1st February, 2022

There were two news items, which appeared in the media, similar to some extent. One was about a farmer who walked into a Mahindra showroom only to be insulted by the dealer there. The dealer was shown his place when the farmer carried hard cash and proved that looks had nothing to do with the ability to buy something, even though it might have several zeroes added. Anand Mahindra won several brownie points when he got the vehicle delivered to the farmer with due apologies. There is no mention of the dealer and whether he ate dust.

The other story discusses in great detail about how you have to look the part when you walk into one of those high end shops, designer outfits or those exclusive jewellery stores. Apparently you need to dress up, carry the right handbag, wear high heels and speak `purrrfect' English or else you won't be served.

REALLY? So, now we have this new caste system for shopping. 

What if I do not want to shop, then what?  Can I just go window shopping, look scornfully at all the products, which primarily I cannot afford, secondly would not fit me even if I did 10,000 steps for two years and thirdly for the fact I know that in the name of designer, they will only use embellishment and yet they will charge me the earth. And those diamonds, where will I ever wear them?

There are some shops even in mana Hyderabad where there are these snooty service persons, who can be set right with just a look, but you as that shopper person need to be in that frame of mind.  There are restaurants which definitely give you the once over and probably allow you in only after seeing that  large bag that you carry. 

It really gets my goat when I go to a pub or the new fangled cafes and tea shops, to see youngsters giving you the look even as you get off the vehicle. Now, of course you have issues getting out of the low sedan or the high XUV. Either ways your gait is going to be a bit awkward, primarily because you have been declared senior citizen. And you have been sitting in the vehicle for long or you have not used your legs in a long time and basically after a certain age, grace is just genes. If you are not endowed with those genes, awkward is your second name. Anyway, I digress. 

So, for example in mana Hyderabad, there is this new fangled Niloufer Cafe. The older cafe still exists near Lakdi ka Pul and the glances you get as you enter this old gem is something else. There is a family room for which you need to climb steps. And the glances continue.

The brand new Niloufer Cafe is expensive, with huge glass windows. Walking into it is like walking the ramp, where you are taken by absolute surprise when your name is called, only because it is also the name of the model. With all eyes on you, you brave it from the vehicle to counter and then to the table if you still want your expensive cup of tea with the dreamiest bun-maska you will ever have.

Many of us go to such places only to be seen, then get hooked on to something tasty and then return again and again. But each time is as awkward as the previous one, for you have grown old by a day. But we have to brave all these vagaries of the body and the mind.

I would like to discuss the various cafes which have sprouted all across our city, which are so expensive that they set you off by what groceries you would have bought for a month. Exclusivity is fine, but charging you the moon and back for a well dressed platter is something worth mulling about.