During my childhood, or during my elder sister’s or aunt’s childhood, parents with lower and unstable incomes were not that extravagant in purchasing clothes for their children as compared to parents of present times. That did not mean that parents those days loved their children any less. It was just that they were more careful in spending their husbands’ hard earned money especially when only the men were bringing food on to their tables.
I remember I had to wear my sister’s or aunt’s or mother’s slippers to walk out into the streets. I cannot remember whether I had hated it or not, but I can recall of a few occasions when I sprained my ankle as a result of wearing outsized slippers.
I also remember Ah Peng and I had to wear dresses that were once our sisters’ and that were either too large or too long. Ah Peng used to playfully put both her arms inside the dress or blouse instead of putting them through the armholes, pretending that she had no arms. Both of us would clown around and laugh at each other’s antics. Our mothers would get very infuriated with us for doing that. They thought that we were making fun of physically handicapped people! Wait till the gods punish you for being so unsympathetic, they warned us.
Clothes were items that I was not overly fretful about when I was little. Every other child in the neighbourhood had not many pretty clothes to wear anyway.
Things changed however one day, when a new family moved into our neighbourhood. They had a lot of beautiful possessions like stylish furniture, a big car, expensive looking toys and beautiful clothes. Before that, I had never set eyes on such pretty things before. I was living in a closed world.
The newcomers were from a rich family who, because of some financial problems, had to temporarily reside in the house just behind mine. They had a daughter who was a real beauty. I was mesmerised by her good looks. She had a heart-shaped face with large almond shaped eyes, a thin pointed nose, small red lips and her complexion was very fair, almost flawless. Every time she spoke I would just stare at her, totally fascinated by her fluttering long eyelashes.
She used to come to my house to play with me and she had so many beautiful dresses that I wished that she would give me one.
Feeling exasperated at just envying my new friend’s dresses, I decided to persuade my mother to get me a frock like hers. I started by asking her why my dresses were not anything like hers, why mine had to made by my elder sister and why they were not bought from a shop in town.
My mother’s first answer was that they had money and that they could afford them. This was followed by another question from the dissatisfied me. Why is it that they have money and we have not, I was heard asking. At this point, I was shoved off and told to be grateful for what I was given.
I also remember Ah Peng and I had to wear dresses that were once our sisters’ and that were either too large or too long. Ah Peng used to playfully put both her arms inside the dress or blouse instead of putting them through the armholes, pretending that she had no arms. Both of us would clown around and laugh at each other’s antics. Our mothers would get very infuriated with us for doing that. They thought that we were making fun of physically handicapped people! Wait till the gods punish you for being so unsympathetic, they warned us.
Things changed however one day, when a new family moved into our neighbourhood. They had a lot of beautiful possessions like stylish furniture, a big car, expensive looking toys and beautiful clothes. Before that, I had never set eyes on such pretty things before. I was living in a closed world.
The newcomers were from a rich family who, because of some financial problems, had to temporarily reside in the house just behind mine. They had a daughter who was a real beauty. I was mesmerised by her good looks. She had a heart-shaped face with large almond shaped eyes, a thin pointed nose, small red lips and her complexion was very fair, almost flawless. Every time she spoke I would just stare at her, totally fascinated by her fluttering long eyelashes.
She used to come to my house to play with me and she had so many beautiful dresses that I wished that she would give me one.
Feeling exasperated at just envying my new friend’s dresses, I decided to persuade my mother to get me a frock like hers. I started by asking her why my dresses were not anything like hers, why mine had to made by my elder sister and why they were not bought from a shop in town.
My mother’s first answer was that they had money and that they could afford them. This was followed by another question from the dissatisfied me. Why is it that they have money and we have not, I was heard asking. At this point, I was shoved off and told to be grateful for what I was given.
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