Ms U

The other day i was browsing at a local mall for some dresses for my college going ,brand conscious and figure and fashion conscious daughter of mine when there was this 28 something young lady standing before me .Slim ,fair with a pleasing face and smile, dressed casually in jeans and a top.
"Hi "said she
"Hi "said me (aside...who the hell is she ?an old student,student's mother?)My mind did a quick flash back and came out blank .i smiled back being a good social being that i was and said ...'yes ....???"
"You know i was just admiring your salwar .Its such a nice colour and the material ...really, good for summer and it suits you so well "
I pinched myself (mentally of course ) in all my 20 years in this city this was a first time for me .I simpered ,i blushed and stammered "..oh ..this old thing i've had it for years...."but thanks any way "(a lesson for my daughter ..express appreciation where its due )Then we launched ourselves ..we flew from ..the best dress shops in town ,the best fabric,cut and colour ,we moaned the lack of good tailors ,the highly priced dupattas (499Rs for a cotton one !!!) to how, when ,why and whats of the fickle world of fashion.
All the time my mind was on an overdrive searching for the catch .There had to be one .....but no everything was above board....there was a hint of one when she bracketed herself in the group of late 40s....nothing of concern ....maybe it was to make me feel comfortable .I forgave her for the slip.Thus we continued lamenting on our lack of choices when we(we?) were young, be it fashion ,career or boy friends till my daughter ,the exhausted browser joined me .
Then came the praises on my looks ..".Ooh you have a grown up daughter ...blah ..blah (oh yeah ..have heard it before)ooh ..your skin its so good" (hmm have heard that one too !thanks to the besan and turmeric treatment ..reminded myself to have a go at it again )
Well all that's good had to end sometimes ...i could have stood there all day long listening to her but modesty did not allow me to . so it was goodbye .The politely correct me asked about her .She was doctor by profession (hoped she was a gynae )She was an Ayurved who specialised in skincare .Masked my surprise with a smile ,exchanged phone numbers ,promised to call each other and we parted .
At about 8 pm when i was just stalking the villain with the heroine of my daily hindi soap the phone rang ...leaving my heroine to do the stalking all by herself i picked up the call
It was Ms U ....all friendly chatter .My mind half on the my heroine i matched her word for word .Then came the catch .She gushed "how would you like a package on skin treatment ...blah ..blah "The listener in me listened patiently till she exhausted herself ..Ok there it was .I replied ..sweetie this skin of mine is inherited stuff from my mother and cannot be modified only cleaned and so thank you very much ."
So much for marketing ....it takes all types to run this world .Goodbye Ms U ..don't think i'll ever miss you .