Shantiniketan kantha stitch saree

 #debsaristories #kanthastitch #shantiniketan #durgapuja2020 Sewing? Stitching? Tailoring? Or artists that get less credit? . . . I was fond of quick jugaad and stitching during childhood. Meaning cut sleeves short or attach long sleeves or tighten or loosen the fit . Etc. Normal jugaad stuff on my Amma's (gifted by her mom) foot pedal singer Sewing machine. Amma never used it much so I got to play with it. My younger sister wasn't into these funky things. In fact I once stitched a salwar kameez top for ma. And if you are novice like me, you know how hard it is to even hem or stitch a straight line sometimes. It hurts. It pricks. It can go messy. Right? And then forget about complex stuff that requires cutting and tailoring and the art of measuring well. And yet we complain. Often, we do. Fall pe stitches shows or hem isn't well done or the blouse cut isn't great etc. We forget they are artists too. They are creating something we flaunt. And then there is yet another level.... example this kantha stitch. What can you say possibly? Imagine the design process, the thinking of play with colors, the choice of art, the actual execution is such detail. Just thinking of it makes my eyes hurt! Imagine those hands and eyes working on a piece for weeks and months! I can only do shashtanga dhandavath pranaam. I mean it. . . This masterpiece kantha stitch saree was handpicked by Ma during her visit to Shantiniketan (one place in my bucket list). Again I sneaked into her closet today and draped it.. had been eyeing for a while. In my durga puja mood again, this is like hot flushes to me now. Every now and then there it comes! 😪🤦‍♀️ . . Teamed it with a begumpuri blouse from another bengal beauty weave. All eyes on the weave . I merely am a dummy mannequin. . . Aaj meine #Foodspeak join karne ki galti ki.🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ hey bhagwan tum log wahan pe bhi expert ho. What amazing pics. I started feeling hungry and rampagedbmy kitchen although I had nothing that looked as good, I ate whateverI laid my eyes on (glad my familywasn'taround else yummy yummy they willbe in my tummy). I am in #Fitnessspeak too but there i am on the sour grapes side. (All I need is excuses to sleep extra). I won't join any more speaks... is level pe I need a BIG hugspeak and chillspeak from Vini! . . In the frame with me are also the tiny miniature sewing machine decor item I picked for keeps. And the sewing machine patideb gifted few birthdays ago hoping his once artistic wife creates fabric wonders (apparently this does some amazing embroidery).. but oh well the wifey hadn't done anything productive yet. Meh. Maybe I can tighten some of my blouses now that I got this down the attic! Will let you know how it goes.

Pujo bajaar memories and Ma

 #debsaristories #DurgaPujo2020 Ghar bhaite bhaite kya kar rahe ho Shalini? Durga pujo memories refresh kar rahi hoon, aur kya! Like the story behind this saree from over fifteen years ago. . . . This was the year before my marriage. A month before pujo, the pre-patideb asked me.. do you know good saree shops around? We were working on Gurgaon and ma baba had just migrated to Gurgaon to join their son and were completely new to the place (I was two years senior 😝 living there). He wanted to shop for Durga pujo and wanted to keep everything a surprise for ma baba (oh coming to sweet surprises nothing like this cancerian! Very thoughtful and selfless) So yeah, of course I have done my research already. It doesn't take a fish two years to find water! I immediately said yes of course. He said.. would you come with me? I jumped in joy because I love the smell of new sarees and enjoy being with them even if its not being bought for me. So off we went to South Ex market Delhi.. and no guesses which renowned shop it is.. given the Madrasi that I am. We from Madras feel good when we have two shops, this one for saree and the other one for idlis (will let you guys guess the names!) So we arrived. He explained that during pujo ma wears new sarees everyday (n my mind I was like pick me pick me to be your wife.. shhh besharam).. and he explained ashtami one must be the showstopper and then dashami a simple one because sindur may spill etc. And I have no idea of pujo whatsoever it is. I thought it was a very religious and very serious affair for five days of chanting etc. Anyways.. I wasn't acquainted with ma very well but the first time I met (with other colleagues she stunned me) so I knew she isn't the jhatak matak taste but very classy. My eyes laid on this saree. There was something unusual about it.. especially to me.. who was used to picking on zari sarees for puja occasions. I could only imagine ma (then.. aunty) and how gorgeous she would look. I asked the pre-patideb if he liked it and he agreed. There were three other sarees we picked (will share pics of them one by one). He took home these beauties and MA LOVED IT. He later mentioned that I chose them. She wore this on Ashtami for anjali. She looked stunning and that was my first pandal visit too. I was mesmerized at the energy, the happiness, the elaborate art, I can't tell, but I immediately felt I belonged. I felt this was so much me. And I am glad that Dugga ma made me part of her family. After my marriage saree shopping has always been me and ma's best stressbuster and best memories too. I had been always wanting to drape this saree and for some reason it never happened. After fifteen years I found the chnace today and honestly there is no occasion today except that I remembered this story and wanted to share. 

