fun shopping

No, I dont enjoy shopping. But it is one of the facts of life that one needs to shop for essentials and also for a host of non essentials. I read regularly about the shopping sprees of celebrities and they seem to know where to buy what. I find it very difficult to figure out where to shop for barest necessities. So if I happen to find a shop which gives me what I need without any hassles, then I resolutely stick to that shop till eternity; well not really, till the owner decides to unceremoniously put up a board which says " from this monday this shop will operate from the following address" and the address will be most in convenient for me.
I used to patronise a nice boutique shop in the neighbourhood for sarees, dress materials and occasional tailoring needs. I saw that they had put up a 'sale' sign sometime back. I have not seen them announce a sale other than during pooja. But this was not pooja time.So I went there more out of curiosity. The owner was there and said they are winding up the entire establishment and shifting out. I was shocked.I could not believe that a thriving business is folding up just in front of my eyes. But then it has happened.
In this situation I came across this shop more from a casual dropping of names from an acquaintance. I wanted to check it out. So Y and me went there today morning, ostentisibly to do diwali, pooja shopping. It was the most pleasant and enjoyable time I have had shopping.Now let me tell you the entire story.
We went there at 10 am as the shop was just opening.I thought the shop is quite crowded for such an early morning, but it transpired that they were the sales people bustling about getting into their positions!They were smiling and laughing and being busy at the same time. Yes, a nice way to start the day. The shop is actually a two storeyed bungalow converted into a shop.( Thank god for mixed neighbourhoods, it was bang in a quiet residential area, so no parking issues, honking autos and stuff).
We went via small rooms, big rooms, climbing few flights of stairs and walking along blind alleys, as if solving a maze puzzle. Finally we reached the dress materials counter.Two girls were stationed there and there were most eager to help us in our selections. They were friendly, they knew the stuff available and were willing to give us friendly tips on what to look for.They were most willing to exhibit any number of stuff that we wanted to see, no matter that they were neatly stacked , easy to reach and at eye level. A place like naidu hall would have told us,' please look at the exhibits and tell us what you want', before we have even looked at one dress material.It is most putting off to me when I encounter such snooty behaviour. Usually that is the last straw and at this point I usually hit the exit gate.
Here when our demands were mounting, another sales person also joined us and added his expertise to the entire process.Y and me were by now thoroughly enjoying the entire shopping expedition. I got totally carried away and told her 'take whatever you want'.Y has not seen me so expansive and quizzed me on my sangfroid! The sales girls encouraged us to try out any number of dresses and the trial rooms were actually accessible and available!The sales girls were giving more and more designs/texture/styles and exhibiting them that the counter was sky high with the dresses displayed.All the time, the shortlisted items were also growing steadily. Full patialas, half patialas(are they bhatinda stuff?) , latest designs for diwali season and new (!) colours were all displayed and vigorously promoted.We were happy to succumb to the temptation to 'splash'.

I asked them if they get a commission for the sales at their counter, to which the girls replied in a chorus that they want good name from the shop and satisfied customers like us.After all what is there in a measly commission! I disagreed about the uselessness of commission in everyday life.They then told me that they get some group incentive for the sales in the entire shop.
They also told me that they work all 7 days of the week 10 am to 9pm till deepavali; the girls leave a t 9pm and the boys stay much longer.Request for leave for special contingencies is obviously granted.There was one girl who was missing and we were told that she had asked for a days leave to see 'paruthiveeran' and was it actually granted!I should take this with a pinch of sale, the girls were obviously in a good mood and were pulling our legs for sure.

We came out to the billing section and duly told the owner/boss that we had wonderful experience shopping here and we will come again as we stay quite closeby.He immediately fished out a customer note book where i have recorded the good experience in three crowded sentences for posterity.
Y was waiting for the tailor near the front office and we saw the two girls again busy and happy and playful, getting the mannequins dressed for the day.The mannequin was carried in bits and pieces from the cupboard and duly assembled with a lot of merriment in selecting an appropriate dress.There was a tv showing sun tv and sun news. A customer was just checking out of the store and saw the news item where the photos of likely suspects in the recent bomb blast case were being aired. She told the girls 'they are showing you guys on the tv!". It took a while for them to register and as the customer was leaving the girls burst out laughing and so did the other front office staff.
I could see that the happiness and bonhomie of the sales girls was so infectious that it catches the customers too. Like it has made me rush back home and hit the blogger screen.
Shanti, the garment shop on 1st avenue indira nagar, adyar, chennai, is a must visit.

school carnival

Our neighbour called on us last week to give invitation for a carnival in a school nearby.It was on saturday. I was ambivalent about going there, even though it is just next door;but you have to go more than 500 m to enter the school which is facing the main road as it were.My neighbour insisted that we should go there and I said yes, count me in, if only to show neighbourhood bonding.
Right from 3 pm, we could hear music and lots of activities and fun and I decided to go there just after sun down.
I never expected so much of crowd there; it was very well organised with stalls manned by the school teachers. Lots of food stalls and all home made goodies. Chat items were authentic as also the masala vada and bajjis.After tasting the chutneys I was sure it was homemade and from a very capable cook.Lime juice and musambi juice were in hot demand as also ice cream stall was doing brisk business.
We tried our hand in the hoopla stall. While P was at it, actress manorama tropped in and lots of video and photo session took place. She looked just as she does in the Aachi masala ads. There was an entire group which was trooping along with her and we had a ringside view.
I was interested in all the craft items made by the school children. Very good greeting cards and fancy covers and some trinkets too were for sale. I got a few of these. I am quite a sucker for anything 'arty' as I can only appreciate and cant fold a paper for saving my life.
I found exhibits of paintings and water colour posters all along the walls.Really the role of colour and paint in our lives needs to be studied seriously for a doctorate programme.
It was only when I was coming out that I realised that it is a school for special children and also doubles as a research and training centre. I was kindly invited to visit the school during working hours.
We knew there used to be an old couple living there. Obviously they have turned the place into a trust and the trust runs this establishment.
I was ashamed to be such an ignorant neighbour. Plan to correct the mistake quite soon.

