#debsaristories Facebook asks me "what's in your mind" I say- hope, happiness and peace. "Hok shuru din guna", means "let the countdown begin" #durgapujo is here. Advantage USA? Pujo starts one weekend ahead and goes one week past! There are pros and cons to everything in life, this is a SUPER big pro for saree lovers in us!

 Me and Ma are all set with our pujo shaaj. Of course, as it always happens we keep changing minds and sarees till the last minute. A lot depends you see. .. it's very strategic planning. What others are wearing, what colors seem to be uncommon and which ones are common so we should avoid, the accessories the entire look! Phew such a tough job. 360 days of planning for the 5 day full day outing with Durga. We compliment strangers, we smile at known and unknown faces, we read minds and answer them without being asked, we enjoy eating bhog, serving bhog, catching up on chai and most importantly we love just being there, in the moment Are we not religious? Of course we are. Every moment the Durga in me is awake and aware and keeps reminding of the strength within me and power I bring to earth. My head held high I walk to thee, the Ma, for you gave the likes of me to bring lives to earth. Me and ma in our pujo shuru blouses. Ma in a grey benarasi jaal chiffon, and I am in red jamdani organza

#debsaristories #wish #fearofloss Absolutely poor quality pic, sob sob, although this is one of my long time wishlist saree, I definitely couldn't do justice.

 Fear. Do you go through this? When I get call late night from amma I dont pick it. I actually dont. If the call repeats I shudder. If it goes thrice I dread. I dont have the guts to pick the call to hear anything that I cannot withstand. Amma , Nanna live far away, and the me doesnt have any guts to.let anything happen to them since I am not around. Similarly, when baba oversleeps I get restless, I dont want to go to his room and check. I keep loitering outside his room making noises to disturb him so I could wake him up. When ma doesnt finish her workout and yoga on time I go crazy. I yell at kiddo for no reason because I know she will be out asap to rescue her grandson and get mad at me. I dont mind being yelled at or them getting annoyed, it's my secret way of ensuring they are doing fine. My intention is not to create tension in their minds but actually to relieve mine. I care too much and feel too much that I pray for immortality for my loved ones. I am weak and I cant think beyond. I am human and only want happiness to those that are mine. Like almost everyone in the group, a golden Rekha kanjivaram is something I would love to possess too someday. Guess what, truth is a) its expensive b) I dont have any occasions in near or far future that would call for such a beauty. Reality check. That's when I bumped into this beauty. It's easy to drape, stays in place and looks elegant. That's all I needed.

#debsaristories #fatherinlaw #myfriend Happy birthday my friend Ganesha. May you always bless everyone and give us strength to remove obstacles enroute our life.

Speakig of friends, Father in law's dont get the same attention in conversations as much as mother in laws. When I think of such silent unsaid friends, I think of baba. Apparently when Patideb shared the idea of marrying a non bengali girl, baba wasnt too happy. Their social circle had many families that could have willingly turned into a relationship. However from the time when we first met, baba never made me realize his feelings. Of course the initial period of time was for us to learn and unlearn. Baba used to have some strong preferences and I slowly learnt all of that from ma. However the best common thing between us was chai. Baba and I were and are are best friends for chai. We can bond over midnight chai. That soon became our connect. Who ever gets up first would make chai for the other. Baba used to understand my taste and would cook special dishes just for me in his spare time. Baba likes presentation a lot, he comes from a family where every meal was tastefully hosted and served and guess what, that worked for us.. I am the type that would serve a simple salad neatly decorated in a platter with some special touch. That's our bonding. That brings a smile and sparkle to baba's face. Over the period of last fifteen years we have come a long way. If I mess up stuff and even if the rest of the family is mad at me, he would stand by me and say bachi hai, it's ok. It feels very good, I can't explain. He is the one that turns away courier delivery boys saying.. "we already have many sarees, this isnt our package, kisi aur ko de do", but when ma goes to Kolkata he calls her everyday and first question is "did you shop for chinni yet? Puja is approaching, Get her good stuff, she will be happy ". We are the team that decorates garden, light our house and he is around to help me in all my childish projects. We do have heated conversations, especially around chemical compositions, vinegar, fertilizers, etc. But immediately we resolve it over chai, the cooler one of us offer to the heated one of us, that's about it. He made me this yummy upma this weekend after I woke up late after late night movie. Always a smile. Always blessings. We trust each others intent and that has removed any differences of opinions at all. Whether or not baba was unhappy in the beginning, I am unaware but I never felt even one bit of it since we met. All he wants is I be myself, the way I gelled within the family instead of trying to create one on my own terms. And during mahalaya when I wake up and birendranath version of mahalaya, he just chokes and smiles and blesses me with all his heart. Patideb and I have tough goals to meet when it's our turn as "in laws" but hey we have a wealth of knowledge and experience, right at home. After all that's why they say home is the best institution. My friend baba.

