Anil and I had been to Godrej showroom in Abids this afternoon, to checkout Almirahs.
As soon as I stepped out of the store and saw the view ahead  I was nostalgic and lots of childhood memories flashed by.
Shopping with my parents was synonymous with Abids then . I remember shopping there since I was 10yrs old , that is almost 35 yrs ago. Anil and I too shopped there untll Harish was a few years old. Abids had the best stores in the twin cities  those days.
Dayals, Meena bazaar, Apco, Bulchand , FD Khan, several jewellery stores, Bata, Hollywood were some stores that our parents usually shopped at for our birthdays, festivals etc.  The visits increased after Dad bought a Fiat car in 83 :). After shopping, it was time to have tiffin at Taj mahal hotel and a packet of sweets from Pulla reddy store near by was the norm. This was the only Pulla reddy sweet store back then.
Dad insisted we buy shoes/chappals from Bata but I secretly wished I could wear the colourful and stylish looking chappals from Hollywood. Quality at Bata was extremely good but hardly any choice and nowhere comparable to the smart ones in Hollywood which was just next to Bata 🙂 .We also visoted Gadwal sari center and Kanchi silk sarees showroom in koti . Kamat hotel in Koti was another choice for some coffee/tiffins.
Numerous shopping malls and stores selling branded products have sprung up all over the twin cities and Abids was slowly forgotten.