Romance in the saree

She had grown up in an era when Yash Chopra movies had defined what romance looked like... Lush green valleys, snow-capped mountains in the background and a sheer saree clad beauty singing soulful melodies with the love of her life. Ever since her teenage she had dreamed of the same. When she did reach the time and she was about to marry the love of her life, the desire in her heart to run around in lush green valley grew stronger. Together they booked a honeymoon to Switzerland.

She went around shopping for her trousseau sarees with her mom and aunts. While the ladies looked out for heavy silks, the banarasis and the ikats, her own eyes searched for a plain sheer chiffon or georgette saree in white. In the busy market in Chandni Chowk one day, her eyes spotted what her heart was looking for. Plain white sheer chiffon with a designer border, it was the closest to what she was looking for. She quietly asked the salesman to take it out for her and slipped it in the lot kept aside for her. When the lot reached the billing counter, just before the bar code scan could pass through, her bua spotted the white saree and raised an alarm, "Arre, yeh safed saree kisne yahan rakh di... Hatao ise! Shaadi mein koi safed saree khareedta hai kya?" And before she could protest, the saree went back on the shelves. Heart-broken, she thought that the dream would have to wait a few years.

The day before the wedding, she was double-checking whether everything was packed properly. As she opened the suitcase that was packed for her honeymoon, she saw a transparent white fabric peek out. She removed the jeans to reveal a gorgeous sheer white pure Muslin saree with beautiful Jamdaani floral vines. "Kyun? Pasand hai na?" her mom asked from behind. She turned around surprised, "Maa? White saree?" "White kahan hai? Colourful flowers toh hain? Tumhe aisi hi saree chahiye thi naa? Sridevi jaisi?" She didn't say anything but just hugged her mom tight. Moms just know what you want.

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