#debsaristories #thankful #onlineshopping #nomakeup Not that I am not thankful everyday, but certainly a long pending write up to share thankfulness for all the entrepreneur women that are the reason behind our saree collection, that have solely tirelessly created a brand, a space, an identity and most importantly numerous long lasting relationships. Wearing a silk kota saree which perhaps is my first time online purchase after I moved to USA. And then there was no turning back.

 But when I pause to think of the amazing ladies behind the names, the Facebook pages, the messenger contacts, there is enormous hardwork, day and night efforts tending to this baby, sleeplessness, sometimes leading to ill health.. it's a lot. Everytime we see a saree uploaded on our favorite Facebook page, we are immediately tempted to play "fastest finger first" we dont realize if its day or night for the other person. we just ping. And guess what? The response is immediate (although I always expect it delayed by few hours). Then I started realizing in my intent not to forget or miss the product I am beginning to become a rude customer. I then started being mindful and would ping during my night time which is day time in India. Guess what? These amazing ladies are more busy creating wonders working with karigars and dealing with real world problems. The more I learn from your lives the more I respect you all. Many of you deal with customers one to one instead of deploying others in your place. That's because we want you and you know us by instinct. And all you expect in return is love in the form of pictures, that's it? I mean seriously... how sweet is that! The few that I got close to in the process immediately know my taste and my dislikes. They get me what i want even before I can wish for it. They always stretch and go extra mile without asking. i feel so lazy and rude compared to you. Come on, can you ever tell a grocery shopkeeper to open doors at midnight just because you liked something in his shop and want "more pics" or "more colors"? (S)He will smack us out. I can go on and on but it will be less. I couldn't exist in such amazing groups posting pics without you. You all have my unconditional love and many best wishes all the time.

#debsaristories #memories Another Sravan month thamboolam and yes happy janmashtami too! I couldn't do justice to the saree today. It's a simple organza with silver weave but very pretty in person. I am sure someone else could have carried it off much better than me. Exhausted work week. Just the enthu doesnt die that's all. And I know many like me who wait to drape that perfect saree for the perfect occasion and for the perfect pic to post in Sareespeak. Kabhi tareef mile to sahi nahi to hum phir chale apne pyar mein koshish karne. Do you store the most important memories in the most important part of the brain? I do.

There are certain events I refresh time and again so I dont forget them in old age. I am sure you may have noticed too, when elders lose memory due to old age they often forget their recent memories but always remember their past, especially childhood and their friends, family and events of those times. It must be something amazing about childhood that the brain conveniently stored such memories which often come back only in old age. Now, we all will go through it one day, I think if we treat every day as childhood, chances are we will remember this day too! Perhaps it had to do with the carefree life as kids, which as we gro up gets masked with worldly burdens. Some of my best memories are not in "teens" but in "ties". I dont want to lose them. They are dear to me. I want to hold on to them so I keep refreshing them time and again Oh yea one last thing. Dance is apparently good way to keep up with memory during old age because it involves movement, timing, thinking - full body and mind workout.

