Shri, a writer from Malaysia who had always dreamed of visiting Japan and Misao, a Geisha from Kyoto with a kind heart and an interest for Indian movies. A love between two people from two different worlds who meet but are forced to part because of...
"Nika, better bathe fast," Chandrika told her daughter. "We have to be at the temple by seven." "Yeah," Shree nodded, reading Timeless Love. "Let me finish this page and come." Chandrika groaned and turned to her mother who sat snacking on some peanuts. "Ma, tell her to make it quick." "Go lah," Devi said. "Go and bathe lah." "Wait lah, almost finishing the page lah," Shree said and went on reading. "Little bit only." So they were left without a choice but to let her read the page before finally making her way to the bathroom. "Faster bathe and come, I'll help you put makeup," Chandrika said. "Okay!" Shree cheerfully said as she entered the bathroom, a change of clothes on her shoulder.
"Don't blink..." Chandrika warned as she applied a thick coat of eyeliner around Shree's eyes. She was at last done and started applying mascara. "Okay. Done." Shree immediately reached for the hand mirror on the table and looked at her reflection. "Thanks, Mom." "Did you tell Mizuo that we're coming to pick him up?" Chandrika asked, putting her makeup away into a little bag. "I told him just now that we'll come in an hour," Shree shrugged, ignoring her mispronunciation. "I itself not yet put saree also..." "Come, I put for you now," Chandrika said, getting up as she reached for the red and green saree that laid on the bed. "Come." And so the saree was draped, rather painstakingly, over her leggings and green blouse. Shree still marvelled at how the Indians managed to create various garbs by just draping one piece of cloth elaborately around their bodies. Chandrika was soon finished and slumped down on the bed, tired out. "Finish already..." Chandrika sighed. "Okay, where's your jewellery?" She noticed how Shree's hair was still worn in a messy bun. "Never comb hair also ah?!" Shree sheepishly chuckled. "I'll ask Awah to comb my hair. She only plait very nice." Chandrika nodded and grabbed the case of jewellery. "Let's go to the hall." And so, Devi combed and plaited Shree's long curly hair. It was a long process as well, one that involved a blue bottle of coconut oil, detangling, screaming in pain, and getting knocked on the head. "Ow!" Shree groaned when Devi knocked her head. "Awah!" "Hold still," Devi instructed, combing the tangles out. She eventually set the comb aside and started to tightly plait her granddaughter's hair. "Where's the kunjam?" Candrika handed her an ornament to be tied to the end of the plait. Devi neatly attached the kunjam to the end of Shree's hair and secured it. "There, it's finished," Devi said, giving her another tap on the head. Shree groaned and pulled the case of jewellery. Chandrika helped her put on the hair ornaments, which consisted of a very elaborate accessory that clipped onto the sides of her head and the centre, then two ornaments shaped like the sun and moon went onto the sides of her head, framed by the first accessory. A large earring went to her ears with a decorative piece clipped into her hair. Shree then put on a choker and a long necklace before removing her nose ring. Chandrika helped her put on a larger one. "Here, don't forget your bangles," Devi reminded, handing her two pairs of gold bangles. Shree nodded and quickly put them on. "Let's go!" "Wait, Vasu still bathing," Devi said. "What?!" Shree and Chandrika shouted in unison.
Mitsuo laid down on his bed in the hotel room, exhausted after the very social day. What with meeting with Shree's family, Shruti's family, and then going to AmCorp Mall for books, it completely drained him. And then there's a dance recital going on in the temple tonight. Mitsuo couldn't say that he wasn't eager to go, because he was really looking forward to it, but that would just be tiring. But Mitsuo wanted to go, he wanted to experience what it would be like in a traditional Indian dance recital. And he realised that it wasn't Zumba in the middle of a temple. He really looked forward to it, wondering what Shree would look like in traditional Indian dance attire. But now, Mitsuo wanted to take a nap and relax.
