ABSTRACT
In 2007, three shopping malls were constructed on Nelson Mandela Marg, in South Delhi. One of them, the DLF Emporio, is India’s first high-end luxury mall. It houses showrooms of many international brands as well as Indian luxury designer houses. One afternoon, as I stood at its grand entrance, comprising of a large porch with glistening stone flooring, and an expensive valet parking service, I witnessed the arrival of several women, one after the other. As they stepped down from luxurious cars, it was both the idea of such a mall and the specific kind of Indian elite inhabiting this space that intrigued me. Though open to public, DLF Emporio communicates strong exclusionary boundaries. This is also obvious in the number of times my friends and colleagues have declined the invitation to accompany me to this mall. They feel awkward and ‘out of place’, they have said. This is not to say that only the super-rich visit this mall, but that the elites have an air of ease and entitlement in occupying this space. 1 Witnessing the performances of elite status in the DLF Emporio mall posed several questions for me: what are these women shopping for? Are they following or setting trends in fashion, leisure, and forms of sociability? What can be made of their all-female friendships and bonding: are they supportive, competitive, or cathartic? What do they discuss in their luncheons with friends? Are they aware of both the elite and non-elite gaze on them? What of their familial lives?
