Could you please show me some bright colours? I don’t
want light shades since they will get dirty too quickly. I told the sales lady
at the XYZee Baby store. We should not bombard our thoughts keeping any shop
keeper on the radar J. Hence I don’t wish
to mention the name of the shop.
We had come to purchase some dresses for our Kuttu.
Well, his reported name is Arjunsarathy but who addresses him like that? Kuttu
is one of the many names which we use to call him and drive his attention
whenever possibleJ. Buying dresses
for kids is really a gratifying experience. I can boldly swear that I have
never enjoyed this much while buying one for my own self. Its true and it can
be realized only when you become a dad or a mom and shop for your son J
Let’s get back to the store now. The sales lady
showed me various designs. Brand names like Zero, Popees, Ollypop, Teddy and
what not. I was smiling within. Does Kuttu even know what they mean? Does it
really make a difference? As long as it’s Made in India, I am good. The dress
should definitely be comfortable. I kept mum. The colours were captivating. From
orange, to yellow to bright Prussian blue. I have enjoyed squeezing these
colours from painting tubes and spreading them on my drawing sheet using
brushes. Felt really good that such wide variance of colours is available today.
There was a teddy print which I was looking for. I asked the sales lady if she
had any with those patterns. “We don’t grind the same flour again Sir”, a loud
voice boomed from the back. I turned towards the shop owner who was standing
behind. A tall man with a dark complexion. Two of the front teeth crossing the boundaries
of lower lips. The specs on his face just added to the grin. He started stringing
the beads of self praise. “We never stock the same design again Sir. There are
new arrivals every week. All of these come from Bombay. Our premium customers keep
asking for variety. All the brands you see here are the prime ones which their
kids wish to wear.”
His words irritated me more. As if to say that all
kids actually took birth to wear these brands and market them. I realized that it’s
useless to argue or make any comments to them. Their prime motive is to
increase the currency in their accounts. Hence their customers have to be
premium class only. You know what I mean J
I asked him to bill the 2 dresses that we had
decided upon. Just then I noticed a person, somewhere in his 30s, checking the
items on the display shelves. There were shoes, socks, toys, T Shirts and what
not. His eyes beamed at them as if to buy everything he saw. He walked further
pretty slowly and asked something to the sales lady. She did not seem
interested. “Even last time you came here and asked me to show dresses for your kid. I spent a lot of time and finally you left the shop without buying anything. Tell
me what you really want so that I can show you that”. Her words were louder
than usual and her face had a chuckle. My dad and I were listening to this
conversation while getting the credit card swiped.
His face turned pale for obvious reasons. He probably
felt insulted. The man smiled and said something. He was so low that we could
not hear him at all. The shop owner paused his swiping for a moment and said. “We also work
very hard from morning till evening. We can’t keep wasting our time. Tell me
your budget and we will tell you if there is anything in store for you”. I don’t
know what value this man pronounced but heard back a hitting response. “We don’t
have any dresses fitting this price”.
What right does a person have to insult others? Just
because he does not have money, does his child become any less precious? Does
he not have the right to even step into the shop? If you flip the coin, you
might rather ask him – Does he not know his financial status? Why does he need to get
into a shop where the prices are bound to be high?
Unfortunately, however practical a man is, his mind fails
when he thinks of his kid. His heart goes a step beyond to wish for things
which he otherwise can’t buy for his children. Don’t know if we can consider
him wrong here.
I felt really bad inside. My dad somehow realized
that he is a mallu and could thus strike a conversation easily. He patted lightly on his shoulder and said, “Don’t get disheartened
due to this incident. There is no rule which says that you need to buy branded
attires for your kids. I am sure you will find affordable ones in other shops. It’s
more important that we are treated well as customers before we make a decision
to buy anything from the shop.” He smiled but dint speak anything. He rushed to open the glass door and move out.
This incident somewhere leaves me with mixed thoughts.
I am sure that there are many kids around us whose parents can’t afford a proper
attire for them. Leave alone those who cant earn a living. Are they any less than our kids? On the contrary, such kids
live their lives witnessing the ups and downs of their family. They are more
grounded. More close to reality. Will our kids ever know of such hardships? Could this potentially make them another arrogant human just like that shop owner
whom I met last night? If so, who should be blamed for this?