Junko Yagami's Bay City suddenly rings out of Mitsuo's phone, jolting him awake. His alarm had worked. Now, he had approximately two hours to get ready for the performance. Junko's vocalisation was suddenly interrupted by a notification. Mitsuo stopped the music and opened it to see who it was. We'll be there in an hour Don't be late Because I would be running late too! Mitsuo quickly typed out a reply and got off the bed, making his way to the bathroom. He had heard that one must always go to a temple clean, as in clean mind and clean soul. And clean body too, so he had to shower.
Mitsuo waited at the lobby, dressed in a red long-sleeved button-up satin shirt and a pair of long slacks. The familiar lapis Volkswagen Arteon appeared and pulled over in front of him. The back window rolled down, revealing a bedazzled Shree. He could hardly recognise her, with all the ornaments in her hair and thick eyeliner around her eyes. Even her bindi was slightly different, her usual long teardrop but with a tiny black dot under it. "Get into the front." She said, pointing at the seat in front of her. Mitsuo bowed and got in at the front. Vasu was at the wheel, dressed in a dark green traditional Jippa. Mitsuo suddenly felt a little plain, being the only one dressed in a regular button-up shirt when everyone else were wearing traditional Indian clothing. "This outfit is okay, right?" Mitsuo asked. "You look great," Shree said. Mitsuo could hear her gold bangles jingle whenever she moved. "It doesn't actually matter what you wear to a temple, so long as it's appropriate." "Mustn't wear shorts all," Devi piped up. "Yeah, but still got people wear," Chandrika added. "Not very decent." Mitsuo nodded to himself, meaning to write those details down later. "What is this dance like?" Mitsuo asked. "Does it have a story to it?" "Yes," Shree said, then proceeded to go into great detail of the Indian folk story. "There's this story of a battle between Murugan and Vinayagar. You know who those are, right?" "Uhh Lord Muruga is the one in Padyappa, the Batu Caves one, right?" Mitsuo asked, much to the family's surprised. "And Vinayagar is Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity?" "Yes, his brother," Shree smiled. "Okay, here's how the story goes. It all started with a mango. So seeing how both brothers wanted the fruit, their parents decided to have them compete for it. The winner gets the fruit." "The parents are Shiva and Shakti, right?" "Yep," Shree was so proud. "Alright, now for the competition. They said that the first one to round the world three times the fastest would be the winner. And so, Murugan got onto his peacock and set off to round the world." "But his brother, smarter, just round the parents three times because they only his world," Devi added. "So he won lah. By the time Murugan came back, he get the mango already." "Ah..." Mitsuo nodded, fascinated. "So Ganesha not only went the easier way, but he also touched his parents' hearts?" "Yep, he is smart," Shree chuckled. "He also managed to find a way to dodge the God of Misfortune, Saturn, by annoying him. Whenever he came, Vinayagar just told him to come back tomorrow. In the end, Saneswaran got so fed up with him that he just left Vinayagar alone." "Fascinating..." Mitsuo said again. "Hey, if I wanna read more of Indian mythology, where can I get some?" "Wikipedia works, but mine's mostly from festive TV shows, and also my grandma," Shree chuckled. "She's the one who told me most of the stories I know. It's because of her do I actually know more than some Indians from my generation. My driving teacher was a tour guide in Batu Caves, a Malay woman, she was testing me to see if I knew my own religion's mythology. I'm taking that she managed to impress her past Indian students who might not have known anything about the stories and was awed that she, a Malay, knew more than them. Because she was clearly testing me. She casually asked me as if she was interested to know, but in the end I realised that she knew everything from the start. Lame, right?" "Akka, let's go," Vasu said, parking the car. "We're here."
Also, for clearer reference, this is what a Bharathanatyam dancer usually looks like.
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This is what a Shree was dressed like but her saree was red with a green border. I'm still in awe at how this elaborate garb is done with just one long piece of cloth. I've inserted a video on how it's done at the top. It still baffles me, how Indians wore this garb and created various styles of it centuries ago.
