There was once a time,
people exchanged commodities,
within their neighborhoods.
Then population expands,
villages opened haat bazaars,
to buy and sell local products.

With passing millennia...
Villages turned to towns,
and then, cities and metropolis.
So businesses too expanded,
from retail shops to supermarkets,
providing routine necessities.

With the arrival of modern era,
shopping mall culture ,
grabbing people's attention.
Fortress of glass giants,
were indeed shopper's haven,
showing dreams, catering to needs.

Gone were the bustling streets,
merchants and hawkers cacophony,
interactions under the warm sunlight.
For, communities were broken,
small businesses, facing the strain,
becoming victim, of the progress.

Many rued, but no one listened,
money was too powerful a motivator,
forcing the weak, to close their shops.
Making the powerful, more rich,
yet, fate comes with curious twist,
as internet brought the websites.

A digital market, new shopping norm,
everything became available, in our palm,
with swift deliveries, across the land.
Foot traffic dwindled, their empire wanes,
Vacant storefronts, like a hollow shell,
facing losses, most shutters too fell.

We have come a long way,
from crowded streets, to digital streams,
In the ways of our shopping culture.
Still, I wonder, our choices,
as the screens could never replace,
the warmth, and the charm of markets...

For the sake of our conveniences.

© Dr. Manish Rout