Dear baby,
Today, I had a little argument with your mausi. She was asking me to buy you new clothes for Diwali. I was saying that we still have 4-5 new dresses and those are perfect for Diwali. She was not convinced. Then your nani also lectured me some for not buying new clothes for Diwali.
I tried to tell them that in past people did not have the luxury of buying new clothes every other month, infact, going to the markets was a luxury in itself. So they used to wait for festivals to go to the market and splurge on shopping. The rarity of this was a charm in itself to mark the beginning of the festivities. But.. today, we go outside every other day. Malls are a place to hang out and if you see something CUTE for the kids, the temptation is too hard to resist. Even if you don't go outside then online shopping is there. Hardly goes a month or two when I am not buying some dress or some toys as you are outgrowing your stuff so quickly. Then why all this halla gulla about Diwali shopping when prices are at their peak?
And then one may think why not? What's so wrong with some diwali shopping.
I remember that every Diwali we used to go to Agra from our small town for a shopping spree. Dresses, bedsheets, torans, lights, toys, idols and what not. While returning our hearts used to be filled with sheer joy and our car hardly had any space for us even. :P
Then one fine year, a few things went wrong. Father did not have the huge amount of money to splurge. Still he took us to Agra because he did not want us to feel bad. He made us buy a lot many things yet he was not content as it was not as huge as every year. And then miraculously, he met an old acquaintance who had borrowed some 10k from him long time back. That man returned those 10k that day. It was a big amount 12-15 years back. My father's joy knew no boundary. He took us to Raja mandi and everyone shopped to their heart's content. Everyone was way too happy. But I was not... Because suddenly, I knew that having a dress less would not make any difference. Having a simple paper toran would not make a difference. Old and clean bedsheets would do.
I was not the silly immature teenager anymore... I grew up... I grew up in one single day.
We had enough, But only because that enough was not as enough as before...My father was sad.
That incident, which may be my father don't even remember, changed me forever. I am still a minimalist and buy only out of necessity. And I want you to value every single thing that I buy for you.
And this is why Diwali shopping is not a routine at our place. I wish no child has to grow up suddenly.
Yours
Mumma
Today, I had a little argument with your mausi. She was asking me to buy you new clothes for Diwali. I was saying that we still have 4-5 new dresses and those are perfect for Diwali. She was not convinced. Then your nani also lectured me some for not buying new clothes for Diwali.
I tried to tell them that in past people did not have the luxury of buying new clothes every other month, infact, going to the markets was a luxury in itself. So they used to wait for festivals to go to the market and splurge on shopping. The rarity of this was a charm in itself to mark the beginning of the festivities. But.. today, we go outside every other day. Malls are a place to hang out and if you see something CUTE for the kids, the temptation is too hard to resist. Even if you don't go outside then online shopping is there. Hardly goes a month or two when I am not buying some dress or some toys as you are outgrowing your stuff so quickly. Then why all this halla gulla about Diwali shopping when prices are at their peak?
And then one may think why not? What's so wrong with some diwali shopping.
I remember that every Diwali we used to go to Agra from our small town for a shopping spree. Dresses, bedsheets, torans, lights, toys, idols and what not. While returning our hearts used to be filled with sheer joy and our car hardly had any space for us even. :P
Then one fine year, a few things went wrong. Father did not have the huge amount of money to splurge. Still he took us to Agra because he did not want us to feel bad. He made us buy a lot many things yet he was not content as it was not as huge as every year. And then miraculously, he met an old acquaintance who had borrowed some 10k from him long time back. That man returned those 10k that day. It was a big amount 12-15 years back. My father's joy knew no boundary. He took us to Raja mandi and everyone shopped to their heart's content. Everyone was way too happy. But I was not... Because suddenly, I knew that having a dress less would not make any difference. Having a simple paper toran would not make a difference. Old and clean bedsheets would do.
I was not the silly immature teenager anymore... I grew up... I grew up in one single day.
We had enough, But only because that enough was not as enough as before...My father was sad.
That incident, which may be my father don't even remember, changed me forever. I am still a minimalist and buy only out of necessity. And I want you to value every single thing that I buy for you.
And this is why Diwali shopping is not a routine at our place. I wish no child has to grow up suddenly.
Yours
Mumma
Very well expresses the feelings... ��
ReplyDeleteLove Ur article... Full of emotions..
ReplyDeleteVery nice..
Keep it up mumma!!!
Loved it completely... You rock like always.
ReplyDelete