Shubho Mahalaya

 #debsaristories #DurgaPujo2020 #ShubhoMahalaya Mahalaya is here and no one can keep the bengali tigress under control. Not even the great Shiva could control the great Durga. She is happy, carefree and ready for a holiday on Earth with her kids. So aren't we the quintessential followers of Devi Ma? Here it comes. Pujo is here. I know the Ma knew it already. She took a month between Mahalaya and the Pujo so she can make sure her family goes through all the necessary precautions and tests before she could enter the fully pandemic hit planet Earth. If international trav

el requires two weeks quarantine, space travel requiring four week quarantine is understandable... hence the delay.. But mom is a mom, she WILL come and take care of her children. I know she will. And I know we can't wait to see her and break down and share all thats going on with(in) us. Hang in there, she isn't far. Momma gonna be here any minute baby. ❣ Ma and I did our own little Mahalaya dress up. We listened to the Birendra Krishna Bhadra Mahalaya on YouTube twice. Once 4:00 am 🇺🇸 time and again just now 04:00 am 🇮🇳 time. Every pujo I wonder how i am such a bengali. I love everything about pujo, my hubby wonders why and I wonder why not. The first sound of dhol as we enter the pujo pandal first for a season is best sound and memory. And then it starts, the familiar faces and automatic smiles at strangers, the flowers, the deity, the laughter and joy and the positivity. This year is so different. Most events have been canceled due to obvious reasons. Hoping to get a glimpse of Ma atleast for once, else would resort to the various virtual options. I have a feeling I may be able to view India pujos online too which I otherwise wouldn't get a chance. Ma is in her favorite light weight silk with bandhani print. I wore my sheuli linen saree to official kick off the season with my jasmine blouse. A favorite combo.

I scream ice-cream

 #debsaristories #sareelove #icecream #indianrailways Hai Garmi! It's over 115F, close to 44 Celsius! I sat in the backyard assuming the heat will "burn" calories and "melt" my tummy fat. Nope aisa kuch nahi hua, phir what's the point. 🙄🙄 I simply came indoors disappointed. But but I dont give up easily right? Tadaa! As it cooled down, I draped my beautiful pink saree, and went ice cream shopping (Luckily bayarea has so much to offer to keep close home).

 

Yes I dressed up, to go buy my favorite sitaphal ice cream and paan ice cream for ma, pista kesar for patideb and mint for bettu. (Baba likes chocobar). Imagine the scene! Most women in shorts and spaghetti tops, whereas my summer comfort dressing for evening always has been a comfy saree! This particular ice cream parlor is popular amongst desis. So I got quite a few curious stares (who cares)! ❣

I was telling Patideb, when bettu chooses a beti for us, she would freak out. 

 1) I dressed up like for a dinner event, I was simply buying ice-cream. 

