Mark On The Mug

Shalini put the peacock-blue tumbler down to pick up a golden-and-black waved design tulip shaped mug. She had been eyeing the beautiful and intricately designed piece for some time now. But she didn't hurry, there was not anyone else around. Across the main street though, a cacophany tore through the air. The low tents and short blocks set up on this side succeeded to some extent to curb it. The other side, however faced no such difficulty. Shalini handpicked the mug and brought it right under her nose, to observe it layer by layer. She slowly rotated it with complex movements of her finger; her eyes and feel doing the rest of the work. She saw the work, she felt the work; she saw the design, she felt the design; she saw the colours and she felt the colours. 

And then she stopped. The admiration on her face suddenly turned into disappointment just like a child waiting whole year for Christmas just to find out on the eve that Santa Claus isn't real or an old mother realising the surprise her son scheduled for the next day is just the dreaded trip to an old-age home. Her eyebrows furrowed and she brought it closer to her view. Holding it tightly with her left palm, she rubbed it at a spot once. And then again and again. The shopkeeper, an elderly woman, was observing all her actions, calculating her chances of selling one of her hard worked products. "Any problem madam?" she asked in her broken Hindi.          "This yellow spot is bothering me a lot"  She took the mug from her and took a look at her complaint. It was a tiny yellow spot in one of the black waves.       We handmake each one of these. It may have skipped my sight", she gave a nervous smile, "I am getting old. But you see the others, there won't be any mistake in them"                   "But I like this one only. How about 50?" The question took the old woman by surprise. She couldn't fathom the prospect of such a small price for all the time and effort she put into it.        "No ma'am. The price is 230, I can reduce it to to 200 and nothing else" Shalini was not in the mood to bargain. She knew it was an art becoming extinct and it would be a beautiful piece of artwork for display and use but the small odd mark really bothered her. She pondered for a moment and prepared to leave. Sighing, she bent down to get out of the temporary structure and took out her phone. Once outside, she checked her phone for the location she saved. Her eyes sparkled as she realised it was just across the street, a sale was going on.