#100sareepact #sareesin2016 #JaipurLiteraryFestival<\/p>\n
I had said to myself that this time I will travel light , just carry two pairs of jeans and a couple of jackets and be Queen of Grunge at the Lit Fest . It had also been very , very cold the last two years with a couple of rain marred days thrown in so it seemed a sensible option .
\nBut then at the last minute I sneaked in a few sarees just in case . Of course that was my undoing and as Day One dawned bright and blue and sunny outside my window I said to myself Chalo , let me begin with a saree and take it from there and as you can see it has been saree upon saree only on all the other days too.
\nThe weather has been perfect and it’s been so much fun to team the sarees and the blouses and the jackets and shawls and no the result mist definitely has not been Grunge. Far from it . So it has been the Saree and the 100SareePact all the way .
\nAnd, almost right from the moment that first day I walked into the grounds of the Diggi Palace where the Lit Fest is held I have been stopped in my tracks by women who have recognised me from the Pact .
\nAnd some of them fellow Pacters too !
\nIt’s such an incredible feeling, the way the Pact and the manner in which I have embraced it has brought so many wonderful people into my life . People who have been so kind and appreciative and read my posts and shared them with their husbands and remembering little things I’ve said .
\nYoungsters coming up saying they love my saree , my bangles and the way I’ve matched colours ; even an engaging young couple who were documenting the Jaipur Street Style they found at the festival and thought the way I wore and matched my “real hair” with my silver jewellery was cool \ud83d\ude42 And yes , this is my Great Get Away From It All when all I want is to just be one amongst thousands of book aficionados but that’s not really possible and not really what I want . Cancer and cancer care is what I am involved in day in and day out and there’s no getting away from it. And I guess I don’t want to either . It’s my identity and being on line and being connected via my various devices I have been working mornings and nights and there for my team and my patients.
\nWhat has reinforced the fact that I can never really be too far away from cancer is the fact that the first five people I met and interacted with on the very first day itself have all each of them been personally and intimately been touched by cancer . The English Literature professor who did her thesis on Margaret Atwood , the HR head of a publishing house , a soon to be published author from California, a political commentator from Michigan , a journalist …and I catch myself resonating to their feelings and emotions as they briefly share their stories with me .
\nI guess you carry your calling card with you no matter where and when and why you go someplace .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
#100sareepact #sareesin2016 #JaipurLiteraryFestival I had said to myself that this time I will travel light , just carry two pairs of jeans and a couple of jackets and be Queen of Grunge at the Lit Fest . It had also been very , very cold the last two years with a couple of rain marred…<\/p>\n