For the Love of Shopping

Today I Bought a Bag (Feb 2008)

It was yet again a boring Monday according to me, but destiny had other plans to make it an eventful day. Me and my Creative Head Shaily were chilling on our beautiful office terrace and smoking suddenly she came up with the idea of going shopping since there was nobody else in the office and we could easily step out saying that we were going for a script meeting, though Shaily doesn’t make a good shopping partner but still I agreed as shopping is my first love. We left the office at 4:00pm in Shaily's car which she for some reason used to call "Chotu". However we sat in Chotu and it was a 15 minutes drive and reached Inorbit Mall at exactly 4:15, shopping is my life, so as soon as we parked Chotu I headed towards Shoppers Stop but sadly couldn't find anything exciting, though Shaily bought a couple of things from there and I was getting annoyed with myself it was already half an hour and I hadn’t bought a single thing.

Our next stop was Esbeda, it’s a local brand of Bags and accessories, it can be called Mumbai ka Channel in bags, though it’s a little expensive brand but I like their stuff. We spent some time looking for some nice bag for Shaily but she didn't like any, we were planning to leave when my eyes fell on this amazing multi-colored leather bag. It was one hell of a bag it was just the right size and it had all me favorite colors purple, yellow, green and black, it had purple leather design running over the yellow back ground with a little green and black detailing. Oh! It was gorgeous. I picked up the bag and was trying it in front of the mirror all excited and I asked Shaily how was it? She was indifferent she said it was okay, that very instant I knew she was jealous of my choice.

Hah! I was gonna buy that bag and then carry it every day to make her more jealous. I asked the sales guy for the price he said it was for Fifteen One Eighty. I told him to pack it immediately before Shaily talks me out of it. Shaily said it was a damn expensive bag and I shouldn't be wasting my money, see I knew she was jealous and paying Fifteen Hundred for a bag was not a big deal I have even more expensive bags. I took the bag gave the sales guy my debit card which thankfully had a lot of money as it was just 8^th of Feb. and my salary had just came in. He gave me the receipt I happily singed it and took my precious multi-colored Esbeda bag and I walked out of the store with new confidence. Shaily was still cribbing and yapping something about prioritizing my life and money management and something, but I wasn’t really listening just nodding. I was smiling inside for being the possessor of such a cheap and gorgeous bag which people would think is worth some Four Thousand Rupees. Shaily dropped me at the Juhu circle I took a rickshaw and rushed home as I wanted to show my beautiful bag to my flat mate and my best friend Jojo (short of Jyoti). I called her up on the way and told her about the bag, she was already sounding excited. I love Jojo as she understands me and my shopping addiction completely and no matter what I buy or how much I spend she always loves my stuff.

I reached home at 7 in the evening Jojo was sipping her tasteless without-sugar tea and reading the newspaper she had just gotten up as she studies at night and wakes up in the evening, she is preparing for her exams she is doing her B.E, which is again a big connect between me and her as I am also an Engineer, I know hard to believe but true I am an Electronics and Communications Engineer and proud to be one though I never took engineering seriously I just scraped through my exams and there I am with a professional degree, it has no connect with my current profession but you know it leaves a good impression and sounds cool too. I totally understand her plight. She was super excited to see my bag we jumped on the bed for at least 10mins before collapsing on the same. She was awestruck that I got such an amazing bag for just 15 hundred bucks and we decided that we will tell Jiya (our third flat mate we call her M.J not as Michael Jackson but as Moti Jyoti) that the bag is worth 5 thousand. It was 8 already and Jojo had to study so I decided to go out with Rahul (my current boyfriend whom Jojo doesn’t like much but I feel he is totally marriage material).

He picked me up for dinner and after dinner we went to his house for a cup of coffee it was already 11pm and I was too sleepy I had to be at office the next day, so we planned to call it a night. Right when I was entering the building lift to go home my phone beeped. It was an sms, generally no one smses me this late in the night except when we are palnning to go clubbing as in me and JoJo but that was out of question as she was having her exams so I checked it immediately it was from HDFC bank saying "your account has been debited Rs.15,180/- towards Esbeda today at 4:45pm" it took me a minute to understand what I had just read, I was in shock I asked Rahul to read the message for me and tell me what does this mean. He told me it was pretty clearly written that I had bought a bag worth Fifteen thousand rupees from Esbeda. I told him that I had bought a bag but it was just for fifteen hundred and the store guys have cheated me. Rahul asked me if I had checked the receipt before signing it and I just couldn't say anything because I never check anything before signing and a shopping receipt of all the things I mean who checks them. He asked me that has the sales man given you a counter receipt I said yes he did and I should sue them on the basis of that receipt. I rushed home and checked my bag and the receipt it was written in bold there that the bag was worth 15,180 and not 15,80. I was in tears by this time, Jojo came out of the room she asked me to check the price-tag on the bag I checked it and it read in black bold letters MRP Rs.15,180/-. I started crying hysterically and Jojo started laughing the same way even Rahul started laughing, yet again I had made a fool out of myself all because of my shopping addiction. Also I was wrong about Jojo understanding me and my addiction, she doesn't.

