@ the Baby Store – Feb 04 2017

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?