12/100: Love at first sight. It’s what I felt for this saree the moment I saw it in the store. The candy-pink and sky-blue combination with a temple border. What’s not to love? I couldn’t wait to have the soft Tussar-Cotton brush my skin, wrap me and hold me! I was committed. I got the blouse done almost immediately. It was Diwali and I had to show off this one to everybody. As I began draping it, it started to act funny. It wouldn’t listen. It wouldn’t stay in one place. It would bunch up, twist, turn and curl. After fighting with it for almost half-hour, securing it with five safety pins–don’t even ask me where all I had to pin it up–I came out looking messed up and shapeless, as if I had put on a blue fridge cover. Just look at the picture! Since then, the few times I’ve worn it, it has given me trouble!

The thing about love at first sight is that it’s not always long-lasting but then you don’t feel like giving up on it! This is not a saree I wear too often because of how it behaves but I can’t help having a certain soft corner for it. I take it out once in a while, brace myself for the onslaught and wear it, hoping some day I’ll be able to tame it.

Yesterday, I wore it to my workshop because I was telling a story about Urashima Taro and this seemed like the right fit. My relationship with this saree is just like the elusive love between Urashima and Otohime!