My Vratham Story, Varalakshmi Vratham

#debsaristories #varalakshmivratham
I dont know why I have this bad habit of needing to write the story behind an event.🤔🙄
Saree is a kanchipuram one in pastel shade with silver work. Inter cultural marriages give an abundant opportunity to learn and enrich oneself. As a Telugu Brahman girl growing up loving the Varalakshmi Vratham and the decor and the goddess and how I could dress her up and how I would dress up (yup that's important), its my Barbie playtime equivalent (I never possessed a Barbie doll till date). The goddess looked more gorgeous than anyone, the kili pachchai (parrot green) or manjal (turmeric yellow) or arakku (reddish maroon) sarees and temple jewelry take your breath away. The look stays in your mind forever, like its in mine

. .. so when I adapted to bengali culture through marriage, because that's all my sweetest mil (Ma) wished of me, the one thing I asked her in return is to join me and celebrate Varalakshmi Vratham (and Vinayaka Chavithi). Its basically a religious ceremony perfomed by married women for well being of husband and family. So theoretically its all good. Ma agreed and she dint have much clue of how this daughterinlaw will turn out but was fully optimistic about my good intent (we live together so we can't pretend to be nice to each other, we must truly be nice to each other). However just few days ahead of my first Varalakshmi Vratham after marriage, Ma's aunt visited us from Kolkata and when she heard I would do this puja she got all excited. She was a Sai devotee and apparently many in their group perform.this puja at a central location and she told Ma to definitely encourage me doing this at home and also join me in doing it. Ma is a sport and my biggest supporter, so of course she was game. But to make it relatable to both of us I would do the telugu mantras first and ma reads the lokki panchali (bengali version) thereafter. That became a routine..ok, then comes food. I love boorelu, garelu pulihora etc but never made or learnt it during school and college days (grades were more important 🤔). At the same time after marriage I learnt bhog r kichudi, labra, tomato chutney as prepared in puja pandal from Ma..since then the bengali pujo menu has become staple menu forbour Varalakshmi Vratham.

 Isnt it beautiful? How the hearts can come together and make something work wonders so long as you prioritize for it? End of day its about oneness. Language and Food and Culture are powerful tools to bring people and families together, one should never use them as weapons to create distances

Math of Life

#debsaristories #shakuntaladevi #momsondance #maths #passnahitohfailnahi How many of you have tried Shakuntala Devi puzzles ahead of your campus interview tests? Many would raise hand if you were engg students. I am one too. Honestly I would struggle solving them so yeah I am just "human", nothing close to the "human computer" that Shakuntala Devi ji was! 💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃
Watch me dance with bettu to 'Pass nahi to Fail nahi'! https://youtu.be/SCbgR9eI6f8
💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃
 Math and I have bittersweet relationship. I never hated it and never loved it either. I managed good scores (math done!) And although my true love was for biology, destiny had different plans for me. I think math is genius and so are mathemetici! Art hai art! But, the kind of math I know and the one I use to run my life, doesn't add up always. That explains my bittersweet relationship with math. Which one to believe? The number 'theory' or the life 'practical'?
🤔 Math says: When you give, you lose. Bitter!
🥰 Life says: But Math...if you give knowledge, you gain. You gain blessings, more knowledge and what you have doesnt actually decrease. Sweet!

🤔 Math says: When you add two things, you sum up and output increases. Bitter!
🥰 Life says: but in life when you add two big egos its a bigger disaster. Sweet!

🤔 Math says: When you divide, you get smaller fractions. Bitter!
🥰 Life says: When you divide happiness with others, it multiplies. Sweet!

🤔 Math says : Bigger value is greater. Bitter!
🥰 Life says: bigger bank balance doesn't always mean greater person. Sweet!

