Indias Oldest Shopping Mall | A Silent Spectator Of Its Own Decay

The original building of Spencer Plaza.
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Spencer's Plaza is India's oldest shopping mall and was one of South Asia's biggest when it was built. It was under construction for over thirty years in the late 1800's and finally opened as the first department store in India in 1895. A commercial project by Charles Durant and J.W. Spencer during the time of the British Raj, the building was a popular landmark of Madras Presidency.

Spencer Plaza rebuilt by C.R.Narayan Rao.
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Spencer's Plaza was a weekend thrill for my sister and I when we were younger. My parents would have bank work in the area and would drop us off at the book store in the mall where we would spend hours going through all the books in the shelves. Right outside the book store was a cookie shop where we would then treat ourselves to some sugary goodness. The Kolkota Chaat by the corner of the floor served some of the best chaat in the city. Spencer's was THE shopping destination. It housed brands but also the stores of craftsmen from Kashmir, Orissa and other parts of India. We got our nose and ear piercings from one of the small jewellery stores in the complex.

Spencer's during a recent visit.

The original building was razed in fire in 1983 after a which a new complex was built in its place. The new building's atria kept elements of the original. Unfortunately, another fire broke out in the mall in 2008, destroying much of its beautiful architecture. Soon after, a 'new-age' mall cropped up a few meters away and Spencer's lost its popularity. Its drastic decrease in visitors over the years caused our book store to shut down. Retail outlets shut down. Office spaces shut down. Mall culture became a frenzy in India with some big names like the Phoenix group attracting a lot of attention. But the new malls don't have the same kind of pull that Spencer's had. All the new malls have the same stores of local and international brands - the same kind of mall you'd visit in any other metropolis.

Favourite since birth.

Spencer's still stands today. Its old world charm is evident in its corridors and atria. Most of the shops are shut. However, the Kolkota chaat guy is still there, still serving some of the best paani puri in the city. The mall is still my go-to place to shop for unique jewellery, Pashmina and handicrafts. However, it is impossible to ignore the sense of abandon in the mall. The shopkeepers know it, visitors can see it. The building seems to stand still and watch its own popularity become a thing that exists only in people's memories.

Atrium, Spencer Plaza, 2018.