Shopping
I lay in bed the next
morning, running over in my head for the twentieth time what Arunav had said to
me last night. He had used phrases like “one of our best workers”,
“consistently excellent performance” and “glowing feedback from project
managers and team members”. He had ended with – and this part, I clearly
remembered, because Miki had quietened down enough by then, “The company has
great hopes from you, Miki. This is only the beginning. You have a wonderful
future here.”
I dreamed of the wonderful
future I had. I had become vice president and moved into Arunav’s office when
Mandakini intervened.
“I have to buy something
to wear to the wedding!”
“Wha…?” Miki was reluctant
to leave the office.
“The wedding is next
weekend and I don’t have anything to wear!”
I sighed aloud and got up.
“And the engagement is tomorrow,” Miki remembered. “Well, I can wear my muga
mekhela-sador to that. For the wedding… I guess I’ll have to buy
something.”
“There’s a cocktail party
too, on Saturday,” reminded Mandakini. I fished out the wedding invite from the
mess on my table and looked at it to confirm.
“Cocktails, Saturday, 13th
March; Wedding, Sunday, 14th March,” I read out.
“And there’s the
engagement tomorrow, which is a small, private event,” added Mandakini.
“I wish it was too private
for me to have been invited,” sighed Miki.
“Come on! You don’t want
to go to your best friend’s engagement?”
“Well, he’s not going to
propose to her there, is he? They’re going to put rings on each other while a
bunch of people sit around and clap… What am I supposed to do, hold his other
hand?”
“Are you still jealous?”
“No, I’m not jealous. This
is just my usual dislike of weddings and rituals. But it’s Raghav, and I’ve got
to put on a brave face—rather, a simpering one—and do it, don’t I?”
I took a bottle of cold
water out of my new fridge and finished half of it in long gulps.
Summer had almost arrived.
It was sunny at nine in the morning, and I settled for cold milk instead of my
morning cup of tea. There was a cool breeze though, and it was a far cry from
the searing heat of May. That air conditioner had suddenly begun to look more
attractive.
With much grimacing, and
much furious squabbling between Mandakini and Miki, I went shopping for a sari
to wear to Raghav’s wedding. Mandakini suggested heading to some old-fashioned
market with a line of sari shops, but Miki wisely advised sticking to my own
familiar environment so as to not make the experience any worse than it would
be, so I made my way to the biggest mall. There were some saris in the big
garments stores: most looked overpriced and gaudy. Finally, as I was near to
giving up, I found one that seemed perfect: a dark blue georgette with silver
on the border and the pallu, colours that would look good against what
Abhijeet had once called my “honey-coloured skin”—and, best of all, the price
tag read a thousand rupees, which was in my budget. I hauled my prize off to
the cash counter before I realised I would need shoes as well.
I then looked in at shoe
stores. The first two seemed to have no shoes wide enough for my feet, and my
feet looked definitely odd in the thin strappy stilettos they offered me.
“That’s the standard size,
madam,” one salesman said sneeringly. “You won’t get wider shoes.”
“I’m not buying shoes that
don’t fit,” I told him with what I hoped was a withering look before I swept
out of the store. Of course, my dignified exit was a little ruined when, ten
paces from the door, I looked down at my hands and found them empty and hurried
back to the store for the paper bag with my sari in it.
Raghav called as I walked
out again, and I informed him of what I had been doing. He ungratefully
launched into peals of raucous laughter.
“You… are… shopping… for
a… sari?” he stuttered, barely stoppering his laughter enough to speak.
“Indeed I am,” I said
haughtily. “And it’s all due to you.”
“I’m honoured, Mandakini,
I really am. It will be worth getting married just to see you in a sari. Be
sure you don’t trip over yourself: I don’t want the wedding guests to be
looking at you instead of at Sonali and me.”
“Let’s see you wear
one,” I said viciously. “Anyway, what are you doing?”
“We’re buying clothes too,”
he said softly, as if afraid someone might hear him, “women’s clothes.
For Sonali—and, I suspect, for all the female relatives she possesses. Mom’s in
the store: I got bored and sneaked out to talk to you.”
“Don’t I get
anything?” I asked plaintively.
“You know, Mom’s so
pleased I’m marrying a Punjabi girl and not you, that she might just buy you
something too.”
“Why’s your mom so keen on
having you marry a Punjabi girl anyway, when she herself didn’t marry a
Punjabi?”
“I don’t know. That’s the
kind of thing you are good at analysing.”
“Do you think she regrets
marrying your dad?” I asked slowly, viciously. “Or…”
“Naah, I don’t think it’s
that. Probably something to do with wanting the bahu to fit in with the
family…”
“I was going to say, maybe
she herself faced so much discrimination she doesn’t want you or her
daughter-in-law to go through something similar?”
“Could be.” I could almost
hear him shrug his shoulders. “What does it matter, I’m marrying Sonali, aren’t
I?”
“Yes, you are,” I sighed
so softly as to be inaudible – or so I hoped.
9 comments:
Sorry for the break last week. I had meant to keep Miki running, but I had counted on my Tata Photon thingy working at Kaziranga. No internet? We returned a day early.
Anyway, keep reading. Only four more parts to end the series!
Oh, can't believe it's coming to an end. :(
Only four :( and you are going to break my heart if she doesnt get Raghav :)
Hoping for a happy ending!
- Shopping for 'the' sari has always been the nightmare part of every family function ...and will be just that forever more :)
- Ok so why do I feel its gonna be Raghav....why why why??? :D
- "or not so I hoped" :b
Just commenting to say I'm reading, but I won't give away the ending by giving you hints. But . . . don't beat me up if it doesn't work your way, will you?
only 4 more parts ??? Oh oh !! It has been a lovely read ... so will not complain ...
PRIDERA: Oh, and now you comment, when you learn it's ending. :) Thanks for reading.
Hi, Delurking for the first time - Only because I dont want it to end so soon! Does it really have to end in 4 more parts?
And I hope she gets Raghav too...
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