Sari for the Trouble

I added that trivia to my just-acquired knowledge of price ranges and the ways in which saris were segmented according to fabric and embroidery. Just in time8212;the customers had started trickling in.

8216;8216;Tai! Let8217;s have a look at some Dharawari/Gharwali cottons,8217;8217; said a young girl accompanied by a stern-looking mother. I flashed my sweetest smile at them. The girl grinned back, big momma just glared. I soon discovered why. She had a pathological dislike for smooth-talking salespeople, she told her daughter in Marwari. Well, I understand Marwari, and as for the smooth-talk8230;

8216;8216;That8217;s the one!,8217;8217; whooped the girl, as I held up an elegant number in rust and black. 8216;8216;Not that one. You can8217;t wear the colour black,8217;8217; said spoilsport mommy. 8216;8216;Maybe you could team it with a maroon blouse to tone down the black,8217;8217; I offered helpfully. 8216;8216;Oh, yes!8217;8217; said the daughter. 8216;8216;No!8217;8217; said mom, Amazon chest acquiring even more gigantic proportions, as she prepared for battle. I wisely ducked the round, and left them to it. The girl won, but mommy gave me a dirty parting look.

Next, Alka wanted me to distract an annoying kid, as she displayed some bolts of silk to his mother. The brat stuck his tongue out at me. Undeterred, I punched his tummy in an informal let8217;s-be-pals gesture. He didn8217;t want to play along, and let out an earth-shattering yell. Everyone stopped mid-work to look at us. I wanted to sink through the floor. 8216;8216;Never mind,8217;8217; soothed Alkatai. 8216;8216;You kept him busy long enough for me to sell her two saris.8217;8217;

Morning turned to afternoon, the crowds thinned. It was time to make thappis and put back the unfurled saris. I stared mesmerised as each helper and salesperson made unbelievably neat folds, and stacked the cloth with the precision of automated machines.

Alka meanwhile, told me about me about the varied customers they get. 8216;8216;When khandaani Maratha lok come from villages to prepare a lagnaacha basta trousseau for their girls, they bring along a party of 40-50 people each. At times, just two parties can fill up the entire store.8217;8217;

The interlude was broken as a couple of senior women demanded my attention. 8216;8216;These are the city8217;s Sadhashiv Pethis8212;no one8217;s quite as traditional. Stick to regular patterns, and auspicious colours like yellow, maroon, dark green and purple,8217;8217; advised Alka. 8216;8216;If your next customer is a Marwari or a Gujarati, leave out the blacks. Also, don8217;t show pastels to senior people. They tend to think the colours are faded,8217;8217; she added.

8216;8216;Show me that one there,8217;8217; said the woman, pointing to a purple number three racks away, then just as quickly changed her mind. 8216;8216;Oh, I have too much in this colour. And I also have this. Really, when are you people going to bring in more maal?

8216;8216;Soon,8217;8217; I assured her. And went on to unfurl 27 saris8212;in all the shades of the rainbow except purple. Each time she pointed to a sari stored neatly in a spot opposite to where I stood. 8216;8216;Don8217;t dawdle, girl. Really, what is this generation coming to?8217;8217; she said.

My patience was rewarded when she finally made a choice.

It was a dark brinjal purple.