Sari Shopping

Fruits and vegs

On our last day in Delhi after returning from Agra, we spent the day at a busy, crowded market which contained both storefronts and outdoor kiosks with vendors selling everything imaginable, from shoes and clothing to hardware and appliances, jewelry, both gemstone quality and fake, foodstuffs including corn on the cob, mung bean salad, cotton candy, and unidentifiable meats and soups; knick-knacks, sandalwood carvings, sculptures of every imaginable form on Hindu deities, carpets and textiles, plastic and stainless steel water jars for carrying on top of your head; leather coats and bags, and on and on and on.

There was one section of artists whose specialty is painting henna designs on the hands of women, a most beautiful form of personal adornment that will last for a month or so before it washes away.

Thankfully we started early in the day so it was not too overwhelming. The final stop of the day turned out to be a special treat, however. My friend Crissan has a very good friend, Usha, who used to live close to Crissan for many years, but now lives in Delhi. She agreed to meet us and take us to shop for saris, which in most such shops involves sitting on a bench before a raised platform on which the vendor sits lotus-style, with helpers pulling saris and pashminas off the very well-stocked shelves completely filling the wall behind him. Of course, I was just planning to sit and observe – where would I ever be able to wear a sari in my real life? Crissan at least has many trips to India and several more-or-less formal functions to attend in the course of a normal year.

Well, India is known for its culture of magical realism. To illustrate, it’s my understanding that, for example, any statue of Ganesha, the elephant-form deity of good fortune, is treated with honor when present in a home or office of a Hindu. It will be routinely dressed in flower garlands on a daily basis, and perfumed with the scent of ghee burning in an oil lamp set before it, because the statue is felt to be the real embodiment of the deity it represents. 

Ganesh

In no way does this contradict or impinge on the ability of this person to think and act in a sound and rational manner, as a research scientist, say, who must examine evidence in order to develop hypotheses and conclusions based on empirical reality. These attitudes exist in complete harmony and without sense of contradiction, as it has been described to me.  Perhaps this is a gross generalization, forgive me if you know better, and tell me if I’m wrong. But everywhere one looks, there are such enchanting scenes of devotion to a whole array of ideals, displayed with physical and spiritual beauty, and I found myself falling under the spell.

As luck would have it, then, I saw the most beautiful, enticing silk sari atop the growing mound of vivid silks, with a color and sheen of the most delicate shade of pale pinkish orange, with silvery threads woven in a pattern throughout that made the surface shimmer with the slightest movement or change of light. I was enchanted. I found myself suddenly subscribing to the magical-reality-based belief that I, in fact, NEEDED to possess this sari; would absolutely, without a doubt, have an event for which I could wear no other thing on earth; and simply was not yet informed of what that event might be. In all certainty, there would be one. By and by I would find a need to wear it. So, I did what any normal woman out shopping would do – I tried it on. And with that, it was done. Usha snapped photos of me as the seller draped the sari as it should be worn, and sealed the deal with her finely honed bargaining skills. And even if I never wear it anywhere I know I will always treasure this work of beauty from this most mysterious and fascinating part of the world. See for yourself!

Ta da!