#debsaristories Indianness isn’t a country. It’s a habit. Indianness isn’t also about a day, it’s about everyday. I missed recent milestones like Handloom day and Independence Day for draping sarees but catching up today in a simple, light handloom multi colored uppada cotton saree! Wah a perfect drape for a 100F day. Teamed with simple ilkat cotton blouse. Been wishing for uppada silk from a long time and haven’t been lucky to find ‘merawala ‘ yet, well I am happy with this cotton version in the meantime. Migration doesn’t change certain things. Migration allows carrying pollen from one place to another so there can be fruits. Migration allows the birds carrying seeds to drop it elsewhere so new crop could grow. That happens with us too. I remove footwear instinctively although many homes allow footwear inside and store them in bedrooms. I believe that some germs are hard to fight and it’s best to leave our egos and footwear at the door as we enter home (our or others). That’s my indianness At the same time I don’t have a problem cooking and storing food to be eaten as leftovers the next day. I don’t stick to ‘giving away alias wasting’ food just because we couldn’t consume it same day. I guess in olden days there wasn’t a good system to preserve food for later consumption and the tropical weather doesn’t help much. That’s when we learn from what’s applicable and sensible today. That’s still my indianness I listen to old patriotic songs almost every other day just because I relate to them. Hey but I do enjoy the Bailamos, MJ and Ricky Martin as much as I heard them growing up. Showing respect to tools of trade including computers and books, valuing money, izzat for elders, automatically assuming our friends kids as our extended family, showing up at friends place without an appointment, sitting and sipping chai pakora, enjoying a non brainy masala mass movie and clapping with the audience, cheering for cricket team... koi indianness kaise chodega? You can do blood transfusions but can’t still get rid of it. Indianness is everyday. So is any day where you have chosen to settle for good. America, UK, UAE, Australia etc etc. to each their own. Just because one adopts a different custom or culture doesn’t make them less patriotic and vice versa. So long as we learn from the good we see around us and use it for good- it’s all good!

Pujo around the corner and first things first! My shakha pops already adorned my wrists. It’s reminder of the good times to come and memories to be made. It’s time for my favorite shaktiswaroopini to visit the earth again and to hit soul music with the conch shell that informs - she has arrived. Maa ashcheyn.

#debsaristories #varalakshnivratham I don't miss a chance. Saree pehene aur pehnaane ka. Of course I wished to continue celebrating this puja even after my marriage to bangali babu. I was always amused dressing up ma Lakshmi as a kid too. May goddess bless us with some sense and perhaps some maturity like the rest of the animals in the planet. Think about it, God created elephants. Elephants dint go create crazy automobiles that polluted the planet God created lions. Lions dint go create concrete jungles in the name of gated communities and neighborhoods! God created birds. Birds dint go create airplanes and drones to disturb their own ecosystem God created fishes and marine life. They dint go and mess the ocean bed with plastic waste and toxic dump. God created them all to preserve nature and then he created man, supposedly most intelligent of them of all who ended up destroying them all. How on earth are we superior by any way at all? Lions eat other animals, that dint change since evolution, animals eat insects or fodder, that dint change either. They continued to be who they are. The greedy one is the homosapien. He wouldn't stop, for nothing! On he goes every minute on his path of (self) destruction. I loved Lion King movie. These were my thoughts watching it.

#debsaristories #expectations Shravan mash Friday. Red matka silk and jamdani muslin pallu (the pic doesnt show the intricate sequins and weaving right?) I havent been writing my heart and mind out recently. Some thoughts are precious when left silent. I would be lying of I say I have no expectations at all from anything and anyone! Totally untrue! Socho? Post daala in social media to we want likes and comments, saree drape kiya we want compliments, office mein acha kaam kiya to we want recognition, even at home.. we expect love. we expect kids togrow up and remember us to be good parents. We expect parents to remember we are good children. We expect. Every action has equal expectation. We get.some, we fail most. Absolutely fail in most. But, we dont take a lesson from those failures, and we continue to expect. I am yet to meet the soul that is able to conquer this greed of life and what makes them happy? I guess expectations aren't as bad as self sympathy or depression of their expectations not being met! I fall trap too. I have accepted I am human. Very ordinary human that too. I think so long as our expectations dont hurt or come the way of others happiness, perhaps it's ok to deal with it by ourselves. Right?

