..complete with Photo Shoot.
Spoiler Alert! This is not an anecdote. This is a long post. To paraphrase, this will make you yawn… a Yarn.
Imagine golden honey dribbling off a spoon against the sun. That’s the golden rich mustardy colour of my silk saree. The saree has taken on an orange hue in the photos 😞. Border and pallu are in a deep maroon and gold with checks, mangos, korvais.
Wore this for my daughter’s veena programme that evening. But before we left home, after we’d loaded car with amplifier, accessories and instruments, I got my elder girl to take some flattering cover girl-standard shots. I regretted asking her a few minutes later.
“Amma, too much light. No not near the pond, the background is too distracting. Yes. good. Stand against the wooden fence and not too near the dustbins. Now look up, chin down, no mum, chin down down down, head up”.
How on earth does one put her chin down and head up at the same time, and paste a not too bothered, casually confident smile on one’s countenance, all the while patiently waiting for madam boss to click that Kodak Photograph of the Year Award.
And Click she did. Not one but.. too many to count. I can’t for the life of me, understand, why my girls, when asked to take a shot or two, take multiple photos. When I have to select a photo or two to post in my SS group, I am transported back to my childhood when we used to solve puzzles on the last few pages of mum’s magazine Spot the Differences. Except that the difference here is a milimetre lift of the hand or a 0.2 degree tilt of head to the right.
Sorry, i digress.
Lets get back to my photo having been taken near the wooden fence. I looked like I was 5 sizes smaller from the waist down and told my elder girl in no uncertain terms that I looked stunted. She appeared flabbergasted, “Mum these are how photos are taken”.
In that split second, I understood the Deep-and-Meaningful secrets of Cyber-Space-Floating photos. That explained why the girls’ selfies always had that heart shaped kewpie doll look with heads larger than bodies.
Time was running out. Second girl and husband in the car. Got my daughter to finally capture this way-too-relaxed pose on my front stairs. (I was yawning by this time). She didnt leave it at that either. She adjusted my saree, my chin, the angle of my head, my toes sticking out from under the saree, removed my specs which had turned dark due to the sun, told me how to place my arms, thank goodness having 2 hands is the norm, and voila, she clicked just under 10 times.
To show my gratitude to her, how am I to just post one shot..hence the three taken by her and the saree close ups by me.
Bavani’s Happy Place 