Skeleton in the closet

A polka-dotted satin belt peeps out of a seemingly calm and strong closet. It stands tall and sturdy. Until you open it.

You open it and chances are you will be hit by a gigantic wave of linen, cotton, synthetic, wool, silk, chiffon and more. Well, this is an exaggeration and chances of this are slim (it does happen with my roommate’s cupboard though) But atleast a couple of clothes will definitely topple down.

Look closely and there will be sections for skirts, trousers, sleeved tops, sleeveless tops, dresses, Goa wear, night pajamas, formal wear, party wear, gym wear, Indian wear, socks& caps etc

One large section of the closet might confuse you it is titled miscellaneous and is inclusive of–

The wishful dress – That one absolutely stunning dress, you saw a mannequin wearing and you HAD to pick up, though it required a fatter wallet and a much thinner you.
(God bless the inventor of credit cards)

Purani jeans – You have seen it evolve through many shades of blue, its grey now and you don’t even remember what colour it was when you bought it in high school. You are never gonna wear it but it has always been there and it will continue to be.

Gifted by a distant aunt- A very old-fashioned kurta (actually something that was never in fashion) which is absolutely ill-fitted but you wore it once to please the distant aunt and feel too guilty to give it to the thankless maid.

The inherited skirt – You were totally in awe of this skirt till it belonged to your sister/ cousin/ mother and you wanted to try it on atleast once. But after that red letter day in your life, when THE skirt got a place in your cupboard – you don’t like it that much… or maybe it doesn’t suit you that much

That bold top – You knew somewhere that you won’t be able to carry it off. But at that moment of confidence you told yourself, ‘Ofcourse, I can!’

The nostalgic dress – 5 years back someone special had complimented you for it. On bad days, it brings back sweet memories. You can’t remember his face, but you remember the compliment.

The optimistic trousers – Your waist is 3 inches broader now.
Hope is the thing with feathers-- That perches in the soul-- And sings the tune without the words-- And never stops--at all

There are many more there, you don even remember the story behind some of them. They are just there.

Its simple, the 80-20 rule applies
80% of times you wear 20% of the clothes you possess
80% of times you shop for clothes you will wear 20 % of times


This blog is dedicated to my roommate’s cupboard which has elaborate sub-sections in the miscellaneous section.
Through her cupboard, we discovered a lot of secrets of her past ;)

Virar Fast

A 1hr 25 mins ride from Churchgate to Virar exemplifies the true character of Mumbai.

They probably started their day at 5:00 am and at 7:30 pm they are stuffed in a train where, strands of someone else’s hair are poking their nose; everyone’s praying the shiny pointy shoes of the girl who got on at Charni road don’t land on their feet; the shelves are overflowing with glossy purses, jute bags, laptop cases, leather hand-bags and plastic packets.

Slowly the fights for the fourth seat have settled, a few lucky women standing have ‘claimed’ a seat, smiles and waves have been exchanged between familiar faces.
Watch-out the Superwomen

The Superwomen are the women piggy-backing a 10 month-old selling anything in the range of safety pins - mangal sutras - mobile covers - sarees - fruits - fish to the other Superwomen in the ladies compartment.

The later are returning home after an 8 hour shift in their banks;

One takes out the carrots she bought outside the station and starts chopping them into small pieces, exactly how her husband likes it in the gajar matar ki sabzi.

The other has to finish knitting the 3rd pullover before her grandson arrives, she started since her daughter was pregnant.

A copy of Mumbai mirror comes out of a bag; a hand full of peanuts goes towards every lady who is in reach.

And obviously, it’s a coupe full of women, so there are conversations.

Sushma says how she added sugar free to the aate ka halwa as it retains the taste and is way healthy. ‘Sab faaltu ki baatein hai’ debates Renu whose brother in law is a doctor and told her how all these ‘sugar free’ products are a huge scam.
They don’t argue, they discuss for the common good.

The conversations than move to Priyanka Chopra’s new affair and there are giggles and high-fives when the lady on the window seat starts singing Desi Girl.. there is laughter and applause. After everyone has had their dose of entertainment Gayatri declares ‘In filmstars ka toh aisa hi hai’.

Moves to how Damini’s son (Damini who used to be their companion on the train but has shifted office) has topped Maharashta board in SSC and will now join a very good college.

Talking about children who are making their parent’s proud, Ketki updates on how happy Shubha’s daughter is after marriage. Though it’s not a Maharashtrian family, she has not had trouble adjusting with her in-laws. She was always a sincere girl and has got a family she deserved.

They chat about Congress, about Pawar, they abuse the terrorism in the country, they pray the rains are not so bad this year, they decide on the next day’s breakfast.

Till the train doesn’t halt at their stop.

They are hard-working. They are happy. They make people happy. They are aware. They are the bread winners. They are the bread makers. They are Superwomen.