Creative writing prompt: And then I saw it...
the perfect sari for my daughter's wedding. Oh, no, not for her. She already has her dress, in the Western style. She's marrying a local boy. My other two daughters will stand with her: they already have their dresses, too, in light pink. There were two saris there on the sale rack in the light pink, one with silver decorations and one with multi-colored.
The tall Punjabi saleswoman draped it and I looked in the mirror. Something wasn't right. Maybe it would have worked when I was younger. I was disappointed. My husband was disappointed.
I turned back to the rack. It was the top of my budget range. I couldn't go anywhere else. I'd seen possibilities in the first two shops, but I had thought this one was perfect. Right next to the two light pink, a bolder pink with delicate silver beading caught my eye. I had thought it was too dark.
Shopping in India is a community affair. You never walk in and pick your own size from a rack of all the same style. There is always a salesperson to advise you, and usually some bystanders giving opinions too. If you do successfully negotiate a purchase, you are likely to get any number of curious bystanders asking how your bargaining was (or commenting on its deficiencies).
the perfect sari for my daughter's wedding. Oh, no, not for her. She already has her dress, in the Western style. She's marrying a local boy. My other two daughters will stand with her: they already have their dresses, too, in light pink. There were two saris there on the sale rack in the light pink, one with silver decorations and one with multi-colored.
The tall Punjabi saleswoman draped it and I looked in the mirror. Something wasn't right. Maybe it would have worked when I was younger. I was disappointed. My husband was disappointed.
I turned back to the rack. It was the top of my budget range. I couldn't go anywhere else. I'd seen possibilities in the first two shops, but I had thought this one was perfect. Right next to the two light pink, a bolder pink with delicate silver beading caught my eye. I had thought it was too dark.
Shopping in India is a community affair. You never walk in and pick your own size from a rack of all the same style. There is always a salesperson to advise you, and usually some bystanders giving opinions too. If you do successfully negotiate a purchase, you are likely to get any number of curious bystanders asking how your bargaining was (or commenting on its deficiencies).
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