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Spice of Life: A mirror to the past and reflection of the future
Over the years, this historic dressing table has worked overtime to groom all, including our relatives, on Christmas, weddings, and other family functions. Whenever I peer into it, I see my happy past being mirrored. When my son stands in front of it, I see a reflection of the future.
God has blessed human beings with the ability to speak and articulate their feelings. However, the Bible likens the tongue to a “restless evil, full of deadly poison”. It can make or break the other person. I often wonder what life would be like if articles of daily use could talk. More specifically, what would the antique vanity table in my bedroom say if it could speak, especially with all the stress being laid these days on grooming? Maybe, it would proffer some sincere beauty advice in times of crisis. Or, laugh at the way we look at times.
The nightstand in question has been there in my family for generations. By far, it is the only constant in the highly variable world of beauty as far as my family’s toilette traditions are concerned. I am sure that it could offer a better explanation for why I developed pimples in my teenage as compared to the one offered by my mother that kids who told lies got these.
A simple, but rather graceful piece of furniture, this bureau has not only seen the simplicity of all our generations but has also helped refine it. It is like a time travel machine, which connects my son and me to our previous, and most likely, the coming generations, too! Located in the central place of the house (my bedroom), it has probably witnessed all important milestones in my, my siblings, and my son’s lives, as well as those of my mother and uncles.
It has never lacked an audience day or night as all, who enter my bedroom, pause and preen in front of it. So much so that even the house helps, who have worked for us over the years, have often been seen posing in front of it.
Oh, how we used to rush to cover it with a cloth during thunderstorms to prevent its mirror from shattering! That’s because of the skylight in the middle of the ceiling from where the lightning used to reflect on its mirror. It must have felt special on these occasions. Who can tell, but the dresser itself?
My mother’s, my aunts’, siblings’, ancestors’, and even my own passions for the toiletries of our choice, and our respective eras, have kept it well-stocked at all times. Now it’s my son, who adorns it with the grooming essentials synonymous with his generation.
I wonder about its reaction when in our childhood, my younger sister smeared her face with lipstick during a game of ‘Ghar-ghar (home); or when my elder brother etched a monstrous moustache on his face with kohl to complement the one on my face ahead of my appearance as a ‘boy’ in a school dance.E Oh, how we had laughed on both occasions despite the dressing down that we had received. If it could, it would have laughed, too.
Over the years, this historic dressing table has worked overtime to groom all, including our relatives, on Christmas, weddings, and other family functions. Whenever I peer into it, I see my happy past being mirrored. When my son stands in front of it, I see a reflection of the future. I hope that this vanity table continues to cater to many more generations of our family, and impart happy memories to them, besides connecting them to their past and future, too.
The writer is an Amritsar-based freelance contributor and can be reached at shaheen.parshad@gmail.com