2) We bought fourteen dabbas of ice-cream. People would have thought we are having a party at home, but no.. hum khudh hi party se kam nahi, aur aise hi khatey hain 🤗🤗🤗. But yeah whoever my future beti is, she should know she will be the apple of our eyes too, just like bettu. Pyar ki kami kabhi nahi hogi, that much we can guarantee! Oh well, long time! Till then I will continue to save my sarees for her! Whenever people ask me why I don't have a second child my answer has been consistently simple. You planned for kids with age gap of 2-5 yrs. My second child will be entering our lives in 25-30 years after ourfirstchild, that's all ❣ Yesterday we went on a steam train. The choo choo sound takes you back to India 🇮🇳. Patideb and I were reminiscent of how there are few "special characters" . 

We actually enacted those characters throughout the ride! 

🌻Me: idli, vada, sambar! The hawker who is better equipped and knowledgeable about train timing and platform info than the announcers 

🌻 He: The typical "train kabhi time se aata hi nahi, ab to doosre platform oe aayega!" 

🌻 Me: The "Indian Railways bekaar hai, bathroom dekho! Foreign men bathroom bhi mast hote hain..". He: "Modi ji kuch nahi kar rahe" 

🌻 Once train starts Me: "Train is late now", He: "Raat ko speed pakad lega, Rajdhani hai na" (raat ko train udta hai kya🤔🤔) 

🌻 The aunty that "interviews" your khandaan and almost fixes your marriage before you reach destination (my aunt us one!) 

🌻 The other aunty that has food to feed the compartment 

 🌻 The uncle that wants to exchange lower berth and upper berth! 

🌻 The gang of Friends that play cards and catch up 

🌻 Some lone traveling girl's women who worry leaving their luggage, purse or even themselves alone in the train and worry even using the restroom (this is the one and only thing I wish had changed, because having done many solo train journeys between Delhi and Madras before marriage, I do have few unpleasant memories) 

🌻 The chai, chai, the train, the excitement of destination, the fun of watching grazing cows, early morning sunrise, the beauty of India. Nothing comes close to the experience The world's biggest railway network had certainly been part of our lives as many as millions others, poor or rich... hope it continues to deliver high quality service and be part of our lives. Honestly if the restroom can improve i will be the first one to hop into a train with bettu! When was the last time you did a train journey and what was your experience? Is it worth a family trip when we can? Chalo my sitaphal ice-cream has melted and became milkshake! Will enjoy it before it becomes chai❣

Apna khayal rakhna

 #debsaristories No filters, No edits, No fake backdrops. It's pure me today! Tadaaa! Oh! How i missed the crisp fresh air! ❣❣Do what makes you happy! ❣❣ Its my "I am feeling low and I really need to cheer up" day today. Log gham bhoolne ke liye daru ka adda jaate and gulp a baatli, I go to my closet and pull a saree! I get the same effects, I am high, I forget my worries, I "feel on top of the world". Ok gals, shortcut banane se pehle, you should have taught me better! I saw theme as #AMUAN . Believe me, I thought that was the name of a hurricane or tornado, and Googled for the word. Found nothing. Checked trending news sites yet found nothing, I checked everywhere and was wondering what on earth is it and I decided I can't do the theme.🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ Later I was humming the "aaj mein upar..." song. You know (well actually I don't know) how the brain somehow magically remembers something although you weren't even trying ? Yup that's what happened and lo eureka my bulb jala, that the full form of AMUAN is actually from the song! Oh. My introspection today was around validation! 

 🌞 "Free" or "Giveaway" always doesn't mean poor quality. 

🌞 Not being old enough doesn't mean you are not mature enough to do amazing work I am a witness of my bettu's dance class. Although he doesn't charge anything the effort and quality he brings to his workshops are truly professional level. But people write him off! "Bacha hi to hai" 

 🌞 Education and Forward Thinking aren't same . Not all educated people have broad minded thinking and vice versa. You simply can't assume! For all that matters the multiple Masters N PhD holder might have taboo of Black cat crossing, or eating leftovers or treating people as untouchable! You know what I mean?  

