Prompt-O-Rama

Of Adversity and Fashion (Prompt: Money)

"Who do you think you and your daughter are? The queens of Madras?"

Veda sobbed softly into the leading end of her sari. That's all she could do in response to the humiliation. She had neither the energy nor the might to stand up to the cantankerous witch that the moneylender was.

"If your daughter is tearing shirt after shirt, don't buy new ones. Get some cloth bits from your workplace and darn them. Don't come to me asking for another loan for a new shirt. Or better, keep her home so she can run around without a shirt. That will save you lot of money. Why do people like you aspire to educate your children? Train her to become a tailor like you..."

"Amma, stop it while I still care to respect you for your age." The lady froze when Veda interjected aloud. "Have I ever delayed one repayment? If you can't lend me money, tell me just that. I will decide what my daughter will grow up to become. If you crave to see half-naked girls running around, do that to one of your own. " Veda stormed out without paying heed to the woman's vitriolic yelling.

"What is the issue Veda?" Velu asked, finding her in a state of agitation. "My fate, Anna. I don't need another adversary," Veda said. "Ammu catches a cold often. When she goes to school, I pin a handkerchief to her shirt so she can wipe her nose. The naughty kid that she is, she tugs at it often and by the time she is home, her shirt has a hole to mend. When I asked the moneylender for a loan to buy a new shirt, she said nasty things about Ammu that I can't bear to recount." Veda's breathless rant came to a grinding halt. Velu, the shift supervisor in their tailoring firm laughed aloud.

"Why are you laughing, Anna?" Veda grew even more agitated. "The lady mocked my worthlessness and now you are joining her?"

"No. I am not. You are a tailor. And, you are wailing instead of trying to find a solution. I will give you half an hour's free time. Have some water, think and come back to me with a solution," he said. "What are you stitching by the way?"

"A shirt," Veda said.

"Perfect. Look around and think of how you can solve the problem. If not, I will give you an idea."

Veda surveyed the scene as a famished tiger left alone in a deer-forest would. She found bundles of threads, cloth lengths, tags, needles and buttons.

"What will I do with all these? How good are the threads or tags or buttons?" she wondered. And then the idea hit her like a ton of bricks. "Buttons!" tears of joy streamed down her now radiant face. Ammu will not walk around with ripped shirts anymore.

"Anna," she ran to Velu.

"Hmm! You thought of something already?" Velu asked nonchalantly.

"Yes. I will stitch a button on her shirts. I will make a loop on her handkerchiefs. I can fasten the handkerchief to the button and that will prevent the shirt from tearing even if she tugs hard."

"Smart," Velu smiled. "And go meet the boss. I told him you had some idea for durable kids apparel. We are trying to start our own range and he is keen on hearing it from you. He might even give you a good incentive for coming up with the idea. Buy some new shirts for Ammu with it, and some buttons too."

Veda choked back her tears. "But Anna, how did you...?"

"Know? Having known you, I knew you would find a way. As for the idea, you are not the only one with a naughty kid that tugs incessantly at pinned handkerchiefs. And your moneylender isn't the only despicable one. Go save as many Vedas as you can. Go. You are now a designer, not a mere tailor," Velu egged her on.

As Veda stood with her hands folded in gratitude, she knew she had lost a reliable source of money that day. But it hardly mattered as she had gained someone who had made it unnecessary to look for one.

Note: Anna stands for elder brother.