So I have something very interesting to share with you all today.
5:30 am-this morning
My house help was cleaning the house…I was sitting in my living room,with my legs folded on sofa,reading and enjoying my morning fuel-my cup of tea.in between we both exchange a note or two ,she likes to talk about her kids and how she was so beautiful before she attained motherhood.i always tell her that her beauty might have gone a notch higher after motherhood…perhaps this is what she always wants to hear hence she broaches this topic over n over again.
Last night my hubby and I had gone out for dinner ..since we came back pretty late so I just left the high heels I was wearing in the living room itself-beautiful red coloured pencil heels.
She cleaned the carpet..n carefully picked them…looked at them with such dreamy eyes…I could see the twinkle in her eyes….
She took few seconds n then placed them aside….
But she kept turning back and looking at them….it was quite interesting and endearing to see this 28something pretty belle feel tempted to feel them….or perhaps try them on too…
I kept my book aside,,,n called her…
“Do you like these….?” I asked pointing towards my stilettos
She blushed n turned totally red in her cheeks…..
“No no….”
“Shotti bolo…aapni eta bhalobasena?” (My Bengali ain’t great but I try to converse in Bengali with them…sometimes they burst out laughing perhaps I totally change the sense of a sentence..n sometimes I surprise them with my accuracy)
She blushed n nodded her head…-an affirmation…she admitted to her attraction .
“Put them on…..”I said
She looked surprised….
“Na didi ami pore jete pari” (no didi I might fall)
“Kicchu hoe na…..wear them “(nothing would happen..wear them )
She reluctantly slipped her feet inside the grail of desire for her-My humble stiletto
Ah the story of Cinderella came alive……
She wore them….n took few seconds to balance herself on her feet…..
I asked her to go n see herself in the full length mirror….
She held the wall n walked slowly…perhaps the tortoise n snail would have also given her a tough competition …
Finally she stood before the mirror….admiring herself….
But here comes the highlight of the whole episode
She had lifted her sari up in order to admire the stilettos fitting pretty in her feet….but
She never looked at her feet………she kept looking at her beaming face….the gleeful visage ….the spark in her eyes…the joy of a child..the excitement of a young lady….the untameable grin…..
She wasn’t bothered about what gave her joy…she was more interested to see the JOY itself….she could t take her eyes off her face….perhaps she would have seldom found her so happy…something that she would have never done for herself…that brought her joy…
She said excitedly….”ki shundor…”( how beautiful)
“Ke…apni ba juta? I asked (what…you or teh shoe )
She blushed n almost tripped….
I left her there in the total privacy of her newly found beautiful avatar….
After few minutes she came out holding them in her hand….very happy but a hint of sadness was scribbled somewhere in her eyes…..
“I couldn’t walk in these….they looked good but it made me fall…looks good but I can’t afford it neither can I walk in these”
She was right…….such are certain dreams in life…they look good…but very difficult to attain…or even if we can,we need to question ourselves ..are they worth it…are they practical…just because certain things are beautiful when we see them on the other side of the rainbow n get tempted…but we need to question ourselves-are they really meant for us…..
Another lesson I derived was…..that the things we do exclusively for ourselves …gives us tremendous joy…n it shows in our behaviour…,personality…face..eyes and finally translates into a contented smile…….then why not?sometimes it’s ok to do things only for our own happiness….after all “my being “is very important in my own life…..
She forgot to see the shoes ….as she was too smitten to see her smile..perhaps a smile she would have seldom seen……n she was so lost in that moment that she completely forgot about my poor stilettos………
After half an hour she comes and says..
“Didi hoi gecche ,ami ashchi “ she informed me before leaving
“Wait….take these” I handed her a small bag …it had another pair of my heels.. not the pencil heels(perhaps 2inches )it was something she could wear,bask in the glory of her Cinderella moment…n cherish them as “moi moments de bonheur “-kathachitram by Shailja
