What do you shop for? What would you like to own? What will grace your home and body? What is the one thing that can enhance you, that you don’t already possess? What are the things that are sure to seduce you when you go shopping? What do you buy that will never bring post-purchase regret?
Over time, I have stopped craving material possessions. I make what I need. Even then, my studio overflows with clothes, jewellery, homeware and, sometimes, even footwear.
There is joy in wearing what we create—it brings our unique expression to the product. Most of the time, we are not aware of this happening, and we mostly do not look at this as our goal. However, there are only a few things that can deny the sense of completeness that we feel when we are creative when we wear our own designs, write our own thoughts, speak in our words, arrange flowers in our own way, choose our own flowers (wildflowers for me), cook using recipes we concoct, consciously connect with people who warm
our hearts.
All of these say so much more about us and bring a deeper sense of joy than the branded handbag. Instead, I shop for exotic ingredients that smell of distant lands and my neighbour's cooking or learn from the wise and from the tree. I shop for some shoes to walk in (when I am not barefoot) that are wrapped in the joke the salesgirl sneaks in while she packs it. I also shop for nose rings wherever I go, hoping I can wear on the septum of my nose a shiny instant of this effervescent land I have been to.
However, there is delicious city shopping as well. In Delhi, we are lucky to have Dastkar—a place to shop directly from the hands of craftspeople who make beautiful artefacts or weaves. What a privilege! And the bookshops are just getting better and better... Even the Ayurveda shops here stock bottles of wellness and wisdom. And the bustling INA market that has any spice one can dream up.
But most of all, I shop for smiles… And know that the best things in life come for free.
Anupamaa Dayal
This fashion designer is about happy clothes and happy homes for happy women