The Cupboard Saga

It is that time of the year again. No, it is not Diwali yet when you are supposed to spring clean your cupboard, room and home of all the unwanted stuff and make way for Goddess Lakshmi, alias new things! Practically, now, it is all year round. Given the smaller spaces, better affordability and bigger materialistic appetites, the cupboards are ready to fall apart unless they are reviewed every quarter, at the least! One of those quarters is when I visit home. I review the cupboards to see what is 'passable' to whom, age wise, relation-wise and appropriateness wise.
Starting that exercise this morning I realized, I am in a big mess! ‘Water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink!'- That is what it is. My cupboard is overflowing. Overflowing with clothes I might need to wear on one specific occasion or the other, just once or twice in a year! Saris, Salwar-kameez, Western Casuals, office wear, formal Indian wear!!!! Give me a break! When I am here, I wear the stuff everyone wears- western casuals or formal, as the case may be. The saris get worn only twice in a year- but you cannot repeat them! Can you? So, every year you buy those two 'new' saris!! When I go home, Salwar-kurtas seem more appropriate, functional and acceptable. The ones in my cupboard have already gone 'out of fashion'- so do I have a choice but buy new ones when I am there?? And of course, for socialization with 'our' people here, I need to keep a stock of formal Indian wear too!!!!
Every spring cleaning hits me in the face with the clothes which have never been worn and have gone out of fashion in their hangers, the money and time  wasted on buying them, and the fact that I will need to do all this, all over again! So much for adhering to, “While in Rome, do as the Romans do"!

My Dutch neighbour had once remarked that he knew his receptionist was Indian because of the brightly coloured clothes that she wore. He was right! I also wonder sometimes how and why Europeans spend their life wearing whites, blacks, greys and browns. I go berserk looking at the colours in the INdian markets when I go home and end up buying some really bright suits. Once here, i have not dared to wear them even once for the fear of being reported for hurting public sensibilities. 

In the end, my cupboard is as  multihued as it could be- blacks, whites and greys stand right next to the lime greens, baby pinks, fuchsias, turquoise blues and bright oranges. The 6-yard drapeable fabric on the same rod as the tough denim or the softer silk and chiffon. In the end, my spring cleaning will have to go on, and so will my thought-  am i losing myself in a big boiling, frothy, cooking bowl, or am i being open and embracing the different flavours? Whatever it is, one thing is clear- I NEED A BIGGER CUPBOARD!!!!