Yes, Guys! That day will surely come. You will have to accompany the wife or significant other for saree shopping! How you respond to the not-so-subtle hint is going to mark you for ever.
In the good old days of the joint (or extended) family, you were safe. She may go saree shopping with her MIL, SILs, or other relatives. And you could just give the money safely curl up with a book. With modern nuclear families – no such luck! You will have to do the accompanying.
On our trip to Chennai last month, M and my mother both planned saree shopping. They conspired on the research and identified the store. Believe it or not, they planned it for the same day we arrived in Chennai. I softly recommended shopping at the end of the trip. My argument: “you won’t have to carry the sarees around for the entire trip” did not go far. “We’ll just put the sarees in the car, which will be with us the entire trip,” was the quick rebuttal.
I resigned and with a big smile, went along. I survived, and you will too!
Here are Ten Survival Tips!
And pics from our shopping extravaganza at Nalli’s (Nalli Chinnasami Chetty), Chennai. Apparently THE place for sarees! Don’t fret, all cabbies know the place! 
- When your hear the first hint of going saree shopping, be enthusiastic and jump to it!
Elephants and wives have great memories in this regard. She will remember if you try to dodge your way out. Eventually she will get her way, so might as well go along and get it over with. - Plan! Plan! Plan! Who? What? How much?
Talk to her and identify who the sarees are for. What event are they for? What general color (s)? This may all change once you get to the store, but get her to start thinking. It will save a lot of time and indecision later.In Nalli’s for eg. they have four (or five) levels of sales areas with different pricing and styles. They must have about 25 sales folks on each floor. As soon as we approach a counter, the salesman would bring out and unfurl 20 – 40 sarees in a matter of seconds. Completely overwhelming! Even her head will be spinning. My mother’s vast experience in saree shopping was apparent. She quickly honed in on a style and selected her picks within an hour. Poor M was still darting from counter to counter, and floor to floor, in a daze!
- Get a Price Estimate!
Then add 50 – 100 % and consider yourself lucky. You didn’t think this was going to be cheap, did ya? - Plan at least half a day.
Anything less and you are only asking for a grumpy shopper. And you will have to do it all over again. Don’t try to plan any activities after the shopping. You will be exhausted!But you will be surprised at the energy reserves women have, when it comes to saree shopping. This same girl who wilts in 10 seconds in a camera store, can shop sarees for days!
- Take a Pill for a Headache – before you go!
The wide array of bright colors, and the faint aroma of new fabric will overwhelm your senses. And constantly having to make comparisons is sure to induce a migraine. Remember to take your favorite pill for headaches – before you head out. - Go on a Full Stomach.
I get cranky when hungry; and it shows in my demeanour. And she will interpret it to mean you are being skittish on accompanying here and spending money. So eat well before you go. - Don’t say, “OMG! That much for a piece of cloth?”
No, my friend. You will look cheap AND you will be ridiculed in front of all relatives – for evah! Remember the elephantine memory. Some things are never uttered in this temple.And one more thing my friend, there is no such thing as an ugly saree. At least not that we guys can tell. She may point to some as hideous, and you should simply agree!
- Helpful phrases:
That is a beautiful color!
Look at the delicate embroidery!
Yes, it is expensive, but definitely worth it for you!
I think everyone will love this saree of yours!
Memorize a long list of such phrases and you will be a chum. - Buy Lungis for yourself!
They are cheap. I splurged on two! Not that I wear them, but at least I got something. At Nalli’s the most expensive lungi was about 125 rupees. What asymmetry! How come they don’t have Kanjeevaram silk lungis with elaborate gold “jaari?” - Carry a Credit Card.
Yes! you could get a back ache carrying that much cash! And bring out the card in a flash! No hesitation here. And smile widely the entire time you see the bill and sign for it. Don’t even think of that nice D-SLR you could have purchased for that money. - Bonus! Be thankful the day is over.
At the end of the extravaganza offer to carry the heavy saree bags and remember to say: “What a great day! We should do this again!” (just kidding!)
So go ahead! Smile, go saree shopping and splurge!
And after this extravaganza, we headed to Murugan Idli, another Chennai tradition!
Marathoner, Professor, Author, Citizen Journalist, Fitness Nut, Foodie, Meera's father, Hindu, Scientist, Photographer.
Hi Arun,
I grew up in Madras, but am now at an entirely different place. I went to Madras last year after a gap of 6 years and when I went saree shopping, imagine how bewildered I was, considering there were SO many varieties and also, the prices were SO high!
(fortunately for my husband, he was far away! But poor guy, he had to make suggestions/agree that the saree I was looking at was worth the price, etc over the phone!).
For your next trip, I’ll be glad to suggest lots of other shops to M! Afterall, staying at the *same* store for the entire shopping session is no fun!!
Padma -
Glad you enjoy this visual treat! and Thank you for your enthusiastic appreciation of the pics.
These pics are only a crude approximation of the actual splendour of the sarees. When spread out before you, they overwhelm our eyes. And the faint aroma of the sarees pervades our nostrils. So yes, these sarees, do overcome us through multiple senses.
and what a treat!
