs 98? Stay. Rs 50,000? Why, you’re most welcome.
1st floor goes to ‘fancy sarees’ and dress material. The endangered breed of men shopping for themselves finally finds its ground in this store, only on the 2nd floor. Shirts, pants, and party wear can be had between Rs 150 and Rs 4500. The heaviest dose of splurging on wedding suits can dent your wallet by 20,000 max. However, quality is something you must personally satisfy yourself with. The last floor, the 3rd one, goes to the children, the energetic adorables. However, whether their mommies are as energetic, and find the displays as adorable after that long climb, is anybody’s guess. Kids reading this, eyeing a pair of ‘J Family’ branded jeans for themselves, may find it worthwhile to tell their mothers that the store does indeed possess an elevator.