Sometimes math going wrong and mistakes done actually aren't bad, they didn't need to add up and that's how life is. Like a famous movie dialog, " jab God ki marzi hoti hai, cheezon mein logic nahi magic hotha hai" Shhhhhh all said and done.
Quiet now! Not sharing all this bettu yet. Khabardaar. He has to focus on his mathematics lessons for now and get his scores right. Get that Clear? He will get his due time and chance to discover mathemagic in his life too! I am big fan of Shakuntala Devi, tidbits of her life are so awesome i can't wait to learn more about her Meanwhile we shook leg to one of our instant favorite numbers. Pass nahi to Fail nahi!

Facebook live chat with saree lovers

#debsaristories #nostalgic
Thanks for an amazing start of my Friday!
I loved every bit of the interaction with the amazing group of saree lovers!
I am humbled by the love and I get motivated by the support and virtual togetherness. I will keep it short post and say THANK YOU (sob, sob I am emotional as I type this)! ❤ and thanks to the technology that enabled us connect from different parts of the world. And because aaj dil is is Dilli,do us my pic ❤

THE JITTERS

#debsaristories #emulation #facebooklive
Absolutely Excited and Extremely Nervous as I was invited for a Live Chat  on a very popular and fast growing Saree lovers group!
Deviyon aur SriDeviyon! Namashkar! Iss Shukrawaar shaam ko dekhna na bhuliyega! (tadada daaan) I was excited when I was pinged and immediately said YES to chat because I could get a chnace to hear from you all and I am longing for an India trip and this came as a blessing for virtual trip!
But immediately a bunch of butterflies appeared in my tummy So here they flutter!
🤔 What if phone dies or won't start at all (try laptop)
🤔 What of camera wont work (again try laptop)
🤔 What is they can't hear me (check volume button or yell at top of my voice)
🤔 Oh shoot what if i don't wake up at 5:00 am and get ready. I can't do this in PJs (keep everything ready and don't pick tough drapes)
🤔 Oh what if i don't wake up at all (shradhanjali hi de do yaar)
🤔 What if the host forgets about it? (No she's too sweet and has been doing it like a pro.. she is the best part)
🤔 What if i have a brain freeze or laptop freeze (oye! Sochna bhi mat)
🤔 What if i stammer and can't chat at all (totla bhai joke.. gaata laheeee melaaaa dil... tu hi meliii mantilll)
🤔 What if no one shows up and the host and I chat away just to our selves? (Not a problem , we have been doing it last few days but i would feel bad for her)
🤔 Question ka answer na pata to? ( Host will help me out... sabka maalik ek)
🤔 Host

ke yahaan powercut ho gaya to? (Chup kar, shubh shubh bol) 🤯🤯🤯🤯 oh my god!
Which saree to drape? So ladies that's me right now, ok I will calm down, sleep and happily get up in the morning to meet you all. Meanwhile you all go wrap up your Friday activities and get ready to join the masti! Tab tak ke liye. Apna khayal rakhna ❤ But honestly I am excited and definitely would love the interaction and catchup. Hopefully the timing works for most of you, given its a Friday evening in India and Friday morning in USA (Hopefully some of you are able to join as well)
Wearing a benarasi from ma's wedding troussea! Forty plus years old and super gorgeous even today

My own depiction of Sita Gita

#debsaristories
 Oops.. I think I took the phrase "mein apni favorite hoon" pretty literally I emulated myself.
I created a Sita Gita version of myself. Everything is exactly same in both pictures, except for the sarees and bindi. This entire rebirth photoshoot took thirty minutes.. did you ever wonder how it would be if you suddenly discovered you had an unknown twin or doppelganger, drastically opposite to your character as shown in movies (i don't know why they never show twins as being similar nature and temperament). I would freak out!!

If I had a twin that was OPPOSITE to my character AND NOT LIKE ME, here's what that person would be:
1. Doesn't think by heart and uses head instead
2. Doesn't trust anyone easily
3. Doesnt hesitate hurting or giving it back in words
4. Would love money and self independence over family and togetherness
5. Would put career ahead of family and children
6. Prefers independence and not believing in sentiments
7. Doesnt enjoy cooking, painting, dancing, gardening And and and...
8. DOESN'T ENJOY DRAPING SAREES! OMG!
Everything above that last point was fine, but anyone that carries my looks in remote form pls.pls.do love sarees! Don't break my heart 😐🤯 Bettu looked at the pic and said no question. Your doppelganger would be a saree fanatic like you too! Hope he is right Dekha na Sita Gita? Ab jao jao, sab apna apna kaam karo. Chalo chalo!