Looks like you haven’t been to India and saree shopping in a while.
Indulge yourself!
Hi,
I have to really thank you, you know after a long long time I am seeing such beautiful sarees, thansk to your pictures.. very well taken… now you have left me drooling over scrolling up and down again and again to have another look at those fabulous sarees.
But ur narration is impeccable, I have to make my dh read this post.
Gopal
Glad you enjoyed it.
Good point you have about the indian textile industry. Rarely do you see the same color and print even at a huge wedding. A true tribute to the creative artists behind all the work – and yes, each saree is a work of art.
Thanks
Arun,
Really enjoyed reading this – it was very funny – especially why you need to carry credit cards. I am in the same boat as Parag – I enjoy going saree shopping with my mom (as long as someone else is paying for it of course
) because the variety of colors, prints on the sarees are just breathtaking and fun to choose from. To this day, it amazes me how the Indian textile industry is able to put out such variety of colors and designs. Have you ever seen two women wear the same clothes in India in terms of the same print – it is incredible as to how this is possible? Compare that to the limited choices what we get here in the US.
Parag
Looks like you have a lot of experience with the saree shopping.
I do confess – it was a treat to see all these brilliant colors and importantly see the two important women engaged in a thrilling activity.
And yes, the treats are good too.
I, for one, love saree shopping. I hate going to other kinds of stores, but saree shopping, I like. It is such a beautiful experience to see those things unfurled in front of you. Just a subtle change in expression on your face is enough to move it to the ‘discarded’ pile. I think the key is provide very ambiguous feedback to the accompanying lady. If she likes the saree or not, your response should match her decision. If you can achieve that, it is fun.
The shop owners are very considerate, too. They keep supplying cold drinks, tea, coffee, what ever you want.
Thanks Arun for the post. I am from Madras (probably this dates me as I can’t say chennai yet
) and seeing Nalli’s sarees made me nostalgic (Our house is about a mile away from Nalli). I look forward to reading more about your Madras and Madurai visits. Happy New year to M and you. – Viji S.
haha.. this was an excellent post
Saroj -
Marriage can be wonderful! and every reason to embrace it!
You saw my earlier “Shadi in the family” post, right.
What a feast!
Hope you get to enjoy (wear) your sarees!
and please share pics!
Oh my goodness, no not yet. It was more because I lack saris. Marriage is still a long way off! lol
Glad you enjoyed Smitha!
yes, you too just finished a lot of saree shopping!
Its difficult to find the occasions to wear sarees in this country.
hahaha… very good post! I would need it next time I will need to go saree shopping! This would have been greatly helpful for my wedding saree shopping! oooofff
Aditi –
)
Awww! At least he went to europe with you!
And anyways, share these tips with him and he will certainly accompany you on your next saree outing!
and yes, we were lucky – we had heard so many good things about Nalli’s, we did all our shopping there!
Ofcourse, when we reached Madurai, M and mom found out there is another Nalli’s there too! So we had to visit there as well!
Hah! You got off easy. I went to 4 shops in 2 days. Of course, M is luckier. A refused to come!!
Sia!
Glad this brought back fond memories!
And yaay! more saree shopping?
When is the wedding – so you get to go home once again!
Yaay! Yaay!
I will be back in Kumta in July
and really, don’t get me wrong. it is was a pleasant activity; importantly seeing M so thrilled about it.
LOL… thats too funny arun. this time me and krish had to shop for my sis’s engagement sarees and ended up buying 2 sarees for her, one my choice and other krish’s
now i have a doubt if he was just pretending to be enjoying the shopping experience or was he really enjoying it 
ha ha ha…
oh…what a lovely colours… that reminds me i have to go for saree shopping pretty soon for the wedding
and by the way, u get silk panche and kurta with gold work… my dad has two of them or is it three!!!!
Heh Saroj – Saree shopping can be fun! we guys just need to readjust our thinking about it. Thus these survival tips. I actually had a good time.
Everyone went saree shopping for you? What! you getting married?
Yaay!
and yes, it can be overwhelming!
How can you even hint that sari shopping’s not fun? :p
I’ve only been sari shopping a few times, most recently in Coimbatore. I think I had a headache after that experience, and I was the one for whom everyone was shopping! I think, though, it was mostly because everyone was speaking in Tamil and I couldn’t reply, except for in broken Malayalam here and there. Though, I really couldn’t complain about getting some pretty nice saris at the end of it all.
Ha hA!
Now you tell me they make silk lungi with zari border. Nalli’s had the cheap stuff – ofcourse they specialize in sarees!
Heh, should definitely go for those ‘gold buttons’ and jhubba.
M has taken to wearing sarees for major departmental events which typically require a gown. She loves it! thus the new found attraction of sarees!
lol! Glad you are alive and well in one piece after that trip!
I remember that experience at the time of my wedding! Phew! My husband is very lucky I don’t wear Sarees!:D
You do get silk Punche or lungi with Zari border. My Mysore Thatha used to wear it for weddings and festival days with silk jubba which had gold buttons! Got to go in style, hah?