Shop, Shop until you drop at the Dorabjees ~ Retail therapy

'Happiness is a state of mind.'

A very clichéd advice/mantra to understanding happiness. However we all have the freedom to interpret it the way we want. And don’t know why I relate to this statement in the best way when I am indulging in retail therapy, not forgetting to mention here, much to the chagrin of my husband and my father. Something that men will never understand or something that we women may never comprehend the pain of their wallet getting pinched, which for a fact, may not be even felt by them! Yet, blame it on the store shopaholism which I am so badly addicted to. And I wouldn't say I was one of those who enjoy window shopping because I purely, absolutely and utterly enjoy only shopping (sans the window part)! And then after a major break in the year 2011 wherein I was in a self chosen hibernation where I was also as a matter of fact rehabilitating from the shopping addiction apart from giving health the top priority and loving the life that was blooming inside of me then (yes, I am a mother now to an adorable 10 month old!) and having changed considerably from that healthy yet not fat looking woman to a healthy fat looking woman, the self imposed self control, the self imposed pledge, the self imposed resolution to not fall to shopping addiction, all of it disappeared into thin air, the moment the mammothian self sufficient beautiful, charming, resplendent amazing top class departmental store, my all time favorite departmental store – Dorabjee caught my eye.

Dorabjee is located right across the SGS mall in the Moledina road of Camp in Pune. Ever since I stepped in Pune, I have fought hard, pretty hard from succumbing to that magnetic pull from that particular store, which used to be one of my most favorite hang outs in the past 4 years. Like my husband calls the entire strip of this Moledina road of Camp starting right from Dorabjee and ending with the 500+ shoppees of Clover center as the Devil’s Inn. It is a battle to restrain myself from hearing that ‘Come to me, Come to me, I am waiting!’ from this area. But then, in the end it always feels good losing out on the battle between the mind and the heart just like yesterday when heart won and my mom and I shopped to our heart’s content at Dorabjees! And the impact it had on hubby and his FIL was definitely not a tasteful one. Leaving aside the sad, unhappy, resentful reactions and arguments that followed, coming to the happy part, I finally got bitten deep and hard by the shopping bug for good, and some good meaningful shopping in a long while never hurts that much, or will it? So here is a review on the store, just check out!

Review on Dorabjee :

For people who are new to Pune or have little knowledge about departmental stores must visit Dorabjee for sure! And you may ask why, to which I answer, 'Visit and you shall be answered!' As you enter the store, the wafting aromas of freshly baked pastries, veg/chicken burgers, pizzas and hot simmering noodles surely puts you in a dilemma as to whether to shop and eat or to eat and shop! Yes, at the entrance of the store there is a cool hangout to time up for a little snack before indulging in your shopping delights. And the entry to the store is from the right.

Ground floor:
The store is a two storied with the ground floor comprising purely of groceries, spices, malted drinks, soft drinks, chocolates (most of which are high quality imported ones), exotic varieties of fruit jams, bread spreads, biscuits, wafers, coffees, teas (not excluding green tea importantly), vegetables (freshly cut and packed) and fruits. Moving further to the right from inside, there is a separate section that sells fresh meat (minced or sliced or whole as required), eggs and freshly baked loafs. And then moving to the left, there are a lot of stacks containing imported olive oil (the varieties are so many that you would care to take some guidance of some experienced gourmet guru to take your pick!) And there are those pasta varieties…..Spaghetti, Capellini, Vermicelli, Bucatini, Lasagna, Canelloni, Fuscilli, Manicotti, Penne, Penne Rigate and Rigatoni, which are available in some of the best imported brands.

First floor:
And even before you can finish gazing at those wonderfully organized rows of fresh mint lozenges, the floor above seems to pull you towards it with all force and I am sure, you won’t have the strength or the mind to beat it! Now the first floor is solely dedicated to fish, poultry, dairy and frozen food products. Besides, all fitness freaks can scour through the myriad energy drinks and weight balancing foods to go for the best one! Also people interested in buying good sturdy containers, fridge bottles and lovely tea sets and coffee mugs with amazing floral prints can check out here. Considering I have had many and have broken many (blame it on my small hands though hubby calls them careless!), that I am not buying any more as I just have too many for the present! Also, there are ample varieties of frozen foods and dairy products which keep you riveted to this section for a longer while. Name the type of cheese you want to have…..Cheddar, Parmesan, Feta, Ricotta…..they just have it all! And here, there is one exclusive section in the left most corner for fish and sea food. A very clean section and very well attended too!

Second floor:
And before I proceed to the third storey, all animal lovers, especially dog lovers would love to spend a longer time here as there are amazing varieties of animal food and I am sure, you would take your own sweet time to scour through. So now coming to the third floor, it is every husband’s nightmare room as this is one section that is going to keep the wives glued to shopping! Cosmetics, toiletries, kitchen ware, crockery sets and all varieties of glassware are available here. And not forgetting to mention, some electronic items such as ovens, egg beaters, hair dryers and coffee makers are also available. And for women who are obsessed with therapeutic massage oils, this is the place to shop for!

Snack a little!
So after spending a great deal of time in some useful shopping, an appetizing snack is definitely on cards and there, the restaurant beckons you from the right! Aah! Finally you can look away from your shopping bags and indulge in some sinfully delicious choco pastries and momos (of course, there are many other inviting options on the menu). As one sits on a table by the window side to sip on from a hot frothy cappuccino or even a soothing freshly made lemonade, the outside view appears too crowded and cacophonic and it just feels good and right to be on the other side of the glass even if it is for just some while.

The Happy ending or should I say, must be!
And now, I would leave the rest of the story to my readers because the billing section is where you find those happy wives looking fondly at their shopping bags and equally unhappy men who are staring at the billing screen and now, there is always a deterrent to any happy ending, isn't it? This is what can dent the so far, so good mood to an extent but you see, it is not the store that is costly but because the number of items you would end up buying from here is always more than the number of items in your list and just that, it is never that bad to shop more than expected in a long while. Why not, after all retail therapy works!

So, Happy Shopping my girls!

Cheers & God bless…!!

P.S: Dorabjee wines is right next to the store. So you may want to check that out too!