RAINING CATS & DOGS... SALE...SALE & MORE SALE

If you are a woman and happen to see a series of hoardings screaming 'SALE' or '% Discount', on every cross-road of the city, I bet you can't ignore it. And believe me, I am no different. I don't know about rains, but sale is definitely raining cats and dogs in Ahmedabad. Crossing umpteen similar hoardings on my way to office, the conscience of a shopaholic, only grew stronger. Even during hectic work, images of 'upto 70%' and 'Flat 50%' flashed in my mind. In this situation of crisis, colleagues always come to rescue. Thanks to like-minded colleagues, they accompanied me to a shopping spree, as they too were going through anxiety about the entire 'sale' hoopla.

We explored many retail chains and malls. At one place, only a small section in a huge store offered discount, while in the other store, though they promised discount upto 50%, what they offered on various clothing lines and accessories was not even half of it. Slowly we realised that the tiny 'upto' was quite deceiving. However, once inside the jam packed malls, you feel useless if you come out without a shopping bag; sometimes even embarrassing. If you want to stick to your shopping plans, Darwin's theory 'survival of the fittest' works the best here. You need to swarm through the crowd where people are falling over each other, scan through the collection, save yourself from those nudging elbows, grab the right colour and size, stand in the long queue for trial and even billing. And after all this if you come out hale and hearty, you can be certified as a true and a good shopper!

We too were trying our best to be good shoppers as we scanned through the collection. We were looking out for something in purple and checks in particular, as one of my colleagues wanted to add something trendy to her wardrobe. And we decided to help her; be it a top, a kurti, an evening gown or even a night suit. We did not pay heed to the designs as far as it was 'purple'.

“Eeks! How LS,” she frowned. “This is very similar to what Ms Y (our acquaintance) wears.”

“Wow, finally its here. This is cool. But it's too expensive, does not into my budget even after discount,” she said looking at the price tag.

Just then I overheard a mom-daughter conversation.
“Hey mom, this looks good. Can I try this one?” A teen-aged girl asked, virtually fixing a white chikan kurti on her.

“Wow, it's nice! Don't try, just buy it,” mom replied, with a twinkle in her eye.

Ah! those were the days when mom dressed her princess in the best attires, without bothering about the prices or discounts. Times have changed now. Being on our own, we always need to think twice before grabbing a thing or two. Nevertheless, an experience of window shopping too is seldom fun... seldom.Shopping too is an experience of mixed emotions; anxiety, excitement, fun, disappointment, sometimes anger and jealousy and it even takes you down the memory lane!

After two hours of hunting, we finally came out of the mall, empty handed. The discounts were not only disappointing but also misleading. We kept checks and purple for the next round of shopping! And all those who are going to fall prey to the attractive hoardings on the roads and advertisements in newspapers, happy shopping!!!