The Quintessential Indian Shopaholic

Is your closet overflowing with never-worn clothing, the price tags still waving in the breeze? Is your attic bulging with boxes and boxes of shoes that have never touched pavement? Do you buy new makeup weekly? You might be a shopaholic like Rebecca Bloomwood!!! 

Shopping is an indulgence done by many and enjoyed like a deadly sin. But indulgence is mirth to those who can afford it. Girls in India who are on tight budget still manage to do the shopping and have the fun. So how do they manage?? Inspite of the pressure from their parents to spend money thriftily, they seem to be in a perfect balance when it comes to their indulgence in shopping and also looking after the tight budget they have been allotted!!! Isn’t this a management- more of money management and at the same time fulfilling their deep-bound indulgence in shopping? 

I am not so much into shopping. I purchase only those stuff which I really need (well, my friends do call me miser...but that’s what I am I guess!!!). I always was interested in knowing how girls in India actually managed to do the shopping with their parents always around the corners to warn them about their too much spending. So what is better than asking your own friends for the answers…?

So when I asked one of my close friends- whether she is a shopaholic? Her answer was- NO!!! (Although I knew she was lying). She then slowly emphasized that - She is a Bharatiya Shopaholic.  So when I asked her what exactly does this mean? She explained, “People like me, who are on a limited budget, can hardly call ourselves shopaholics, but we are shopaholics of a different kind. A kind that works on limited budget & gets maximum benefits!!” Ha!!!! That a new one, right??? 

Truly I have seen my friends employing new and innovative strategies to lure their parents into buying they (as in my friends) like. Poor Parents!! There is another friend who is a “brand fetish”-as she calls herself. Right from her clothes to her accessories, she believes in purchasing branded goods. She says, “I am given only a limited amount a month (in her case Rs. 2500) which I have to use the entire month. It’s a tough task,” she laments. Within that amount she goes on to buy her accessories to anything that catches her eyes. Luckily her mom allows her to purchase more clothes if needed. But finally she has to be reminded that there is not enough space in the wardrobe to dump all the clothes.

The Bharatiya Shopaholic has another dangerous yet always rewarding strategy in her mind. “When I go shopping, I often ensure that I'm going with my mother as she is the one who provides me the “liquidity” to shop! If I want something, I always say “Oh, this is so amazing/great/pretty *insert other adjectives* but leave it, it’s too expensive!” And that does it! Mom says, buy it if you like it and don’t worry about the cost!! *Yeayiee*”. Well if your acting skills are pretty good, then I think you can easily follow Miss. Bharatiya Shopaholic’s advice!!!

What most of them do is they manage to get their demands fulfilled by visiting Linking Road or Crawford Market, places in Mumbai where you get all things at a very convenient price. If the prices don’t work out to the way you want it, call in the Bargain strategy. Now I know how come all Indian women are so perfectly skilled in this particular area of expertise- Bargaining. We may be wondering the way Finance Ministers across the world look after their country’s budget, but here is the Quintessential Indian Girl who knowing the fact that she is on tight budget manages to cover all the expenses- and mostly without Deficit!!! Although controlling your instincts for shopping, girls manage it very well.

As Miss. Bharatiya Shopaholic aptly puts in “Shopping comes easy to me, but control is the hardest!”