#debsaristories #desividesi #skylounge #skyhigh It’s a wrap. Another trip of memories fun new friends, family visits.. until next time. While in flight 30000ft high, relaxing in the Emirates sky lounge on the deck, recalling the last three weeks, how could I ever miss the opportunity to drape a saree (again over a dress). Things that don't change - traffic, the smell of rain sand and petrol, inflation, love of people, food! Mumbai Chat, Hyderabad biryani, Chennai filter coffee, Jammu kadhai paneer, Kolkata chicken roll... ice creams, sweets and everything yummy. My fav part if Swiggy! I am super happy about it, it enabled us explore different foods and restaurants even sitting in our hotel rooms! Things that need to change - traffic, cost of living, infrastructure for day to day life, caste reservations for education, ridiculous high amount of donations for school and colleges, lack of quality time to spend with family. Yup. I draped the saree in the flight washroom as usual in less than five mins :) As always every trip has learnings, new adventures, new lessons, some tears, lots of smiles and laughter. I want all of my dear ones to stay healthy and happy and I want to see them fit and fine so I can have more fun next trip

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#debsaristories #icecream Is it still the theme of the month? I am bad at two things. 1. Eating icecream. 2. Following theme of the month. Viola. Today I ended up doing both unplanned Yesterday I was buying sweets to take back for my colleagues and for ourselves. The lady standing next to me was talking in full accent, had semi blonde hair, long fake nails, bright lipstick, western outfit - ok yea you got the point! She was certainly trying to.make.a point, that she traveled from "The USA". She was picking and tasting and discussing and not buying much. I was there too. In my cotton saree, she gave me that oh you poor lady.I pity you Indians look, I smiled. I could guess what was going on her mind. She felt entitled visiting India from a developed country. She isnt the first one, and she wont be the last. I fail to understand what makes then feel entitled and even more, behave so. Migration for good fortune is just a normal animal behavior.
 For some it works out, for others it doesnt. I on the other hand, dont want to be seen or separated because I live outside my birth land. I am a part of this soil and will always be. No matter which passport I hold, anyone that sees me can easily tell what my origin and culture is, there is no faking that! Oh btw the shopkeepers struggled to keep up to the madame questions and doubts (what is the shelf life... and they were looking at each other "shelf ka bhi life hotha hai kya... Hume to nahi patha tha.."). She tried her English accent with the bhayya at the billing counter, who got confused.

Anyways meanwhile my one kg kaju pista roll, anjeer king roll, kaju katli, badam pista roll were ready and air sealed. I smiled and walked away, wishingnher luck and happiness with her videsi efforts. Apun ko kya, icecream khane ka, chill karne na, hai bidoo It's a block printed silk saree from a boutique in Kolkata, a repeat drape.

#debsaristories #SareeTwitter Oh Kolkata! Uff Kolkata!! Despite no rains, the sauna humidity and the chaos this city is a charm. Best part is the doe eyed neatly lined with kajal on both eyelids , glowing skin women. I dont know how many I have blindly stared at.. and couldn't take off my eyes. I almost made up my mind (once again) to limit exploring and collecting new sarees unless and until I do justice to the ones I already have accumulated. These days the wear time of saree is often limited by its social media presence. If its clicked and posted, then it's not soon repeated. Which I think has caused the reason to splurge for more .. good in a way but unfair for the existing sarees that sit quietly in the wadrobe waiting for their turn which sometimes could be couple of years or even more. I dont think our past generations have been like this. They dint care repeating a saree too often even in short gap. They didn't have the social (media) pressure! We all have limited resources including money, we all have several priorities including sarees, we all are smart and wise to pick our choices and most importantly not regret later on! So ladies please do more repeat saree posts and encourage the habit of reuse confidently so many can be motivated! Exchange sarees with friends, swap and wear for a day, need not own one all the time. Share karo, acha hai.

