Most memories of hospitals tend to be unpleasant, something one would rather forget; unless of course if you happen to be a doctor or a care giver! With my in-laws I have had several hospital occasions and yes I would gladly forget all of them…..but one.

This one is from about 16-17 years ago when my MIL was at Sancheti Hospital for a wrist surgery. My husband being an only child and with the extended family all being based outside Pune, hospital duty was basically split between hubby and me. So long days spent at Sancheti for me, most of which would be spent amusing myself looking at the traffic chaos from the window, and at the Kala Niketan showroom across the street. So now you know where this story is headed 🙂

On the last night there, I saw frantic activity in the showroom. Barricades being put up, etc, and then finally that four letter word that all women love went up in the windows – SALE!! For those of you who have not witnessed a Kalaniketan sale in those days – it is a stampede, shop empties out by end of the day, and you are lucky if you have managed to grab anything 🙂 So I had an exciting night, waiting for the morning when I could walk across to the store for my shopping! But as it was the last day at the hospital, billing bureaucracy kept me inside all morning, and discharge was slated for noon! Then just before I gave up hope, I was told that we needed to wait another hour while they finished the processing – magic to my ears! I dashed off to the store, and saw an impossible crowd in front of the silks section. Then seeing a gap among the gorgettes, I headed there and grabbed the first available saree that caught my fancy, and then straight off to the billing counter.

So here is # 47, my fastest saree purchase to date. An off white gorgette with black paisley print, and a splash of green, red and orange color on a wide border and palla. Accessorized with a multicolored beaded necklace from Diva, and draped for a demanding day at work.