Plain or Printed

[Guest guest]

Magazines for women interest me for the inane things they highlight. I do flip

through them occasionally. It is amazing to see the things that the editors of

these magazines think are important for women. It would be surprising to see

whether the readers too find them as important.

One of the magazines I saw talked about how men can show their feelings for

their wives and girlfriends. I know romantic dinners, flowers and chocolates are

always on the list of favourites. Recently, new roles are envisaged for men.

Helping at home is still somewhat sensible. Caring for infants is also one of

the activities men are encouraged to do. Proper regard for her family and

friends is surely bound to impress any women. 

This time I saw something different. There was a suggestion for the men to buy

their women lingerie as a show of tenderness. It is not the ordinary thing. It

has to be exciting. There are detailed descriptions to help you with this new

purchase. I tried once to buy this stuff. It is not easy.

My wife suffered a bimalleolar fracture of her left ankle. She had to be

hospitalised for surgery. I had to get her things ready for her stay in the

hospital. A tricky problem cropped up and it spun me around dizzily. She wanted

me to go to market and get her undergarments because there was no time to go

home. I took up the challenge, trying hard to mask my apprehension.  

I walked onto the shop and headed straight for the undergarments section. A

salesgirl delicately tried to hint that I was perhaps at the wrong place. She

took me seriously only when I rested my hands on the counter and stood there

confidently. When I demanded to see the panties they had, she knew

I meant business. I was aware of her attempts to suppress her smile. I

could also feel the attention from others present there.

The salesgirl deftly pulled out a number of packages. Then the problem started

for me. She asked me what size I wanted. I was stumped. I called my wife to

check what size would be appropriate. That got me enough stares. Then she asked

me about the fabric. I knew cotton is better (courtesy of one of the magazines).

It did not end there. The final question was 'plain' or 'printed'. This was

easy: I applied the 50-50 formula. 

As I was about to exit the shop, the owner asked me: " Sir, yeh sab kis ke liye

kharida hai " .

Bharat