N’s chaniya choli fixation is growing by the day. She wants to wear it for ever party, every festival (Which she rhymes with astabal ‘fastabal’ says she), every event. According to her the ‘perfect’ dress should reach down to her toes, should go ‘round and round’ (in other words – should have a flare) and should have a dupatta – a chaniya choli fits the bill to the T.
At a birthday….
Once I allowed her to wear it for a birthday party and she drove me up the wall. No matter how I draped the dupatta it was just not right. Finally, she covered her head like an old-fashioned bride and asked me ‘mama aise jaa sakti hoon?’
Hanging on to my patience, ‘No,’ I told her, she couldn’t. We worked out a compromise and she went off to the party with the dupatta slung over her shoulder. When I went later to the party… there she was jiving away to the beats of Mauja hi Mauja with the dupatta on her head!
I know when I’ve lost a battle.
Then there was the Christmas party at school…
This time I was prepared. Predictably enough the CC controversy came up again. No way was I going to let her wear the same thing to school. She’d worn it for Diwali and Children’s Day already. Besides this was Christmas. So I got her a lovely (and very expensive) red and white dress – all frills and lace. She seemed thrilled with it. She even went far enough to proclaim in her typically dramatic manner ‘Itni sunder frock maine life mein nahin dekhi’. And then after a few days she says ‘Mama that frock is nice but next time, get me a chaniya choli’. Back to square one.
PS: Tonight we have Lohri celebrations in the society and since it’s a ‘fastabal’ I’m ready with her CC.