Ready for the Rains

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Trouser legs folded, rubber bands in place. The monsoon may come, but this gentleman is clearly prepared

 A few weeks back, when the rains were at their peak, I had been to the local Municipal Corporation office where I spotted this man in the picture below. I could not help taking a photograph of him, he was so unique in his appearance. Standing with his hands in his pockets and looking out of the window, he seemed to say, “Come on, I am ready for you.”

Normally in a combat you roll up your sleeves, but our hero here has raised the pant legs up to his calves and, after neatly folding them, has secured them in position with rubber bands! This is one fight he cannot be a loser in.

I suspect he does not have daughters. They are the ones who will never allow their father to be seen like this. Sons don’t care, and wives after a few decades of marriage tend to give up on their husband’s dressing. Most of us may fall into this category, unless one happens to be particularly conscious of one's appearance.

I for one am precariously placed in that category where the wife has almost given up. I tend to just pick up the old shirt and pant kept on top of the pile after laundry, without giving the newer clothes a chance. This is where my daughter comes into the picture if she is around. She will choose the clothes I have to wear, bearing in mind colour combinations, fitting and other things. There is no way I can object to her sartorial choices and I quietly wear what she hands over to me, much like Bertram would do with Jeeves. The wife then comes in demanding why I listen to the daughter when her suggestions are simply dismissed!

But tell me, don’t you think an old shirt or an old pair of trousers is probably the most comfortable thing to wear? You have worn them so many times that they almost become a part of you. The clothes may have lost their sheen, the colours may have faded, but so what? They have become softer and they fit as if they have taken shape around you.

With new clothes you still have to get used to them, and they too have to get used to you. That takes time. But why wait when your old friends are already there asking you to pick them up?

The same applies to old shoes, perhaps even more so. Old shoes are the most comfortable thing one can wear. They fit your feet and adjust to all their oddities. They too become like old friends, and at our age we probably treasure them the most.


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