Shop till I drop

When Sonal and Asha readily agree to join me for a late night film on Long Island on my first day back in New York, I am a bit surprised. Is my charm increasing in my old age or has the promise of a large bucket of popcorn won the day? I think it8217;s the latter.

We set out from Queens, and Sonal asks me to jump into the backseat of her Mercedes SUV as she drives out. Then it suddenly strikes them that we are 45 minutes early. So Asha wonders aloud, 8220;What should we do?8221; 8220;Let8217;s wander around,8221; I say. 8220;Nah,8221; says Sonal, 8220;gas is too expensive.8221; 8220;Let8217;s go shopping,8221; says Asha. In two minutes we are at a mall which has a large Bloomingdale8217;s. The shop is lively, as they come with X8217;mas trees everywhere and carols blaring out. I notice two things simultaneously as we enter the store 8212; the girls8217; spirits rise just as mine plummet. Shops do this to me. I don8217;t understand why people go shopping. The last time I went to buy a shirt was at Cotton World in Bombay the day the Walmart-Bharti joint venture was announced so that I could vote with my wallet. The trouble starts when I8217;m abroad. Recently in Barcelona, I and K almost fell out because she wanted to spend time shopping at Cortinglez while I wanted to be at Gaudi8217;s cathedral. To me all department stores look alike, all shirts appear alike, all perfumes smell the same.

8220;Bloomingdale8217;s, Barneys and Bergdorf are simply the best,8221; says Sonal, moving to the perfume counter. The method of making their selections intrigues me. The girls want to know the gifts accompanying the perfumes. They make their purchases based on that. I feel like saying that I told you, all perfumes are the same. But Sonal and Asha are in a state of high animation, and I am sure they wouldn8217;t hear me.

They select their perfumes and we are off to the movies. I perk up and say, I just don8217;t get it, what8217;s with women and shopping? 8220;You won8217;t understand,8221; says Sonal, 8220;shopping feels like meditation.8221; 8220;You won8217;t understand,8221; says Asha, 8220;shopping feels like therapy.8221; I have learnt more about shopping on my first day back in New York than in 40 years in India.