The Urban Chronicle ✔

11: I Suppose This Shopping Expedition Can Be Termed Educational

We bumped up and down, as the horse drawn carriage travelled on a rather uneven patch through the forest, on the way to the village. Neel sat across from Sanghamitra and me, and was explaining the game of football rather animatedly to her.

Sanghamitra felt that, two teams running behind a ball was extremely pointless and Neel strongly opposed this opinion.

Their childish bickering reminded me of my friends, Sid and Kiara who were constantly fighting over the smallest of issues. I smiled to myself.

It is funny how we take our friends for granted. It's only in their absence that we realize their worth. I was lost in the memories that flooded my mind, when the carriage came to a screeching halt, pulling me out of my reverie.

As we stepped out, all the villagers bowed their heads slightly to us or more specifically to Sanghamitra like perfectly loyal subjects.

The charming young lady that she was, Sanghamitra flashed a million dollar smile to everyone and the adoration in their eyes was evident.

What I loved about Sanghamitra was that, although she was blue blooded and had everything she could ever ask for, she had a compassionate heart and her feet were deeply rooted to the earth.

She treated everyone, big or small, with respect and I think that's what made all these people love their darling princess. She was so unlike all the rich, snobs at school who never wasted an opportunity to show off their expensive things.

Honestly, people like that are better off in the gutter. I think that's why we got along so well, and of course- you can't forget our mutual dislike for eggplants and papayas!

The dressmaker was a plump, middle aged lady who radiated warmth.
"Ooh Sanghamitra! It's a pleasure to have you!" she gushed with joy, "Won't you introduce me to your friends?"

"I'm glad to see you too," Sanghamitra smiled, "These are my friends Tara and Neel. I know my next visit wasn't scheduled until next month, but I have this marvelous idea and I just had to tell you!"

Kanchanmala, the dressmaker offered us some homemade sweets and I instantly took a liking to her. It's difficult not to like someone who offers you food after all. After eating seven bites sent straight from heaven, I forced myself to stop because I knew I would go on until I couldn't carry my weight on my feet. I'm sure that's not a scene anyone would like to witness, right? Only Tvisha knew that I was total sucker for all things sweet. After all, I used to drag her along to the school kitchens in the middle of the night to raid the refrigerator. The kitchen staff thought there were hordes of rats in the kitchen because of the amount of food that disappeared every week. Let's just say they used rat poison, traps, and etcetera but never succeeded in catching the 'rat'. Now that I think about it, they must have been plain stupid to not realize that it was a student's doing. I'm not complaining though, it worked to my advantage.
Wow, daydreaming about sweet stuff makes me get carried away so easily. It's a miracle I can still run with the amount of calories I consume. I shook my head; this was certainly no time to fantasize about Oreo ice cream sundaes.
I observed Kanchanmala's house as I had nothing else to do while she caught up with Sanghamitra. It was very simple, nothing that showed extravagance; but it still gave off the vibe that an artistic person stayed there. Lamps made of tiny pieces of coloured glass adorned the open windows and the sunlight shone through them, lighting up the room with a faint rainbow-coloured glow. Fresh flowers brightened up the dull mud walls. Her work room fascinated me even more- different kinds of fabric in a myriad of colours were arranged neatly colour-wise and texture-wise. Little pieces of soft cotton cloth of various hues sewn together formed a kind of rug to cover the floor. Now that's what I call recycling!
"So, do you girls have something in mind? A rough idea that I can work on?" asked Kanchanmala in a sing-song voice.
Immediately, Sanghamitra began to describe the outfits I'd told her about, with a few occasional inputs from me.
"Could you please draw it for me since you know how it will look? I'm finding it a little difficult to comprehend since this is something entirely new?" asked Kanchanmala looking at me.
I blushed slightly at her request. To say that my drawing skills are poor would be an understatement. Once we had a watercolour painting assignment, back at school, for our art grade and I had planned to paint a beautiful scenery of a beach at sunset. I used too much water, and never let the paint dry completely, so the result was that the sun was drowning in the sea, the coconut palms looked like blots of paint and the sea itself- the less said about it the better!
Hesitantly, I accepted the sheet of paper that the dress maker offered me but managed to draw a satisfactory picture of the dress we wanted. I had my phone and I could have just showed her a picture but there was no wifi network available. It was quite a blow though, since the camera and the calling and messaging features worked just fine but I couldn't use anything that required the internet. Come to think of it, I don't feel like I'm losing out on anything or dying without the internet because Magadha happens to be a great place and we're also getting royal treatment which has its own perks. Imagine being stuck in the past and fending for yourself in the woods!
In no time Kanchanmala had elaborately sketched a proposed design and I have to admit it was beautiful.
"It's marvelous!" I gushed with true awe for the amazing lady standing before me.
"I'm so glad you liked it," she thanked me delightfully, "I've always wanted to make something like this but I didn't have the courage to experiment with the idea. I worried too much about what people would think as it's not a traditional design. But my dream is coming true at last."
I grinned at her in response. Was she always such an enthu-cutlet?
"Not anymore, I'm sure everyone is going to absolutely adore these new designs." Said Sanghamitra. An endearing smile played on her bow-shaped lips.
Kanchanmala proceeded to take Sanghamitra's measurements, as she amiably talked about her little son's antics. In all the excitement, I had completely forgotten that Neel had accompanied us. My eyes searched around, until I found him sitting in corner with a sullen look on his face.
Why had he come with us again? Because Mahindra had some princely duties to attend to and Neel had no better work to do. I feel sorry for him.
"What's up?" I asked, sitting cross legged beside him.
"Ugh...girls and shopping! They can't be separated, can they?" he said exasperatedly.
"Well, if you hadn't come along just because Sanghamitra's mom to keep an eye on us and make sure I wasn't corrupting her dainty little flower of a daughter- you wouldn't have been dying here." I remarked with a chuckle, "So much for being in Her Annoying Majesty's good books."
Neel groaned, evidently regretting his decision of coming with us.
"Hey, there's no need to be such a grumpy kid though. We can always get a lovely gown stitched especially for you. We could all be twinning then, wait there's the three of us...so tripling." I joked.
"Tara?" Neel said warily.
"Yes, Neel?" I answered sweetly.
"Please do me a favour and SHUT UP!" he yelled, an octave higher.
I pursed my lips and pretended to seal them with an imaginary lock and key, before throwing the key away. I laughed as I headed over to Sanghamitra and Kanchanmala to see what progress had been made.
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