The Importance of Having A Good Tailor

"Wherever you go, you would need a good tailor. Or else you won't feel like home," my cousin used to say.

She was right in so many ways. If we discovered a good tailor, we would roam around the city like a bunch of happy monkeys, in packs, full of purpose. We knew who needed what and when and how much. The shopping for the so called dress material made us understand the city so better, and before we knew it, we were already started to feel a sense of belonging. 

Whenever we had a good tailor, we would also know how to convert mother's old sarees into a dress, or alter an old, frumpy maxi into a short, edgy mini. Since our wardrobes were constantly evolving, we would go out more, just because we had new clothes.

And every time I have to go to my hometown, it's never done till a visit to a tailor is ticked off the list. It is almost a ritual. To those who don't understand,"Well there is stuff only a good, trusted tailor can do."

I have been to many cities in my country and I know for a fact that finding a good tailor is better said than done. This dress, for example is a byproduct of five not so lovely interactions with a tailor I am yet to understand.

Do you also think the struggle to find a good tailor is real? 

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Summer Staples

My summer outfits are always breezier than yours. No, I am not being a snob. Summer heat brings out the worst in me (besides lazy ass people, bad coffee, writer's block, weirdos on social media, hormonal imbalance.....). So while everyone else can still wear jeans and canvas shoes and even layer, I look like a mess in the most flowy and light dresses.

I wish they made clothes that felt like coconut frappe and watermelon coolers. Clothes that are thin and opaque at the same time. Clothes that look structured, but one hint of wind and they would move like flags on a mountain or paper boats on a stream.

Developing such technology may take time. Till then, I am trying to stay sane with whatever I have. These dirt cheap navy pants are one of the best unfair weather friends ever.

What are your summer staples?

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Nothing Wordy

I have been trying to write something for the last two days. No success yet.  Hence I am publishing a simple outfit post. Here is our (my sisters' and mine) take on summer dressing. From shorts to jersey dresses to peasant tops,we have tried to cover a lot.... I promise to come up with a decent write - up in my next post. Till then, have a great weekend... 

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The Guy At The Cafe

The composed, self-assured yet polite guy seated next to me at the cafe ordered the exact pair of things I did. I tried to study his manners as he engaged himself in frivolous Google searches. For a while, I had an impression that he seemed to have bored himself into coming there. He finished his coffee and cake and made sure his table bore no traces of his order as he sat there, perhaps contemplating his next humdrum act. His thoughts were interrupted with the arrival of four guests, one of who looked like a person of interest to him. The girl and he saw each other and smiled in the most polite and nervous manner, as who appeared to be the farmer's parents and elder sister shook hands with the latter. This was followed by a pause and an over-the-top polite and determined-to-mpress inquiries by the guy about everyone' s well being and preferred beverage, calculatingly not excluding the girl.

The mother, however, smiled at this little detail. What is it about mothers that make them capable of looking right through the most seemingly inconsequential actions of their children?

There were only four chairs at his table. I offered them one  so that they could all sit together. What followed was a list of boring exchanges on each others' professions and backgrounds. I didn't mean to overhear but the familiarity of arranged marriage meeting has its own charm. The whole idea of a conversation full of purpose with two parties putting their best feet forward usually makes for a good show.

They talked about health, bmi, gyms, parks, traffic,  home towns, the city and metro among other things. Everything but marriage. This however, should not be mistaken for a lack of interest. It happens. People get nervous and have no idea how to go about such meetings. After a few minutes of awkward silence, someone always ends up asking a totally non-relevant question in an attempt to break the ice.

The meeting eventually ended. The smile on the faces of the girl's parents was far from pretentious. The guy collected his laptop which was left to be charged at the counter and they all left, leaving behind an air of uncertainty.

Did  he drop them to their place? Did the father hug him or shake his hands in the end? Was he invited for another round of tea? Did he leave their place with a sense of accomplishment and finality? Did the father find a secluded moment to discuss something with the mother? Did the girl spend the night thinking about her wedding trousseau? 

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Five Habits Of Highly Unfathomable People

When it comes to liking people around us, a lot depends on the stage we are at in our lives. The teens are likely to hate almost everyone, the twenty-somethings may develop some tolerance. And at times, more than age, it all depends on our ability to take a few steps back and watch everything from a distance.

Having said that, everyone I know knows a set of people they absolutely do not get. Here are a few that never fail to surprise me.

1. People who implicate that you are mad coz you are having a bad day. No, dear disillusioned human, YOU have said or done something that would piss off even turtles. Sounds crazy, right? God bless you. 

2. People who would eat out at expensive restaurants, but never have enough money to return that ten grand they owe you!

3. People who would jump a queue and behave as if everything, yes everything from the atmospheric pressure of the air to the expressions of invisible people around them, have not changed a bit.

4. People who mock you for eating healthy. Yeah, we get it. you are cool. But what goes into my mouth is non of your business. 

5. Only Indians who love golgappe will get this one. So there are these people who would throw away the extra water after every golgappa shot they take. But in the end, they will ask for extra water. You guys rock! Totally. 

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These pictures have nothing to do with the list above. Sorry about that.

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A Hundred Times

There are a hundred places that remind me of you
A hundred times you say hello
A hundred ways I ignore your smile

There are waves with Gods in them
A hundred times they wash my heart
A hundred times they leave the sand

There is a black screen I stare at
A hundred times I see your name
A hundred times I think of the bus 

Save a seat for me again
A hundred times i will make you laugh 
A hundred times you will miss your stop
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The Happy Shirt

Ruby and I, we were fat and happy when we first met. Unlike most nine year olds who spent their time watching TV and collecting comic books, we sat near the river. We played till dusk, talked about our favourite stories from the English book and watched ships with iron blocks (we guessed) being sent for water cooling. 

Summers were the best time for us as we got an extra hour to play by the river owing to late sunsets. While rushing back to our homes on Fridays, we planned on coming a little early the next day. We planned on wearing our happy shirts, bringing all the savings of the week and buying  ice cream on our way back. 

Once Ruby got a stubborn flu and we couldn't go to the river for almost a month. I went to her place every Saturday and told her all about school, about this new boy in the class who brought noodles for lunch, about our science teacher who told us we were all going to die one day and that kids who kept their books shabby would  never learn anything. 

There was this one Saturday when I couldn't go to Ruby' s as there were people coming over and I had to wear a pretty dress and greet everyone and teach an eight year old how to do well in exams. By the time the relatives were gone, it was already dark. The next Saturday, I went to Ruby's only to find the house locked. I came again next week and it was the same. 

I have a hard time remembering her face today. All I remember are those evenings. I would like to believe that Ruby is alive today, does something really cool during summer evenings,  and wears her happy shirt once in a while. 

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