- Sneh

…to be continued.

My Nails: A Testimonial

There are a very few things which I truly adore in life and on top of this list are my nails. (Note: I m talking about things and not people, so there.) Well for a larger part of my life, I believed that I had ugly hands. Actually not ugly hands, I have beautiful long fingers but for some reason God decided to give me unusually small nail beds, in turn I had these small nails which could neither be grown long nor left to what they were. I somehow managed with ugly nails all through my school and college life but when I came to Mumbai and started working I became more conscious about my appearance and then I realized that well groomed nails are a must for one’s professional growth(my belief).

About 2 years ago, at the behest of my then boyfriend (who thought my nails were horrible and he got manicures done every week); I started to get my nails “done’. This means getting them lengthened and strengthened with all sorts of fake gels and acrylic nail-tips. Though Jojo (my roommate) was not too sure about this idea but as she always does, she encouraged me. And now I have the most beautiful nails in the world, they are square in shape just like Kareena’s, no not really like Kareena’s because her nails are way too square and sometimes remind me of all those girls in porn films with square nails and French manicures, mine are a little rounder in shape, but not too round also because that makes them look natural which is not cool.

The best part of having fake nails is, people now notice my hands more than my ever growing tummy. In a way this is my style of getting peoples’ attention off my fatness (I know I am smart. He he). I am confident and dynamic person altogether when I have my fake nails on. I try and gesticulate more with my hands even when not required I take pen and paper and start taking notes in the not-so-fruitful channel meetings and there has not been a single meeting by far where I have not been complemented on my nails. I am so proud of them.

I am utterly dependent upon my nails now without them I feel like a lost puppy or more like Jai without Veeru, I feel naked and powerless. Whenever I have an important meeting or a party or for that matter even a job interview the first thing I do is get my nails filled because grey hair don’t matter to me actually they make me look matured and intelligent but I seriously cannot afford a broken nail.

I always thought I was commitment phobic and before my marriage I met a friend of mine who is incidentally a psychologist I told her about my recurring dream of waking up, on my wedding day with all my nails broken, she was quite for some time then she told me in her deep psychologist voice, “You know Sneh, this is the first time in my life I have heard about someone dreaming about their nails, you seriously are in trouble I shall refer you to a senior doctor.” I was shocked for a moment and I seriously started thinking that I am loosing it but then I saw at her fingers curled on her coffee mug and that very moment I understood this girl will never understand what it means to lose a nail which you have grown with so much love and care, because she had the worst nails I ever saw. I always knew she was a nerd but this little observation confirmed my doubt. I don’t think I should blame her, earlier when I was a tom-boy (a fact hard to digest) I used to laugh at the girly girls who considered breaking a nail as a disaster. But now I totally understand their plight, it is as bad as bald patch on your head.

I never in my life had a chance to buy nail paints and apply them, though my elder sister had this fancy collection of nail colors and used to change her nail paint every week , I seriously thought that she needed medical help for her condition of obsessive love for her nails, but believe you me I was wrong. Trust me there is an orgasmic pleasure in grooming your nails. Now I have a unique made-to-order nail paint kit which I got made last year before my marriage it’s a golden round kit and it holds all the stuff one needs for nail grooming like nail cutter, cuticle remover, nail paint removers and all my lovely colors ranging from “femme fatale red” to the glittery ones from clear coats to opalescents, my personal all time favorite is a clean French manicure but I also apply some more shades depending upon my mood and the weekly horoscope. Rahul too has contributed to my nail passion; he was the one who paid for the custom made nail paint kit and also for all the things inside that kit. Well what can I say, he is one supportive husband.

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Sneh

The Interview : from my point of view

Today I went for an interview:

There is a big problem with me, I cannot call it commitment phobia but if we look closely it can come under that category, well what I am talking about is that I cannot work for a particular company for more than 6 months. I know it sounds weird but as soon as I am 6 months old in the company have this unignorable itch to move on and by this time I start feeling all sorts of discomforts with my job. But this time I have out shined myself, I have been working at endemol (a television production house)for full 8 months now yes that’s a record may be because I m in love with the team and the theme of the show is also young and vibrant so I have been hanging on. I have been avoiding this voice in my head for quite some time now, which says “move on, you can do better than this.” But yesterday opportunity knocked on my door, yes I am talking about a job proposal, yes these extremely nice people heard about me from the few friends I have and decided to offer me a job. But now this stupid voice in my head is saying “don’t go Sneh this is what you always wanted, stick around.” I know this voice in the head is confusing me big time. Well I had promised to meet these people so I must.

I called up this firm and took an appointment of 2pm in the afternoon, by this time my master (master as in Episode master and not my master because I am my own mistress) had left and I was planning to eat my lunch. I thought of calling these guys and telling them that I will be coming tomorrow but then I thought, beggars are not choosers so its better that I take this opportunity and go and meet these (very kind) people who have considered me for the job. I took a rickshaw to this place which was less than 5 mins from my current office I took a rickshaw whose driver looked really inspired from Tollywood heroes , he was wearing aviator goggles and was smoking in full Rajnikant style, he drove though the traffic like nobody’s business.

