I was at Home Centre in Bangalore today. I took my parents for quick browsing/ shopping to get them out of home a bit. I was casually browsing through and walking through the kitchen aisle, when I saw a mother and son looking at a big biriyani pot.
I couldn’t help myself since it was similar to the one we use. I slowed down, walked past them, and told them it’s a good choice. “You can consider this, it's a good one. We have one too.”
An hour later, I heard them again. The son was still trying to convince his mom to buy it. The mom said quietly, “These utensils belong in big homes… with big kitchens and windows.”
They didn’t buy it.
They looked like they were from a humble background. The son looked like he’d just started earning. He wanted to make his mom happy. She was holding back. Maybe on price, maybe she was just happy to see her son bring her to Home Centre but she didn't want to spend. He wanted to make her happy and her face was just beaming with care.
It immediately took me back to 2010, when I had just started my own career. When every purchase felt like a big deal. When you wanted to show your parents that life was going to get better now that you were earning.
It was a heavy moment because I could see myself in that son trying to take life one step forward. It's rare that a simple moment like this got me this heavy and took me back to a phase of my life from 15 years ago.
I hope they buy it next time.