60/100. Take two women. In allied professions. With several common experiences. Both in love with sarees. And both natural-born storytellers. And you have two dedicated pactors who also happen to be friends.

I met Jhelum through work. And connected over a shared love of food, a common affinity for sarcasm, and yes, a common interest in teasing the very shy Italian chef who was dishing up the delicacies that day. As we met and interacted more, I realised that the connection went beyond the superficial. I somehow felt that if we ever talked, we would discover quite a few common experiences as well. And so it was.

We have been planning a saree date for just the two of us for the longest time and this day, we just happened to make it work. She had to work this Sunday and as her office is closed to home, a breakfast date it was.

We met. We talked. We laughed. And yes, we dabbed at our eyes, trying to flick off the spill over. Sometimes we managed, sometimes we didn’t.
Among other things, we spoke of the pact. Of how bringing out the sarees and the memories, airing both and then, writing the stories have been been a revisiting of the faces and phases that have made our lives what they are. How it has been a catharsis, almost…

As we talked, quite a few times I thought what a strange sight it must have been to the other guests at the restaurant – two women in sarees smiling away and chatting away and then dabbing at their eyes – almost in a cycle.

But I would like to think that we made up for that once we got into photosession mode. Posing away in the beautiful lawns in our pretty sarees. She’s wearing a yellow Satya Paul with an all-over floral print, while my Satya Paul is a plain, strawberry-ice cream coloured crepe with pale pink and yellow flowers blooming along the border and the palla. This is one of my happy sarees and has always managed to lift my spirits with its pretty cheerfulness.

As we talked of shared hurts as women, we also talked of how our experiences as girls had shaped us. A text message reminded us that it was the International Day of the Girl Child. We spoke of how we know it will be different – with a fierce certainty – for all the little girls who walk the world today.

Both the sarees are delicately feminine, dainty almost. But both are worn by fearless and determined women. And so, this story, a celebration of fierce femininity… ?