I enjoyed draping my floral printed organza which perfectly complimented the local weather

#debsaristories #desividesi #SareeTwitter Saree-in-a-handbag day Mumbai darshan today. My first visit to this city. My sil graciously took us all around the city. We walked, ate, and laughed. I think that's Aamchi Mumbai for all. And I knew I would be roaming in Jean and tee but how can I forget the most important part of me? Saree in my handbag. I always imagined a Gateway of India pic with kabootars (my bad luck tiday). Yup, I did that - took pics, enjoyed the view and then took the saree off too. Btw, Ma planted this seed in my mind and I can't help notice too, not many women saree these days in they daily life even in India, four cities seven day observation - in hotels, malls, streets we found very few women carrying a saree and managing their day. That also made me assume or rather conclude.. the women I see in sarees are most likely (undoubtedly) #sareespeak members. We inspire and carry sarees on body and in heart unlike the majority of the women who have tucked and out them away in rusting almirahs. Oh well, let's do what we are good at. #keepcalmandsareeon

#debsaristories Again back quickly! Traveling back to back and not missing any opportunity to saree (did you realize we have made saree a verb , an action and not just a noun) There are few things that annoy me during travel. People pushing from all directions and not follow the line! I kept reminding them that people stand in line for a reason. I had five boarding passes and suddenly I realized it became yaadon ki baraat situation as crowd pushed us apart to board the bus to flight. Huh. I ended up becoming line master wherever I go. Hubby kept smiling at my attempts and I wouldn’t give up. Airport bag check was another episode. The lady was super annoyed that I was carrying too many mobile phones. And her attitude was like I should know better. I absolutely appreciate her devotion to duty but there can always be a smile that can accompany it. If everything was perfect and everyone knows everything perfectly then her job wouldn’t exist! I agree standing there and dealing with so many difficult and different people isn’t easy but a smile definitely can help them too.. at the same time there were many others that helped new travelers sail through the processes seamlessly

 The drive from jammu to Katra was amazing. Stopped by roadside dhaba for chai pakode. It reminded me of days when each rupee mattered and some of the amenities and comforts we take for granted today was a wish. We had dreams and hopes and more importantly the will to work our way up. So thankful destiny felt us worthy of realizing them. Building our lives from scratch zero twice has been quite memorable and humbling. Jai Mata di. It’s a simple light bandhani georgette and again with same blouse, I am heavy believer of reuse.

#debsaristories I am back without a gap. Fully in namma madras mode. It's a silk cotton saree with jasmine flowers to adorn my hair. What is special about our des? Listen then.. me and amma were walking our road towards the temple to get flowers and then a house help from another household stepped out and said "kannu... (love).. your blouse back is very beautiful, but it seems to overturn. Stop for a min so I can fix it" I stopped and she out her safety pin from her thali chain (mangalsutra). Amma was nervous.. she dint want that unwanted attention on the road.. but I was like who cares. I gave that lady her own time to make sure she felt I looked good and then moved on.

Many of those homes were my childhood friends' and so all their moms and dads remember and adore me. I pretty much stopped at each house to meet greet and get their blessings. It happens only in India.


 I took the pics outside our home where this make shift hut was stood up to support some adjoining construction activity and I took advantage of it for.my background. Love is powerful from our own or from strangers and can fix a lot, wish people understood and accepted it. Let's keep trying

#debsaristories Visiting beach is definitely a must in Madras (yes it's always Madras for me, never Chennai) The weather was pleasant although humid as usual. The wild wind at the beach kept pulling my drape away, as I tried hard to remain modest. Phew. Then I remembered that I am just as wild as the wind too, so I should stop pretending to be the gentle breeze and then 💓💓 I Let it go! I be myself. Wild, unpredictable yet lovable. 💓💓

 This saree is something ma gifted amma one of the Durga pujas... a yearly ritual between our families. I wanted something comfortable to roam around temples, beaches, streets and malls (pretty much that order actually). Oh btw, after a long time I had time to watch TV this morning and I was embarrassed by the fair and lovely ads.. seriously we still preach this concept? Who even believes in it anymore and why the hell do they? I was of course a victim to fair and lovely and femina bleach too in college days, although I knew nothing changed (except that I would have looked weird I suppose with a facial skin tone that didn't match the rest of me !!). However I did appreciate the wisper sanitary napkin ad that showed how young girls can manage periods better.  As a kid it was the opposite! I would be embarrassed watching sanitary napkin ads but look awestruck at the fairness cream ads... how much we change (hopefully for right reasons) What actually made me "fair and lovely " was not the creams, but my character and confidence. Figured that out as I exited my teens. Sigh, its definitely tough to teach kids the right thing when there is so much negativity around. Mommies you are doing great if you are raising kids above and beyond all these ideas. You should be proud The good part? I am listening to few songs after perhaps twenty years or more but the lyrics flow out of my lips fluently like I learnt them yesterday :)

