Painting the Town Green
In countless movies over the years, I've seen this typical image of the heroine walking out of a big mall, arms loaded with shopping bags and letting the inner primadonna truly shine. For some reason, that's an image that is really enduring for me. It exemplifies a certain sense of style and glamour, even grace. It's all Audrey Hepburn and Sharmila Tagore. Elegance, extravagance and expense. But ofcourse, walking out of a mall loaded with bags doesn't really happen every so often to mortals. And even if you do blow it all on a shopping trip, chances are you'll be too guiltstruck/ exhausted to come out of the mall looking all glam and smelling like roses.
"Shopping is intense, it's hardcore and the strain it puts on the mind and feet is so underestimated, its just not funny. Shopping is serious business!" So I was told yesterday evening after I was recruited for exclusive shopping purposes by my maternal aunt, aka Mossy.
And this wasn't just any shopping, this was shopping for Mossy's wedding. Not the actual wedding trousseau, more like the pre and post D-day clothing. And so efficient is my Mossy, that we were split into three groups. Mossy and her mum, the GrandMossy, were incharge of clothing. My Mum and her younger sister, MiniMossy, were incharge of accessories. And me, lone trooper, was put incharge, of make-up. Since I can't really bother myself with the stuff, it was odd that I was put in charge of that department. But here is a tip: If you are ever face a similar situation, do as told, it's just plain unwise arguing with a flustered, hormonal, last-minute VLCC-ed bride-to-be.
So standing outside a big mall here in Bangalore, I received the first commandment of shopping, "I work hard, I deserve this splurge, so don't look at the price tag." That makes sense, justify maxing the card with rewarding the self. It's a great self-psychology ploy if you think about it- attack your guilt before your guilt attacks you.
Then the second commandment of shopping, "Remember the rule of three Cs: Colour, Class and Cut." These words were actually spoken. And then the third commandment, "When you pick something up for me, don't forget it's going to pass down to you soon- so pick well." This one is pretty crucial. It really put the spanner in the works. I was so planning to get Mossy some horrid looking Made-In-Chinchpokli make-up that would make her look florid and pale all at once. Damn!
That was it, off we went. I asked why there wasn't a customary list of 10 commandments, but was fixed with a get-to-work look that was so intense, I scuttled stright into Marks and Spencers. The details of the trip are hazy to me. It was four and a half hours of testing on the hand and removing with cleanser, testing on the face and removing with cleaner, testing on the wrist and removing with cleanser. Its tiring. And here's something nice, you become colour blind after a while. After about two hours, Berry and Wine look all the same.
Never-the-less, we were diligent, we were focussed, we were goal oriented and armed with very sharp credit and debit cards. After all those hours of asking the truly important questions like, "Does it go with my skin tone?" and "Do you think it will look good in the pictures?", we collapsed into chairs at a restaurant, pooped and dehydrated. I thought this was the end, this is where I get my manna- a good cup of caffeine and some FOOD! But sadly, no. I sort of forgot the steps in the shopping process a little bit. It's Shop, Pay, Examine, and then Eat.
So we sat down for some serious expenditure examination. Bags were opened, contents checked for colour, size, smell, feel. I sat back and wondered. They were all so happy; no, they were so satisfied. There was such excitement and giggling. It was so cute to watch. It wasn't just a shopping expedition, we bonded. Sure, it was a bit like a mission, but we did well I think. And I looked at the group of us again, hunched over the buys with such deep exhilaration, chattering loudly. I realized then, I'd caught some of their happy too. I was one of these women, joyous with the excitement of a wedding and joyous to have let go of the every-day self- cautious, sparing and over-thoughtful. We let ourselves go, and it felt so good.
I asked Mossy how she felt, she said, "I feel like I'm a cross between a princess and a movie star." And when we walked out of the mall, each loaded with bags and bags of shopping, looking and feeling happy, I have to admit, I felt a little like a celluloid princess myself.
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on 21.4.06 at 6:03 PM.
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