🌞 Professional experience and certification! OMG i can't even explain this. I can't speak for other industries but in IT many are savvy about certification. I love the intent of improving your knowledge and bring able to apply at work to improve productivity and enable better business. You will be amazed (shocked?) That its not the case. I have come across so many with a kite load of suffixes but struggle to solve simple problems, lack maturity of thought, can't keep cool, unable to show creativity and most importantly can't figure out the way to make things better. Ab bolo.. what's the use of "earning degrees " if you can't use them in need. This is like buying a set of blunt knives that can cut nothing! 

You can do best only when your body, mind and spirit are healthy not just one or the other! If you need time to rejuvenate and recover, you must. Dont ignore your minds voice and succumb to stress. Take time to step back, think through, do something different that diverts you from the problem, so you can think about it from outside perspective. Thats when you can make good judgments leading to sensible and thought through decision! There was a horse grazing in the meadow behind me. It kept staring at me. Perhaps it thought, grass was greener on the other side of the road (errr fence). Acha hua it dint jump on me! It would have been disappointed.. ghaas nahi, maas
nahi, sirf haddi hi haddi hai!

Kal Ho Na Ho! Life life today

 #debsaristories #kalhonaho #LiveLifeNOW I was lying all this while. To myself. To you. Sorry gals! I have always stated I Love sarees. There wasn't ever a doubt in my mind about it, but yesterday night when we started receiving warning messages to prepare for potential evacuation due to the ongoing fires around bayarea, I only packed two things. 

 1. A bag of documentation including passports, our certificates and basically things that we needed to start life to scratch should the uneventful situation occur. 

2. A bag of small valuables. Also including pair of clothes for each of us, medicines and those that are needed to keep our life on. 

 And for the first time saree did not make it to any of these kits. I felt cheated, I feel guilty at the same time. I was praying all night that hope the situation to evacuate doesn't occur and while I lay there awake I was wondering what if the worst had occurred? 

What would happen to the beautiful sarees I have been collecting and haven't draped yet because I am still waiting for that perfect occassion or the perfect moment. What if that never comes by? Some new sarees are more than three years sitting in closet! Was this fair? Wasn't I simply splurging without need and that too something I couldn't carry when I am in an emergency. I felt terrible. I felt I had waited too much for that perfect moment and have perhaps let many passed by unnoticed. 

 So today, while we are all still worried about the terrible smoky outdoor weather, the 300000 acres fire burning and yet to be contained, the repeated messages of what to be prepared for (let me tell you one can never be truly prepared for an emergency) i took a moment to acknowledge today as a special day because I still have a roof over my head and my family is in tact with me and we smiled and we are together. Tomorrow could be another day and yet to be seen. What it holds is not in my hand, so I grabbed today and did not let go of it. 

 This is a beautiful organza jamdani saree with a black benarasi blouse..purchased more than two years ago. I thought the blue is best to cheer me up along with my favorite chai earrings. 

Gajanana Ganesha Chaturthi

 #debsaristories #ganesha #momsondance Shall I share a secret? I enjoy dancing with bettu (only him and no one else) and everytime he pushes me to do a partner workshop and I do nakhra that "no no I won't" and he tells me sweet things to motivate me - I enjoy it. For while it lasts, I enjoy every moment. 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥 https://youtu.be/NXT7YjMcjsk 

💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥 

Honestly he wants to push my limits to make it but more challenging for me but honestly I struggle and try (not even my best). So when he said he wanted to choreo a routine for this particular song to teach his workshop participants ahead of Ganesha puja I definitely was excited. Few things kind of evolved. We wanted to do an "act" and not just "dance" so definitely we needed Ganesha as the center attraction. But I wasn't willing to keep an idol, and there you go! I took a silk saree blouse that I was going to get stitched when we visit India and painted Ganesha on the silk fabric. I bought the frame so the Ganesha can continue to bless us! And ye! The #madrasi in me is picky about the umbrella. See ... we always purchased simply clay idols for puja and the color lover I was, I would always be tempted to immediately go to the man on the bicycle that sells colored paper umbrellas for the lord. These umbrellas would spin in circles and somehow my favorite ones would either be on the topmost part of his pile or the expensive ones.. so after much thought and decision I would settle for something that fits the money and the mann. This was the next complex decision making after sarees. So ye coming back today, there is no way I could skip the umbrella and thars when the patio umbrella suddenly gets promoted to do the honors. Well I ended up decorating the area to bring the aura. Bettu initially suggested I do an arati and walk but weather unpermitting I switched to choosing greens (the lord had always been eating healthy) from our garden. We incorporated a small story in the act... the one where Ganesha and Kartik were asked to go around the world to see how is the fastest. while Kartik jetted off on his peacock, Ganesha simply did three pradakshana of his parents and said they are the world to him. Such is his buddhi. My intention of sharing these with bettu in an informal way is to convey that the essence of these stories are important that one can think and execute using wisdom despite being a kid.. and also that religious teachings need not be considered bitter allopathic pills hard to swallow. They are like ayurvedic solutions where the ingredients are part of our day to day life and we gain good health without explicit bitterness and its a part of life. Whether God existed or was created by us or whether they were highly scientific advanced supernatural beings from another galaxy, many of these lessons are helpful for our own development, and that's all matters. Ganapati bappa moraya!

H- "Hech "?, "Eych "? English is a phunny language

 #debsaristories #haigarmi #Englishisaphunnylanguage "H"= 'Ech'?, 'Hech'? It's burning hot outside and I sweating in the saree.. look at the Sunflower. Reminds me of the "Murjhaya phool" poem I read in childhood. Also it made me wonder Sunflower loves the Sun and always looks up to it for its life, but the same Sun when goes hard on it, it kills its own life. Such is the irony of Nature. Anyways! English Alphabets "H"= 'Ech'?, 'Hech'? Ok. I never grew up listening to Baby Einstein 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ and all my childhood I used to pronounce H as "Hech". Remember the ABCD rhyme? I would sing "Hech Eye Jay Kay Ele-me-no-pi". Right? Ab mujhe kya pata Hech kab Ech ban gaya? Socho Hech mein "Hh" silent. Aisa kaun karta hai bhai ??? So how do you pronounce Happy bday.. "appy bday" and Halloween as "Allwyn". Anyways.

 In last two years this gave me more trouble and so much so that every time I used to say Hech my boss would sneeze.🤣 and say.. tumhare అండర్ কি chennai baahar aa rahi hai. In good spirit and intentions of course. My team is very caring and watches out for me. They would rather watch my back than being made fun by outsiders! So from then on my "Hech" training started... and then it became "Ech" and now I do the slang with "Eych" even if woken from sleep. It's really hard to adjust to a language and be able to speak as intended. This isn't because it English. In my syllabus all languages are equal and I am picky about pronunciation in whichever language I speak.. be it hindi bengali telugu tamizh or even English. That also goes to calling people names... no no not the bad way.. many people cut short their names to make it easy for others. Ashish becomes Ash, Pradeep is Mr. P (yeah Right ?) Kalpana became Kal (pronounced kayl and I would wonder why becomes Kalpana isn't tough to pronounce imho)... Saravanan became Sarav .. endless list. Huh. Oh by the way I am called Shaleeeni. I correct their typo and autocorrect every time just for fun.😝 I don't cut short my name. I don't want to be called Shalini, Shal, Shali or Saali nothing. It's Shalini... with an "Eych" in it😝🥰

Happy Independence day India

 #debsaristories #happyindependenceday 

Dear India, 

Happy birthday to you🌟💥. Wish you many more. 

