SP Road - The Diagon Alley of Computing in Bangalore

I had been to Bangalore to attend a function of my cousin's. That gave me an opportunity to visit SP Road, the Diagon Alley equivalent (of Harry Potter's fame) for computers and computer accessories in Bangalore. The street never ceases to astonish me even after having visited it umpteen times. There is a certain magic, a certain vibrancy about it that keeps any gadget lover well entangled in its wonders. Shops with electronic gadgets, computers, accessories are lined up on both sides of the 200 metre long street. No shop is more than a few 6x6 meters in dimensions. Yet the kind of gadgets they showcase make the geek in you smack his lips in anticipation. The latest gadget in the US or Singapore or Europe is available the next day in this market. And at very very competitive rates. Be it the 1 GB IPod, the latest Sony PlayStation or that snazzy iRiver MP3 player. There are however certain rules as you shop in this street. 1. Even if you have only two items on your shopping list, do not buy them at the same store. 2. Always make it a point to enquire if there is a cheaper model that he can offer. 3. Enquire the rates of items at 6 shops and purchase the item in the 7th shop. I wanted to purchase laptop cooler pad. I asked for one. He showed me an imported branded one that threatened to lighten my purse by Rs. 1500. I opted for Rule 2. Promptly he showed me a Desi version that was identical in design to the branded one. "How much for this one?". "Rs 700, Sir". My jaw dropped !!! I just paid him 700 bucks and got away with it. I got home and rang up my cousin who is a techno freak just as me. I told him with all the excitement I could muster about the miracle deal I had just pulled off. I told him how I had enquired at 5 shops and at the 6th one, the second from the start of the street to the left, I had bagged this deal. He calmly shot back. "I bought the same laptop cooler last week from the shop right across the street to yours and paid just Rs 600 for it. Didn't you enquire there ?". My high flying deal had just crash landed. I promptly added Rule 3.

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