I reached the reception and a very rude looking receptionist gave me a weird look the one which says what makes you think wearing this pink and blue cotton salwar kameez will help you get a job in a reputed firm like ours?. I was intimidated by her look but continued in my I-am-just-back-from-Malaysia style, “Hi!! I am here to meet Ms. Joyita; I have an appointment at 2pm.” She again gave me the same look and I realized that it was 20mins past 2. Anyways she gestured me to sit.

I was sitting at the reception sofa, which was again not very comforting, I saw myself in the huge mirror on the opposite wall I noticed that me “Mrs. Snehil D Mehra” who is proclaimed to be one of the best dressers in the city (by myself), today for some reason has chosen to wear a Pink and Blue cotton salwar kameez which is worn out by millions of washes and has faded a little, and classic black aunty style Black flip flops also have put sindoor on my forehead like a typical TV soap daughter-in-law, now I realized why the receptionist was giving me that kind of a look. I got really self conscious but it was too late the rude receptionist asked me to go one floor up and meet the concerned lady. I chose to take the stairs as it will show how sensible I am and how I can walk an extra mile for the job, but actually I was buying time to analyze myself. The only saving grace was my huge silver Espirit watch and of course and the diamonds I was wearing in my ears and fingers(I love you Sasu maa),also I was glad that I had visited Nail spa a day before(will tell you about my love of nails some other time). I reached the 5^th floor and a handsome looking man smiled at me, I was suddenly filled with new confidence. A girl showed me to a room where this lady was sipping chai and was probably facebooking, she was the one I came to meet. We shared pleasantries and she told me she was not going to interview me but it will be a guy, I felt so relieved because in interviews I find myself more comfortable with men(I know what your dirty minds are thinking but I m just comfortable because it’s easier to impress a guy than a girl). She asked me to follow the girl who accompanied me to her room. The girl took me to a computer and asked me to take print of my own Resume from my email. I was ecstatic that she asked me to do it myself, I quickly took the opportunity and changed years of experience to 4 which is actually 3. I took the print out and made a face of humble Mother Teresa. The girl asked me to wait as the guy who was supposed to meet was in the washroom.

I was looking around and thinking which cabin will they be giving me. The handsome looking man who was smiling at me earlier emerged from somewhere and I smiled at him again, he came close to me wiping his specs and said “Hi are u Sneh?” I nodded and he said I am Mr. Benerjee and I will be interviewing you, I was shocked for a minute he was a gorgeous man, yes gorgeous is not always used to express charm of a man but he was actually gorgeous. I took a close look at him he was wearing the classic blue jeans and white shirt combination and once he put his glasses on he was looking awesome. He had little grayish hair he might be in his early forties but he looked well kept, I scanned him from top to bottom he was wearing casual brown loafers with his ensemble, I have observed he is a very stylish man but in a subtle way. I was a little shaken with this charming man’s personality but regained my Malaysia return confidence and said “cool lets proceed with the interview.”

He chose to sit outside in the smoking area. He asked me for chai coffee and I was happy that he is chivalrous and sweet too also he had the most deep heavy voice I have ever heard not like Amrish Puri deep but somewhat like Amitabh Bachchan deep, I want to work with this man already. Well he started reading my resume and it felt for a while that he was trying to find out spelling mistakes. I was wondering why he is taking so long, is he stunned by my beauty and trying to cover up by burying his face in the resume or he is really reading it and thinking what a fat liar I am. He lit a cigarette and looked at me for the first time in past 10mins. I was smiling but at the same time hoping that I am not grinning like a “first-time-in-love” teenager.

He thoughtfully asked me, “So you seem to have a lot of experience.” I thought damn he has calculated my years of experience and I am going to be thrown out of this office. But he continued in his deep voice. “Sneh I think your resume is quite intriguing as I have never seen such a detailed and up to the mark resume, I have met some 10 people in past 2 weeks and I think by far yours is the best resume.” I was so happy, thanks to Akshay a long lost friend who helped me make my resume, God bless him. Mr. B kept talking about the company and the responsibilities I will have if I join. He didn’t ask me anything except me current salary, for which again I lied and told them was getting 10 thousand more than what I am actually getting. I was so glad that he was taking my interview. For exactly 45 mins he was speaking and all this while I was either smiling or nodding or saying “exactly”. When he stopped I said a big thank you. He said he will be hopefully calling me back and I was happy again. A. because the lecture was over and B.I couldn’t have sat mute for even a single minute now. I took the lift and didn’t even stop to say a proper bye to the handsome man. I rushed out of the building and dialed my husband’s no. as I had missed his 2 calls during the so called interview. Its such a relief talking to Rahul, I can be me and I know he knows about all my lies, I love him so much because he gives me my space and never asks me how much did I loose in the card party or why is my credit card bill beyond limit. Well I am back to my current office and writing this anecdote. It’s still a mystery as to whether the handsome man will call me back or no but one thing is for sure that it was the best job interview of my life.

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Sneh