Shopping in Chennai is a Cluster Cuss!

If it weren't for Jacob, I would have high-tailed it outta there at the first sight of the crowds, pushing their way through the jungle-themed entrance of Pothy's (complete with fake trees and a waterfall!). But I had put this off long enough, it had to be done. Shopping.

Pothy's is 7 floors of madness. Imagine Costcos, Meijers or IKEA on a Saturday, add a lot more people and just as many eager sales people, throw in magicians and mehndi artists and you're a little closer to understanding the scene we witnessed yesterday. Walking down the stairs, trying to get from one themed floor to the next, reminded me of following the crowds out of Joe Louis Arena after a play-off game (sorry to bring that up guys!). But instead of being corralled towards the “Windsor Ballet” shuttle buses, we were pushed to the basement, which housed the dress fabric.

I was looking for fabric to buy and take to the tailors to make shirts and skirts. We found the cotton printed area and were attended to by a reluctant sales fellow. He must have been able to sense my indecisiveness. I would point to a fabric behind the counter (no not that one, to the left, left, left, nope too far, OK yes, that one) and the sales fellow would take it off the shelf and lay it on the table, where it wouldn't look as good as it did on the shelf. This scene was repeated again and again until I thought both Jacob and the sales fellow were going to shoot me!

At one point I looked next to me, only to see the face of a woman as white as me, with the same overwhelmed expression. Enter Janet from New Hampshire, here visiting her husband who was teaching at a local university. She was as enamored with the fabrics as I was, but perhaps just a little bit more decisive. Inspired by Janet, and with Jacob's help, I got down to business. But as soon as I said yes to one fabric, it was hard to stop, and the next thing I knew, I had bought 2 ready made skirts and enough fabric for 3 shirts and 4 more skirts. Even Jacob got caught up in the action and bought some skirts!

It was like we couldn't stop, and as we were standing in the billing line (which is different from the paying line and also from the picking-up line), we spotted a skirt on one of the bottom only mannequins. We looked at the skirt and looked at each other and we both knew what had to happen. But the sales fellow seemed very reluctant to take the skirt off the mannequin and I thought for minute we were going to have to let that one go. He disappeared for a bit and then returned with another fellow holding another (uglier) skirt. He wrapped that skirt around the set of legs while the other fellow took off the skirt that we wanted. Then I understood what was going on, he had been embarrassed!! Chennai is so conservative that even the mannequins can't show their bare legs!!