#debsaristories haath mein makkhan and I was searching for ghee #smallvictories #thedressthatfits #desividesi I read couple of articles about sunflower fields around 100mi from home. Of course it got me excited and I dreamt of beautiful sunny sunflowers and me amidst them and secretly packed a saree too although was wearing dress.... (Manisha Koirala song?) Patideb as usual is ready to drive and explore so off we went. I wore this dress after almost three years, thanks to getting back to my workout routine. I was more excited about that than anything. I almost gave up on myself and was resorting to black tees and unfit Jean's just to hide all the flab that settled only and only around my tummy and hips. I knew I had ignored myself for too long. I took my bettu's warning seriously and started working out. First of all, I dont feel guilty of neglecting myself anymore. Second it definitely feels good after all that pain and hardwork to smile and dress the way I used to once! In India, exercise and workout are not culturally normal. We haven't seen moms and others working out so we havrnt grown up in the culture that the body needs to be conditioned. We take it easy when we gain extra pounds after marriage and childbirth. We think mothers need not worry about looking young and fit no matter what the age is. That's ironic considering we are the land that gifted yoga to the world but I guess over time yoga was left out of any daily routine. I think that needs to change, there is awareness today but many of us (including myself) dodge it taking the "oh yea u look fine what are you talking about", "teek hi lag rahe ho... gym jaake kaun sa kareena kapoor banna hai", "you look good in sarees, khao piyo mast raho.. kya workout diet etc. Bachon ke peeche daudna hi exercise hai".. and so on. But deep in our hearts we know, that's just to convince ourselves temporarily and that we are not doing justice to our health and long term goals. So if you have been contemplating, pls pls pls do what it takes to hit the gym or workout at home or do yoga. Never give up on you. Back to sunflower fields drive.. well the sunny babies are tiny and even if I kneel down they would be shorter than me. Nevertheless we enjoyed the drive and soon after coming home, I headed to the backyard to get couple of pics in my own garden. Seen in the background with me are nectarines, apples and pomegranates I would have taken these pics amidst sunflower, so old do imagine that as well until I get lucky to do so real time The saree is a silk kotha yardage I picked from Chennai couple of years ago

#debsaristories #sfosariparade #incredibleindia I know it's been a while and what more better way to come back.. sharing the awesome feeling participating in the first ever saree parade here at San Francisco
 Special occasion marks a special saree, so I wore my pure silk kanjivaram with seven wonders of the world woven in border and pallu, this to me is no less than an eighth wonder of the world... to weave seven wonders in thread by skillful hands is magic. Teamed it with my favorite wonder of the world - Wah Taj! I know the pic doesnt do any justice at all, and I am not good at posing either, so feeling terrible about the injustice. This saree is perfect for an indoor and choreographed photoshoot, alas I never get a chance to do that! Wish I were a saree model. Sharmistha Deb, Ma is in her authentic kantha stitch saree, something that never goes wrong! We enjoyed being a part of "one of the firsts", wishing many more to come. I had been meaning to write, but couldn't. I understand that our culture is all about respecting elders etc. But recently I am guilty. When people look at ma as an individual they completely understand she is young and definitely a respectable and charismatic lady. She's Mrs. Deb then. The moment I (or hubby) enter the scene immediately she becomes "aunty" , "mashi" even those that are her own age (those that have witnessed late marriage, late kids etc) call her aunty. Well, shouldn't they know that just by calling her aunty neither she becomes old, nor do they become young. Ma doesn't mind, I do. She says that's a side effect of early marriage! Recently a gentleman of her age addressed her aunty, I immediately retorted "ma is young, perhaps younger than you!". I thought if I was rude, but then he was too. Isnt it a better idea to ask her how she likes to be addressed? Maybe Mrs. Deb, maybe Sharmistha, whatever ! I know this could happen to many others we know closely too, I know its tiring to correct each one, I know they should know better. I know, right?