Sorry this year I couldn't wish you in person like I have been doing past few years but that's ok. You should stay safe and so do I. But shouldn't stop your fun day! I know you are old and I wasn't around when you were born, but that doesn't stop me from being your good friend. Friendship doesn't care for age. I must agree you are growing old gracefully and over these years you have trued best to keep up with the changing times. Growing up has its own challenges and you had a lion's share of those too. From child marriage to Sati to Caste system and discrimination you dealt with a lot and still trying your best. I guess before you were born people just happened to exist together in one continent. They were devoted and patriotic to their own, but hadn't thought of you as one entity. It took and outsider to tell us the power of our onesness. And yeah the painful journey you had to go through to get this realization is incomparable, but chalo jo hotha hai ache ke liye hotha hai. 

Waise what are your goals India? 

Whats your bucket list? 

Tum aur kya haazil karna chahoge? 

May i suggest few of you haven't thought about it yet! 

 🇮🇳 first of all think about breaking barriers between your own soul. The body can't function with a missing part, so can't you. 

🇮🇳 Be an inspiration to the future. Do something so kids want to love you more despite your old age. Make them love you. Pyar doge tabhi to pyar milega na? 

🇮🇳 Respect and treat all equally. Ye ye you have heard it million times, but I seriously mean it. Stop reservations of any and all kind. Trust every individual to work hard and make their mark. I agree not all are equally blessed with facilities so do help those irrespective of their caste creed sex or age. 

Pls don't mock me that I am far from you and giving you unsolicited suggestions. Just because she is married and moved to her inlaws place, a girl doesn't stop loving her parents, especially mother. That's how my relationship with you is too. I of course love my karm bhoomi for giving me what I have today I can never forget my janm bhoomi. So yeah. DIL MEIN HO... AND RAHOGE DESPITE YOUR OLDAGE. Enjoy your happy. There are millions that are wishing you as I write and I can hear the echos of "Indiaaaaa India.. ta ta ta. Indiaaaaa India..." 

I❤ 🇮🇳

Star Wars and Yoda!

 #debsaristories #memesofsareespeak #lockdownkesideeffects #laughteralert #rofl #crazyfamily 

We are big star wars fan family so today the meme is directly from Jedi Master Yoda! And I am desi version of Princess Leah in a gadwal saree in Independence day colors. 

What are side effects of lockdown and house arrest? 🙄🙄 All the below are true and my family hasn't handed me over to the asylum yet. Sweet of them!

1. I eat popcorn and drink soda while binge watching TV in the night and expect the movie theater guys to show up after "The End"🙆‍♀️🙆‍♀️ 

2. I lie down on the recliner couch with a blanket on, and ask my husband to hand over pretend seat belts so I can imagine I am on the flight. Oh! I actually put the "do not disturb " sticker behind my couch so the cabin crew doesn't wake me up for meals🤦‍♀️ 

3. I call my husband 'bhayya' and argue with him for auto charge and not providing good service and I tell him.. "meter ke upar ek paise bhi nahi doongi". The poor man knows I lost it completely so he simply nods and replies "aap to regular sawaari ho madam, aap to waise bhi tips nahi dete ho" 

4. I walk into my closet and window shop and buy my own clothes🙆‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️. I then rearrange them as if I just took them out from shopping bag💃 

5. I sit in the backyard pretending to be wherever in the world I want to be. Switching between Taj Mahal, Jaisalmer desert, Udaipur lake etc.🙅‍♀️🙅‍♀️ 6. To maintain sanity, I end up saree shopping (yup I broke my - "buy no sarees this year" rule. Only silver lining.. I ended up supporting weavers from pochampally, benarasi, kanchivaram and kolkata) 7. I take every opportunity to drape a saree and share with you all as hearing from you makes me feel good and stay connected with so many amazing women across the globe. Am I the only one or do any of you have these pseudo lockdown symptoms too?🤔🤔 Oh btw. I downloaded தமிழ், తెలుగు, हिन्दी keyboards on my phone but it won't allow me download anymore. I will exchange one of the above for bangla keyboard. Pro: even if I type a தமிழ் word in English spelling it neatly changes to the respective language Cons: read above line. It does that change even when I don't need it to🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Thank you India, thank you weavers

 #debsaristories #nationalhandloomday #iwearhandloom #isupportweavers #ThankYouIndia ❤ After much contemplating I settled for this Shantiniketan kantha stitch saree today. Did you think i was done with handloom day post? Well,not quite! 