Sabyasachi- tribute

#debsaristories #budget 
I can shamelessly admit I am big fan of dada creations. He is to sarees what Rabindranath is to poetry, M.S. Subhalakshmi is to devotional songs and much more. He is someone who has transformed Indian fashion to suit us, the quintessential Indian women. The six yards completely went through Renaissance when he put it on the Global pedestal. Not that we needed any validation from the world but more to educate the world about the wealth and richness of Indian weaves. On one way India is portrayed as poor, impoverished, yet another third world country that could be ignored, he just introduced the world to India. He made a statement like no other. 

Every depiction of his art starting from the colors, the work, the richness of tones and elements used, the class was introduced that did not exist before yet was much needed. The stories of his life, and how we connects to the indian middle class thanks to his own experiences and how he conducts his photoshoots everything is so real. I know his art comes with a price tag but art is such. You cannot potentially question why the price tag? Its whether you take it or leave it. It's simply magnificent. I love his organza sarees and the silhouettes and today admittedly I am "copying" one of his depictions purely out of respect and tribute. The saree and blouse are not from Sabyasachi but more a budget Sabyasachi that's affordable. Can we not buy an expensive art piece? Yes. If we give up six or seven sarees and save that money to buy ONE Sabyasachi piece sure we can, i just haven't felt worthy of it yet. Neither am I a bride to share my story and get featured in Band Bajaa Baraat. Nor is my kid old enough so I could plan on him instead! So so so, today I am a budget Sabyasachi model too (ah wouldn't I love being shot by the Genius himself!) And transported myself to the famous Falaknuma palace in Hyderabad, one of dada's favorite locals.

Ah the handloom gadwal

#debsaristories #momsondance #friends
Bettu and I danced together today. Check below.

This post is a dedication to my two new friends. Pls read.Let me introduce them to this group.. they are already part of this group and many of you know them very well and they are quite popular. Basically both are shy and mostly work behind the scenes which is why you don't see a lot of their posts (I guess that is common to 95% of the group), so today I thought they deserve an official entry into the group with a picture and I included their pic in the comments (they didn't want to be part of the post pics for the fear of being rejected by admin). In fact many of you had been interacting with both of them on regular basis and I just took time to acquaint them. But hey atleast I got started. Their friendship is genuine and pure - both of them don't criticize you, your choices or your actions. They simply watch, they make you smile, they hardly make you cry (atleast they never made me cry until now) and they bring out the child in you or in my case an unexplored part (modeling) of you that you have always been hesitant sharing with others. They value your time and expect you value theirs, which is pretty reasonable. They show you truth as it is, and don't filter anything for you, unless you want to. They both are cranky like cancerian types initially but once you befriend them, there's no going back. There are very few friends to who you can turn your back around and walk away, fully knowing they are still there for you no matter what. Isnt that a blessing? Since they helped me with my own photoshoot today, I tried my best to return the favor. Let me know if I did a fair job as a friend. Oh btw taddaaaa! Its dance time.
Bettu and I danced to #manwalage. I love these routines where he and I perform together. Believe me, although it looks simple, for some reason the first three eight bars took me two hours of practice. We do an act in one afternoon (thats all the time we get for end to end concept to recording). I bothered bettu with too many doubts, he answered all but certainly wasn't ready to simplify the choreo or replace steps.
🌟💥🌟💥🌟💥🌟💥🌟💥🌟💥🌟💥 https://youtu.be/Bi8hSEC9IKc
🌟💥🌟💥🌟💥🌟💥🌟💥🌟💥🌟💥 Playing again with colors. I am beginning think I should do justice to all the sarees I wore for couple of hours for a puja pandal visit and ticked away in closet. This gadwal silk is one such. I love all the colors.