#debsaristories #desividesi This one's a shoutout for patideb, pukka! Mid summer Christmas feel!! This was meant to be no-plan-long-weekend. But that's never the case. Patideb had been indicating plans to do a quickie to Lake Tahoe (he's every ready for a drive anytime). Ma me and bettu had planned to oversleep so we skip the trip idea. Nope.. patideb woke me up at almost 11:00 am (yea! Late night Aladdin movie effect) and said we are set to go. Well, it means the plan is on and I got ready in thirty mins. Since its noon I suggested we carry clothes in case we plan to stay overnight there at Tahoe (yea again we go with the flow and over the years have learnt to be agile). Just when we were exiting garage, he reminded me to carry the camera. I said there isnt much we need to take pics for .. so we could manage with our mobile phones. He repeated couple of times and I wasnt in listening mood. Then he said.. "well, apparently its snowing at Tahoe so I thought it may be a good idea to take few saree pics in that back drop". Do I need any more clear ishara? DUH! I was sooo dumb not to get it until now. I ran upstairs and in thirty seconds I was back with this red saree which I thought I would drape over whatsoever I wear, who cares! Rest is for you to see.. When you have less to ask of life, whatever it gives you seems more than enough. When you wish lots from life, anything you get seems less. Kal kya hoga kisko pata, aaj hi zindagi ka le lo mazaa.

#debsaristories #desividesi #iworkedout #inspiration #chikankari #phulkari Long weekend around the corner. And gorgeous weather outside! Cant miss the chance to drape. I wore Jean and Top to work and draped a saree over it when I came home. That my desi videsi combo for the day! Guess how it feels when you are trying to start the car after gap of one year?!! Drrrrrr, grrrrrr, drrrrrr. Yup it doesn't start easily. That was my condition getting back to the gym after a year! Honestly it's all thanks to bettu and his inspiration that he wanted to see "ma back as how she was before". That hit me straight in the heart. I was his first P.E. teacher so to speak. When he was five we would go to the park every evening, I would run or jog while he bikes next to me. This was everyday routine during summer. This continued almost every year.. he would race and I would win.. until perhaps couple of years ago when of course he became the cheetah! (He calls me cheetah..). We learnt together many sports including soccer, basketball and even galli cricket. His definition of beauty is fitness and I had set that baseline in him unknowingly. So after ten days in gym at least there is some reduction in my guilt of not taking care of myself and having let down bettu. Yes, I do have a goal but it's long way to go. Like they say, first step towards your goal is to get your butt up and start acting on it! I am on that step now. Off late, I havent been able to comment as much as I would like to - so taking the opportunity to give a BIG shout out to all amazing ladies, the wonderful posts and outstanding pictures! I usually take mental notes to come back to look for the post and post comments, guess what at 3:00am when sleep breaks.. I completely forget which posts to get back to! It's a phulkari on net saree, teamed with my chikankari fabindia top and Jean! Love you all, love you tonnes

#debsaristories #stereotype Today we performed puja at home, so naturally me and ma are draped in six yards. #kanjivaram #garad Me in almost twenty year old kanji.. ma in a traditional garad.. IT millenials are usually envisioned as geeky dressed in hoodies.. when I first joined my IT job, as a fresher showed up in saree on the third day at work (it was my birthday) at gurgaon. It was absolutely uncommon so many stopped by at lunch to congratulate me for my engagement (?) Wedding (?) Anniversary (?). I said.. none of the above. It dint make sense to them. Many eyes rolled some in confusion. But then I dont know why and how, I had the guts to wear sarees very frequently sometimes weekly too to work. While IT jobs gave many young girls an excuse to wear Jean and Tee on Fridays, most of my Fridays were in sarees. Seventeen years later, I realize that I dint fit the stereotype then and even today. Even after moving to USA I would show up at work in saree for no reason. That dint make a less smart coder or leader. Those are skills, this is my passion. There are many such stereotypes we have built in our minds (unintentional bias) I know by now many of you are nodding head acknowledging what we could possibly change within ourselves to cleanse that part and become little Better