I found my maid staring at me and giving a disapproving look the moment I opened the door for her.
Why are you looking so strangely at me? I said taken aback.
Amma, your sari and blouse don’t match at all, she said repeating her scrutiny.
Oh, is that all? I said relieved.
Why do you say so casually, don’t you think ‘we’ should be wearing a blouse that matches well with the sari? Also now a days all the saris come with attached blouses pieces which saves ‘us’ the trouble of searching for matching blouse pieces, she informed appearing very proud and knowledgeable.
Look at me, I don’t wear the sari if I don’t have a matching blouse, she went on in self eulogy.
Yes, I do appreciate your dress sense, I said looking at her sky blue printed synthetic sari and blouse of the same fabric. I also complimented her as to how well her tailor stitched it.
Yes amma, it’s important that a well made blouse will enhance the beauty of the sari and I stick to my tailor even though his charges are quite high, she said.
How much does he charge? I asked.
Well for a lining blouse like the one I am wearing, I pay rs.350/ ,she said in a most matter of fact manner.
How much does your sari cost? I asked out of curiosity.
Amma, I always buy my saris in the whole sale market as I get them at a cheaper price. They range from rs.150/ to rs.200 she replied.
That means you are paying one and a half times more than your sari to stitch your blouse, Aren’t you? I pointed.
But Amma , the blouse comes free with the sari, she reasoned.
Well, it’s one way of looking at it. No wonder your blouses match your saris perfectly, I conceded.
Amma, even your blouses will if you care to get all the blouse pieces that come with saris stitched, she advised.
I prefer to mix and match than joining the ‘stereotypes’, I said within myself.
n.meera raghavendra rao
Just Li'Es 
Meera madam, you are matchless!
This mix matching concept is great, if you ask me. Over the years, I have seen my spouse struggling to get a cut piece from the “Matching center”, then get it stitched, wear it and find it tight fit, loosen it at home and then put it inside a saree and shelve it so that she gets hold of both when she has to wear it. For this adventure she had to carry all those sarees with her to the center. I used to suggest to her,” Why should the colour of a blouse be the same as the colour of the body of the saree? Why can’t it match with the border or be a contrast colour? Contrast colours also can match like a pastel or off-white blouse with a dark green saree as long as it is easy on the eye”. My wife would invariably say,”That’s not the fashion”. And that was the end of the argument.
you made a very good article out of a small routine daily event.wonderful Meera.though i heard this from you personally,reading it give me more pleasure.