{"id":3622,"date":"2016-06-08T20:06:21","date_gmt":"2016-06-08T14:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3622"},"modified":"2016-06-08T20:06:21","modified_gmt":"2016-06-08T14:36:21","slug":"diwali-shopping-dadar-indian-mothers-maharashtrians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=3622","title":{"rendered":"The Diwali Shopathon: When Mothers Bargain Like Pros and Children Become their Personal Coolies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cS<\/span><\/p><\/div>

agla fresh aani best quality cha fakt Dadar la bhet ta,\u201d said my grandmother, the greatest <\/span>haggler <\/span><\/a>our clan has ever seen. Loosely, it meant that if you were looking to purchase anything fresh, dope, or sick, you\u2019d only find it at Dadar. And heeding her infinite wisdom, our family began an annual tradition: the Diwali shopping spree at no other place but Dadar.<\/span>\n\nAfter grandma, my <\/span>mother <\/span><\/a>took up the mantle of planning this epic expedition. What she brought to the table in determination to get the job done, I matched with sheer unenthusiasm. It was enough for her to appoint me as her private coolie. <\/span>\n\nFor this shopping trip to Dadar, you had to be geared up. \u201cPahilech bolte, don\u2019t wear chappals. You\u2019ll start complaining about your aching feet. Wear your shoes,\u201d<\/span> she warned me. This wasn\u2019t some stroll in the <\/span>park<\/span><\/a>, this trek along Ranade Road was like Sparta. My brand new Nike flip-flops had given way last year. So this time, to keep up with mom\u2019s pace I geared up; I put on my running shoes. \u00a0<\/span>\n\nIf mom was a queen, Dadar would be her kingdom. It brings out a different side to her normally benign personality. In Dadar however, she bargains like a pro and bolts from one shop to another. Nothing seems to bother her here \u2013 not the cramped spaces, not the overbearing smell of spices, loud <\/span>noise<\/span><\/a>s, \u00a0not even the people stepping on her toes. \u201cIf you get lost I\u2019m not coming to find you,\u201d she usually tells me channelling her take-no-prisoners <\/span>Marathi <\/span><\/a>maushi avatar, as she steps into the first shop, a 10×10 box where you could find \u201cA-1 bhandis (utensils)\u201d. Every pot, pan, and spoon in our house has come from A-1.<\/span>\n\nWhen I was little this was my least favourite stop. Mum is too picky about her utensils and spends way too much time here. As a toddler, the shopkeeper would hand me a fork and pot and I\u2019d sit on his galla and happily create a racket. Now there\u2019s little to keep myself entertained, other than make small talk with the kaka on the counter. This year, we were at A-1 to buy a new chakli press because I couldn\u2019t shut up about how my mother hadn\u2019t fried crispy chaklis last <\/span>Diwali<\/span><\/a>. The kaka at the shop said the press was for <\/span>\u20b9<\/span>850, mother bought it for <\/span>\u20b9500, and stomped off like a neta on a campaign trail. <\/span>\n\n

I\u2019d only smile after I see her walking out with a bagful of chivda, samosas, bhakarwadi, and spicy sev.<\/p><\/blockquote> \n\nThis is basically every Indian <\/span>mother <\/span><\/a>before Diwali. The festival of lights, is practically a ritual worship at the altar of frenzied buying. This is the time when the triumvirate energies of festive bonhomie, free time, and massive discounts combine. Ammis and Aais across the country trot out their bargaining A-game that they have been honing all year round. And my mother is nothing if not competitive. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\n\nOur next stop was Joshi Stores, which is to puja items what Baskin Robbins is to ice cream. As soon as the man behind counter asked, \u201cKay pahije?\u201d, my <\/span>mother <\/span><\/a>unleashed her inner mumble rapper. \u201cAgarbatti, panti, waat, toran, rangoli, kapur, kunku, aani\u2026 naral (incense sticks, diyas, festoon, rangoli, camphor, vermillion, and coconut).\u201d If I had inherited her amazing memory, I\u2019d have remembered my girlfriend\u2019s birthday. <\/span>\n\nThis ritual trip next leads us to Saurashtra Farsan Mart, the one place more crowded than Dadar station on Diwali. Getting to the man behind the counter is more difficult than getting to the gates of Mannat on Shah Rukh\u2019s birthday. Like every year, I choose to stand outside the shop timidly, while mom made her way in with an expression as fierce as Rani of Jhansi. And like every year, the <\/span>dada<\/span><\/a>, who works at the shop, smiled and handed me a piping hot kachori from his freshest batch. Back when I was a kid, mum would make me sit on the counter and go in for her little expedition. I\u2019d sit there with a kachori in hand while my eyes would keep searching for her in the crowd. I\u2019d only smile after I see her walking out with a bagful of chivda, samosas, bhakarwadi, and spicy sev. Not much has changed since. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\n\nAfter all the goodies are purchased, enough to help us survive an apocalypse, the last thing on the list is to get a lantern. Every year, my <\/span>mother <\/span><\/a>visits Ideal Book Depot and purchases a DIY lantern. And every year, as though it is tradition, we quarrel over where each part goes. This usually results in my mother getting angry and calling me a variety of names that all mean \u201cnalayak\u201d, followed by being sent to purchase a regular lantern. <\/span>\n\nWith my hands full of bags and boxes, and my heart near about collapsing, I rush to the nearest cab. I am exhausted and crabby after walking for six hours. A part of me loves it, a part of me hates it. But one thing is for sure, Diwali is incomplete without a trip to Dadar. <\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Diwali preparation is incomplete without a trip to the old city market. In Mumbai, it\u2019s Dadar; in Delhi, it\u2019s Chawri Bazar. This is the time of the year, when every mother across the country trots out their bargaining A-game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":205,"featured_media":3623,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3452],"tags":[6816,6817,1003,2476,186,6818,6819,3430,6820,243,5382],"class_list":["post-3622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-bazaar","tag-chakli","tag-children","tag-dadar","tag-diwali","tag-diyas","tag-faral","tag-indian","tag-lantern","tag-mothers","tag-shopping"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Diwali Shopathon: When Mothers Bargain Like Pros and Children Become their Personal Coolies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Diwali preparation is incomplete without a trip to the old city market. In Mumbai, it\u2019s Dadar; in Delhi, it\u2019s Chawri Bazar. 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