Sunday, May 18, 2008

Shoe Bites

About two months back, I came across this little shop in Oxford street that sold shoes.
They were not magnificent and I thought them to be a tad bit expensive for a student so I banished them from my mind.
A few days went by and I was smitten by a gypsy skirt in my favorite bohemian (Boho) shop called "Tree of Life". I bought the skirt and then my heart turned into a butterfly and went to Oxford street.
They were not really that good, but I kept thinking how cute they would go with the new skirt.
The sweltering heat of the Australian summer turned into a pleasant chill. The Gulmohars stopped blushing orange and oranges filled the supermarkets. My lab book half-filled, with pretty spectra stuck on every other page, I always thought of those shoes when I went for a walk on Oxford street.
Then I decided to get over the silent hankering by actually going out and buying them. So on one Saturday when I had plans to go out with friends in the evening, Riju and I went to Oxford street and got those cute gypsy shoes.
They are those schoolgirl shoes, with little patches of cloth on them and a band that goes diagonally across your pretty foot. I was elated and I decorated myself with the skirt and the shoes and left for the big party.
I sensed some abrasion at the back of my ankle but I dismissed it as a minor incident and kept walking towards the bus stop. The bus took me to the train station from where I had to walk to my friend's house. I sensed a bit more friction when I was trying to cover the steep incline that leads to his house and I was overcome with worry.
We went dancing and I let go with everyone else and my feet began crying tears of pain.
I kept telling myself not to think of it.
It is just a shoe bite and there are so many other beautiful things to look at!!
There was food, dance, lots of beer and all my friends but my mind kept going into my ankles.
The music filled the air but there was only one voice ringing in my ears, " The new shoes are biting you".
They looked so innocent behind the glass in the shop! They almost seduced my feet.
Like those pretty women who turn into monsters when they get control over your life, these shoes began feasting on my feet the moment they were put on.
I slipped my feet in and out of them now and then to ease the pain but every time I strapped them back, I used one of the filthiest swear words from my vocabulary.
When some of my friends commented on them and said that they looked really nice I could hear myself saying "Yeah right!".
I longed for my faithful Adidas sneakers. Or the fifty rupee Osho slippers that I got off the streets in Koregaon Park in Pune. I wished I had my walking shoes in my bag. I rationalized that no one would notice that I was wearing sneakers that did not match with the skirt because the skirt was long enough to hide most of the shoes, which made me feel even more like a complete idiot!
At night, we had to walk back to my friend's place again and I just could not take the thought of keeping my feet in those carnivores anymore. I got out of them and walked home barefoot.
Now there was an added challenge of having a few sharp pricks every now and then on my soles too! Fresh rains had left the roads washed and cold. So every time we saw a grass-lined pavement, I took the grass. It felt so good on my tired feet!
I wished I had not bought them. At least I would still like them because they were not bought. I would go back to Oxford street and tell myself that I would buy them some day and live with that happy thought. Like the cute guy behind the coffee shop counter!! You keep liking him because you don't know that he dropped out of high school, has been in and out of rehab a couple of times and is a big fan of Britney Spears.
So I have a few conclusions from this story...
1) Nothing is as good as it looks like in your imagination.
2) Sometimes, window shopping is better than real shopping
3) It is harder to handle hidden pain when everything looks perfect from the outside.
4) God has a sense of humor. He makes you spend $100 on shoes and then you realize how beautiful it is to walk barefoot on rain-soaked grass.
5) Beauty is but skin deep. :)
6) Shoe bites make you grateful towards all the other shoes you have that don't bite.
7) As Osho says, too much yearning and attachment leads to grief. We should go beyond shoes and learn to enjoy dancing barefoot!! =)




13 comments:

Subhash Madhukar said...

Free spiritual books and discourses

http://mysticsbooks.blogspot.com/

Asmita said...

u know one frnd of mine used to put band-aids wherever it bites but she wont give away the shoes HeeHee :)
buy branded stuff naa?

शिरीष said...

Asmita doesnt know that Saee also has a pack of band aids with her but I think that day she did not have one.This was also God's wish so that she could arrive at the philosophical conclusions!

Sai these days you are indulging in lot of philosophy.Shall I call you Ma Saeeshree!

This is a good post.ritten in a light mood but telling you the ultimate truths of life.

Cheers Ma Saeeshree!

Saee said...

@ Asmita
It is a good brand I suppose .. but I don't know why they bit me so much..and I do have bandaids ..but i was just too late.
@ baba
Kay na!! I don't like that name. Anyway..yeah I am a bit contemplative lately..I am getting bored of it but I dont seem to snap out!

शिरीष said...

Don't snap it out.It is good and is adding flavour to your posts. I wont call you by that name.It was only fun as I remembered names of female diciples of Osho.

Anonymous said...

Mast post ahe Saee!! Awesome....chala now I understand where your philosophy is leading you...Shoe shops!! ha ha...jus kidding yarr...but kharach agdi sahee ahe bara ka post!

Saee said...

@ eeshwari
Thanks sweetheart
Glad you liked it

Unknown said...

sorry for being always late here (million reasonz) but its always gd to be here (one d only reason)
i love tis post coz it talks volumes...and u can relate it to not only shoppin but so many other 'guilty pleasures':D
d i second to ur conclusions! =)

cheers!

Neha Taksale said...

damn good !!...bhari ahes aga tu hehehe ;)
god i have soo much work pending ....mala tuzhe sagle rahilele blogs vachaylach pahijet .... luv u sweetheart

Saee said...

@ neha..
haha..thanks a bunch..
glad to have you back. :)

RJ said...

Just to add a different perspective, I beg to differ with some of your conclusions !!

1) Nothing is as good as it looks like in your imagination: Sometimes its better....an example...a hot and spicy curry dish when you are hungry!!

2) Sometimes, window shopping is better than real shopping: Unless you are buying a WINDOW...

3) It is harder to handle hidden pain when everything looks perfect from the outside: I could give you the cliched answer....a drink helps...lol...but i won't...you still feel it though...even if its not apparent

4) God has a sense of humor. He makes you spend $100 on shoes and then you realize how beautiful it is to walk barefoot on rain-soaked grass: No comment....you win...:)


5) Beauty is but skin deep. :) - and yet you can get new skin !! Come winter...we all will shed our skins...do we ..we ?? Would beautiful people lose their beauty?...wait...what the hell??

6) Shoe bites make you grateful towards all the other shoes you have that don't bite: True...also remind you of appreciating things which you otherwise overlook...?

7) As Osho says, too much yearning and attachment leads to grief. We should go beyond shoes and learn to enjoy dancing barefoot!! =)...Its hard to get into nice pubs and clubs barefoot though...:)

Saee said...

@ Ranjeet
LOL..what a stunner. :)
You win!!
Thanks a lot..you made me laugh. :)

RJ said...

pleasure...