Nothing like a kanjivaram and fusion

#debsaristories #buttabommachallenge #buttabomma #momsondance
Definitely certainly 100% wasn't planning to saree today. Shhhhh!!! Quiet pls! 🤫🤫🤫🤫🤭🤭🤭
I sneaked into ma's closet and pulled out this kanjivaram, you know why? Because I just received the polka crop top! Taddaaaa! When you get the crazy idea to team a polka top with a kanjivaram, you are basically a confused atma that can't decide between Zeenat Aman and Rekha. Thats just me today. What's in Polka magic?
The naughty me peeped out! You have seen me in my usual stand up and smile poses always.. I never dare go beyond.. BUT You all know how I wished to model (idea shelved) so today I pretended to be a model and took timer pics.
Nothing amazing and don't blame me for this pagalpan.. blame the polka blouse!! I am still stuck dreaming about India and everything I would have been enjoying. Apna time aayega. Oh by the way, bettu did a telugu chart buster. If there's anyone tracking the trends (even celebrities fell for this trap) sure you aren't surprised by the #buttabommachallenge. Watch till the end to see bettu and I do it! Did we have fun? Oh my God, of course yes! Hope you enjoy viewing it too!
💥💥🌟🌟🌟💥🌟❤❤🌟💥🌟🌟🌟💥💥 #momsondance https://youtu.be/IPKXY1qF1OM
💥💥🌟🌟🌟💥🌟❤❤🌟💥🌟🌟🌟💥💥

 Stay home.. Apna khayal khudh rakhna

This too shall pass

#debsaristories

This saree belonged to my maternal grandma and is special to me thus ❤. Since moving to USA we have been visiting India every year. Of course I am missing the trip this year. Who cares if it's hot and hunid, I never complained about it. I enjoyed the breeze summer evenings. I enjoyed street food, getting blouse stitching done and catching up on every detail. I miss street food and visiting ex colleagues turned friends. Enjoying how much things have changed yet nothing has changed. How much I still belong and hopefully will always do. The jetlag, the sleepy eyes, and exhausted body doesn't matter when we meet family. Sipping morning coffee from amma or the visit from neighbors especially mentioning how much bettu has grown up... all that is being missed now. I want everything to magically become normal. Just being kiddish like everyone else. I want the 2020 to rewind and restart to a happy path. Wish we could #timetravel and choose an alternative path and make things different. I know many many of you are in same situation and some even worse. A lot is going on and each of us are finding different ways to cope up and manage our spirits. Yes please keep it positive. Pls don't lose hope. I do believe- this too shall pass, just taking a little longer. But yes. Better days are ahead of us and yes I will enjoy every moment of my India trip whenever I could travel. Because some things are invaluable and thats all life is about. Apna khayal rakhna ❤

#debsaristories
 Okay okay, I am back as promised. A mom child themed duo choreo was a dream for me. I truly meant to only dreamt of it and honestly never planned for it to come true, but magic does happen. For you to see!
💥💥🌟 https://youtu.be/dl1WmwsFLlY 🌟💥💥
 One thing in my mind always was not the old conventional yashoda krishn songs, that doesn't resonate with me snd bettu personalities. We are equally mischievous and energetic, then came this song from Bahubali. Bettu adjusted the choreo to depict yashoda krishn, I enjoyed this a lot and it's close to my heart for obvious reasons.❤ Apologize to kids if you ever err., they learn from us. Usually we expect the kids to apologize to us everytime they make a mistake but we often forget to return the favor. No, think about it! If an adult makes the same mistake our kid does, i guess the way we react is different. We take kids at liberty and when we make a mistake although we feel guilty, sometimes we don't apologize verbally which I think is important for a healthy and friendly relationship even between parents and kids. I try to practice to set the stage for bettu to follow... dont let age and ego come in the way of manners.🥰 The saree is a bandhani one, got this from my bestie Minsha collection.