🙏 Not until I thank the hands that create magic for us! It shows the greatness of our people and their creativity resulting from their blood and sweat. 🙏 Thankfully, most of my sarees are handloom. I am glad I have been supporting the handloom movement knowingly or unknowingly 

 🙏 Thankfully, I found it hard to choose between the various weaves. It shows the wealth and richness of our land 

🙏 Thankfully, I am educating myself everyday to a new weave, a new technique which otherwise would have been dead by now. It shows I have miles to go. 

🙏 Thankfully, through technology and media I am able to collect some of the rare masterpieces which otherwise I would have been ignorant of 

🙏 Thankfully, through many patrons, passionists and true patriots, "we the people" are able to connect to "them the weavers". I would have terribly missed the opportunity otherwise 

 🙏 Thanks to our collective efforts, hopefully some hands somewhere haven't stopped weaving, haven't lost hope, haven't shut looms, haven't starved or extreme step like suicide, haven't given up on humans, haven't stopped making us believe in magic, haven't crushed our beliefs that magic lies in the hands of the creator 

 Is this enough? Absolutely not, but us a good start at the very least. Today, on the National handloom day I purchased handloom satees from weavers to say the Thank You that my lips couldn't bring courage to utter. Take a moment, pause. 

Support the weavers, it would be shameful if these amazing weaves become simply museum art for coming generations to see, it would be shameful if the future generations cannot touch, feel and drape the love and warmth as we do. 

I Support Handloom, I Support Weavers. Do you?

National handloom day, Nalli Silks wedding trousseau

#debsaristories #iwearhandloom #nallihandloom @nallisilksarees 

Its national handloom day and I am wearing a simple and most elegant kanjivaram silk with a threadwork border and pallu purchased from Nalli 15 years ago by motherinlaw (ma) 

By the way, don't assume that me and ma haven't had our share of sour moments. Of course we did (and we still do sometimes)! Why wouldn't we? Coming from different cultures and backgrounds it does take time to understand each other, but those are the minor details of life. The bigger picture is all about love, respect and trust! The key is not to give up. The key is to value the relationship, the key is all that matters is family. 

You know how exciting it is to shop for wedding trousseau right? My wedding was in Gurgaon while parents where in Chennai and would flew in for the wedding. I couldn't take timeoff to go saree shopping in chennai or rather Kanchipuram as is common tradition. However one thing was common those days. All my family weddings at least for three generations started with a saree from Madras Nalli Silks, including my moms, my aunts, everyone. So while I wasn't in chennai, I was happy Delhi had Nalli! Bengali culture calls for lots of gifts to the bride from.her inlaws (yippee!) Called "tatva". Ma wanted to shop for my tatva and took me along for saree shopping. There was no particular agenda or colors in mind. As soon as we entered the shop, ma spotted this saree amidst a pile of other sarees (you know how busy saree shops are in festive season!) She said this is for my sister. Its a pretty silk and very elegant. So that was the first item checked off. As she sifted through the pile, she quickly changed her mind and declared this saree is for me. She continued to hold this one tight to her chest, she made the shopkeeper undress the mannequin and asked to pack the "benarasi" for my bou bhath (oh yea! No way bengali wedding shopping is done without a benarashi).. and on she went. She said she imagined me in this yellow saree and wanted to keep for me, although my sister would have looked gorgeous in this too. Sweet mamma.. ❤

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