Two women. Two destinies.

We wonder if amidst the hullabaloo of Sarita Devirsquos refusal to accept her Bronze medal at Incheon Korea and the consequent furore itrsquos created anybody would have realised that by some bizarre coincidence this North East boxer two years younger than Mary Kom was born on the exact same day as the icon Yes both women share a birthday on March 1 different years of courseAnd given how these things work one wonders if this bizarre coincidence of being born on the same day as another vastly more famous and feted boxer might have further added to Sarita Devirsquos great hopes for herself and her utter dejection when her chance to fulfil them by entering the semifinals of the boxing tournament were thwartedMary KomThink about it On one hand you have the example of Kom the subject of a Bollywood film the poster girl of Indian boxing the darling of fickle crowds and difficult sponsors and on the other another an equally hardworking girl inching her way up on the sidelines dreaming big dreams having to face the heightened expectations of those around her and hoping against hope to also reach the same heights and achieve the same goalsSarita Devi PicsPTIHow much more pressure on Devi then how many more hopes and how much bigger when those hopes are dashed In many ways Kom and Devi are two sides of that coin known as luck Born on the same day one a winner and one tragically in the shadows What a story it isHandmade peopleldquoSome people arenrsquot too sure where rural India isbut itrsquos out there and actually some parts of it have gone lsquotechierrsquo and globalrdquo says our friend Sally Holkar the attractive founder of Women Weave Charitable Trust who has made India her home and who has with her indefatigable commitment introduced that wholly wondrous garment ndash the Maheshwari sari ndash into the sartorial vocabulary of Indian womenSally HolkarThe Trust is run as a pretty tight handloom organisation in the middle of nowhere ldquoAs in no electricity no connectivity no running water no roadsrdquo she laughs but which has regularly and with great precision been turning out beautiful textiles woven by traditional tribal weavers And now word comes in that those textiles are about to hit over one hundred Nordstrom stores across the USA ldquoThanks to Piece and Co an ethical business out of Chicago2000 pieces will be woven in Agai 2000 in Maheshwar which is WomenWeaversquos home base Itrsquos been an excellent partnership and a great learning experiencerdquo says Holkar who for a brief spell in the eighties wrote a fine column on food for the Indian Express where we were also a columnist before she went on to author criticallyacclaimed books on conservation and urban lore with the late Sharada DwivedildquoNext time you visit Kanha National Park drop in for a visit to the arearsquos first international high techlow tech weaving villagerdquo says this Texan who had studied Political Science at Stanford ldquoYoursquoll find excellent hospitality and beautiful khaadi scarves Why go to Americardquo she asksWhy indeed And for those who want a handloom handwoven quick fix wersquore told by those in the know that the Women Weave Kishmish Artisans Gallery next Monday and Tuesday is a perfect partnership of handmade garments and accessoriesShe said whatWe love ditherers People who answer questions directly and succinctly make for excellent soundbytes but are so tedious Our vote has always gone to the meanderers Bob Dylan the worldrsquos greatest lyricist dithering away on an interview J Krishnamurti taking a year to answer a simple question and John Lennon driving his interlocutor crazy with a counter question that has nothing to do with the subject at handKiran DesaiJohn Lennon PicAFP andBob DylanHaving said that we also believe there is a limit to shillyshallying As was demonstrated when Booker winner Kiran Desai was interviewed by noted author Heidi Julavits for lsquoWomen in Clothesrsquo edited by Julavits and Sheila Heti on the eve of its releaseSounding like a caricature of the deeply sensitive writer with deeply sensitive views on everything Desai at one point and apropos of very little says ldquoI lament having to give up Indian clothing now that Irsquom here New York Itrsquos one of the most fun things about being an Indian womanBut itrsquos really timeconsuming All these people manage to have clothes like that because they have servants With the saris you wash these great lengths of fabric and then you hang them on huge lines or down your balcony Then you starch them and then someone stands on one end and you stand on the other end and you pull it to make it tight and starchy Then itrsquos ironed So itrsquos a lot of workrdquoTo be honest it IS a stream of consciousness kind of conversation and so we must suspend belief when to Julavits prompting lsquothey have grommets on them That dig into your bodyrsquo Desai replies lsquoRemember after September 11 when everyone was terrified that anyone who looked strange in New York would summarily shoot something Well my aunt has only worn saris her whole life and her son told her ldquoYoursquove got to try to wear jeansrdquoSo they put her into jeans and she couldnrsquot sit down I kept saying ldquoSit downrdquo and shersquod reply ldquoI canrsquotrdquo You have to have some sort of selfrespect in the end that doesnrsquot alter depending on where you go which place you travel to Ideally I would come up with some sort of uniform something Irsquom happy in thatrsquos not dull but also that I could wear all the timersquoCome home Gertrude Stein Bring your smocks and bonnets and Long Johns while yoursquore at it Or as someone drolly commented on the Desairsquos ruminations lsquowhen writers go nutsrsquo