{"id":860,"date":"2017-11-19T12:50:15","date_gmt":"2017-11-19T07:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/?p=860"},"modified":"2017-12-03T03:51:55","modified_gmt":"2017-12-02T22:21:55","slug":"mothers-gift-daughter-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/mothers-gift-daughter-wedding\/","title":{"rendered":"A mother’s gift to her daughter on her wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

TEXT BY PARUL GHOSH<\/strong>
\nPHOTOGRAPHS BY PARUL GHOSH
\n<\/strong>Helsingborg, Sweden<\/em><\/p>\n

As a kid it was always fascinating to go through my mother\u2019s things, some of which she had inherited from her own mother. Old school treasure \u2013 I\u2019d call it. My father was in the Army so every few years that we\u2019d move cities I looked forward to unpacking and going through all her stuff, imagining setting up my own home someday. When I first came across her wedding saree, I told her if I ever get married that is what I would wear. She would laugh this off telling me when the time came (and she really hoped it did!) I\u2019d go running to my friends or a fancy boutique and leave her out of this big decision.
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My mom got married in 1980 and during those times traditionally almost every bride wore red. She wasn\u2019t keen on anything bright so decided to go with maroon instead. She lived in Chandigarh at the time so off she went with my Grandma to a very well-known store in the city \u2013 Gulati Stores. When I asked her about how she knew this was the one, she said \u2013 The salesman brought out this saree and opened it delicately, showed it to them like it was made of gold. As he slowly unfolded it, she couldn\u2019t believe how beautiful it looked and knew then and there \u2013 this was it! A simple but beautiful maroon tanchoi silk saree with golden embroidery on it\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m so glad she made that choice because that\u2019s exactly how I felt when I first saw it. Each time she\u2019d open her box of sarees, she would say it was time to get rid of it because she was never going to wear it again. She felt it was too heavy to wear it anywhere and I\u2019d tell her the same thing \u2013 I\u2019ll wear it on my own wedding someday. She\u2019d laugh once again, we\u2019d argue and I\u2019d make her keep it back.<\/p>\n

And then many years later, it finally happened. I decided to get married. Mine was to be a small affair, a court wedding with a few ceremonies at home with just family and close friends. I literally had no time to plan anything because of the paucity of time. My to-be husband wasn\u2019t in the country and neither were my parents. It was a living nightmare!<\/p>\n