Vensons

It is one of the shops in the neighbourhood and a very friendly one at that. It cannot be easily classified and that is its charm. It actually started as a bread and pastries shop at a time when such shops were not so common. It used to stock Adyar bakery bread and it was premium stock in those days. I used to hunt for adyar bakery brown bread and many a time it would have been sold out. Of course someone at home used to be quite happy(quietly!). The modern bread makers never believed to stray beyond, sweet bread, sandwich bread and family size packs.So, the health conscious mother that i am, i will search far and near for those elusive special breads, which have 'everything for good health but leave out the crucial appeal and taste';quote unquote.
Later the shop metamorphasied into squeezing in two tiny tables and one could go there for a quick bite of samosas, vegetable puffs and cutlets. I have seen students patronise this shop mostly in the evenings and of course retired men who want to cheat on the wife with regard to calories!
With the IT boom and chennai taking on a 'north indian' flavour, chat shop has sprung up on the front portion. Paani poori, bhel puri,pav bhaji and the entire range is being offered.One more tiny table is added, but the customer activity is actually outside the shop, spilling onto the pavement.It is very convenient to have a pharmacy just next door, so pop in a gelusil after s lip smacking channa bhatura!
In between all the change in clientele, they also started stocking ' grand sweets' products. It was a big advantage for me. They will have a select range; 'what the chef desired, i guess.You go looking for seedai, but you will get ribbon pakoda instead. But i never complain; a snack by any name is still grand sweets product and that will do for me.I was a little upset that the grand sweets products occupy a very obscure corner and other non branded products have prime space. But then he is savvy i guess, pushing products that needed to be pushed!
The owner is a very sweet natured person and you feel very relaxed and nice to go to that shop.The other day i noticed his wife too at the counter and she was also quite pleasant mannered.I wonder if their pleasant dispositions are independent or dependent variables?
And the most crucial point. It closes well after the entire area has gone off to sleep. I tend to believe that the owner is actually happy being there and meeting up and serving the customers.
It is a pleasant cheerful shop and i should watch out not to become 'too satisfied' a customer.

On systems and tailors

I got an sms from my tailor sometime back. It said that my clothes are lying with him since december and could I be please take the trouble to collect them.Yes, this is my first ever sms from my tailor and I just could not remember leaving any of my stuff with him since December.I thought long and i thought hard on this subject and was definite that he has made a mistake.I went over to his shop one evening on the way back from my walk. I was quite definite that I will politely tick him off for using his mobile to give such wrong messages to me. I was even going to tell him, that while i appreciate his customer centric initiatives, would he get his data right.I remembered several such instances from my work life, where eager beaver workers got me into problems when they did not take the trouble to check some simple facts.

The owner was available ( he is one Vasu , by the way) and I told him i am here in response to his sms. He welcomed me and said can you give me the acknowledgement slip. I said i would if i have one and would he please check up how the sms got to be issued. He said he had sent that sms as part of an arrears clearing service.He showed me the bundles of stitched clothes blocking his shelf space and he said they have been with him for the last few months. Customers seem to forget to collect them once they have given it for stitching, he said.

He searched his records and when nothing emerged i was having an expression, I told you so, written large on my face. He then asked me if i have given any material under some other name.It was then it struck me that vini had given some material when she was here. I said yes, but we have collected every one of them. He then proceeded to take out a parcel and there I saw a brand new salwar suit stitched and ready since december. I recognised it as the material Rama had given to vini on her birthday.

Sheepishness replaced smugness.....

One hour went quickly by

Spent a wonderful one hour in Kalakshetra today evening.No, not to attend a performance, but to accompany my kutty niece who is learning bharatnatyam there.She goes there thrice a week in the evenings and i have gone there once earlier.This time I just wandered around and could feel the presence of Rukmini devi and the other pioneers and great people who thought about this place and made it what it is today by their painstaking effort blended with lots of love and affection.Rukmini devi's penchant for grace and beauty can be felt everywhere.The way the small cottages are built and maintained, there is nothing ostentacious about them and they blend in beautifully with the surroundings.There are simple and beautiful kolams and floral patterns adorning the steps and the verandah of each of these cottages.You can feel the care and delicacy that they portray. Nothing is mass produced here. Nobody is in a hurry for anything. I saw students going from one class to another with a leisurely gait and a happy countenance.

Tha ka dimi, tha kita tha kita nattuvangam sounds were coming muted from the classrooms.I could see a dance rehersal in an auditorium nearby and the vocalist was singing really well and i stopped my walk and listened to the music.It gently washed over me.Time stood still. Gentle breeze was blowing and a lone koel was singing from a nearby tree;the evening sun was casting slating rays on the mud roads.

Kalakshetra from inception has got a tradition of male dancers and i could see that the trend is continuing till today.

I almost felt like being in valmiki ashram as depicted in ramayana!

I said a silent prayer; let time and tide not take away these heaven feel-alike places from Chennai.