Gauri: Knit one, purl one
1976 and earlier
A couple of months after Mallika recovered from her TB, Gauri began knitting a cardigan for her. It was maroon in colour, like the maroon sweater Mallika had left behind in the bus, along with her silk saree and maroon shawl – so unlike Mallika to be that careless! She finished knitting the sweater just before the winter holidays began and gave it to Mallika. It fitted her perfectly.
‘It’s so beautiful!’ Mallika kept saying. ‘How did you get my measurements right?’
‘I don’t have to measure, silly. I know without measuring,’ she said, which was true. She could just look at someone and figure out what their measurements were, even their measurements for saree blouses. The only person who was better than her was that salesman in the Janpath b*a
