Chapter 3 — The First Saree, the First Tears
On Sunday morning, Vasundhara brought out the green saree.
“Today, you will learn how it is worn,” she announced.
Arav immediately stepped backward. “Amma, I said I would help with the clothes. I never agreed to wear one.”
“You are right,” Raghav said from the doorway. “He should not be forced.”
Vasundhara paused. She had not expected Arav to become so distressed. She placed the saree on the bed and softened her voice.
“Then let us start with the blouse, the pleats, and the draping. You may stop whenever you want.”
Arav reluctantly agreed to try the fabric over his ordinary clothes, just to understand how it worked. Vasundhara demonstrated how to tuck the edge, make even pleats, and position the pallu over the shoulder.
The fabric felt unfamiliar. Every movement seemed to require attention. When he looked into the mirror, he felt awkward and exposed.
“I look ridiculous,” he whispered.
“You look like someone learning something new,” Raghav replied kindly.
Vasundhara opened her jewellery box and placed a pair of gold-toned jhumka earrings beside the mirror. A row of green glass bangles lay next to them.
“Jewellery has to be handled carefully,” she explained. “These bangles were my mother's. They remind me of her hands when she cooked, prayed, and comforted me.”
For the first time, Arav noticed that Vasundhara's voice had softened. Her saree was not just clothing to her. The jewellery carried memories of women who had cared for one another across generations.
He touched the green bangles but did not put them on.
“I understand why they matter to you,” he said. “But I still don't know how I feel about wearing them.”
“That is something you must discover honestly,” Raghav answered.
Later, alone in his room, Arav remembered the mirror—not because he had suddenly become someone else, but because he had seen himself through an unfamiliar lens. His confusion frightened him more than the clothes themselves.
That evening, he called Meera and told her about the lesson. She listened without laughing.
“Whatever happens,” she said, “you don't have to pretend to feel something you don't feel. Just tell me the truth.”
Her words gave him the first real sense of safety he had felt all day.
Emotional turning point: Arav sits before the mirror, touching a green bangle with a mixture of curiosity, embarrassment, and uncertainty.
Discussion (0)