My first Kitty Party

Till now I had only heard about kitty parties and then suddenly, I was about to
attend one myself :). In my mind, it was a word associated with housewives. I
have seen groups of ladies chatting away in restaurants, all dressed up in their
party wear, dazzling sarees and gorgeous makeup, each trying to outdo the others
in beauty. But of course kitty parties are not about that only. Since my mom as
well as mom-in-law have attended some of these kitty parties, I had a vague idea
of how it is.
So when I came to know that the ladies in our building are arranging a kitty
party, and I was invited, I was really excited. My friends gave a different
reaction. One friend exclaimed, "Suz, tu kitty party mein?", where as another
friend asked me to take some pics and show her what happens in kitty party. As
if it is some secret society or club that I am going to join. hehe...
Actually, being a working woman, I don't get to meet the other ladies in the
building much. In fact, I meet them only while taking my dog for a walk, or
while in the elevator. We keep telling each other that we should meet up, plan a
get together, etc., but we all are busy with our own commitments and own group
of friends. Most of the other ladies are home makers, so they do sometimes find
time to meet up during afternoons, but since I never could join them, I think I
was considered a little arrogant, some even thought that I just act busy to
avoid meeting them :(. Now with the kitty party once every month, I can meet
everyone at the same time and also get to know them better. So I was thrilled.
The day arrived. On 4th April at 4 pm, after trying on a few tshirts and pairs
of jeans, I finalized a tshirt with a matching pair of jeans with Shailly's
approval. I wore my mangalsutra :). Since it is very simple and sweet, it goes
well with western clothes also. I wanted to look appropriate for a party with
elderly ladies, yet retain my identity.
I don't know why, but I was a little nervous while going to my neighbor's place
for the kitty. I guess it is because I am not too good at group discussions. I
am a little shy and introvert in groups. I am a better listener than a talker.
And when I have to talk, I like to be prepared, so I have always been a better
presenter. But I decided to utilize this opportunity to win over this demon in
me and have a good time talking to the other ladies.
I went to my neighbor's place for the party. She is of my age, a very nice girl
whose sense of fashion I admire sometimes. Since she was staying in my floor
only, I knew her better than everyone else. Slowly other ladies came and we got
introduced to each other. We were 14 members, half of them in my age group and
the other half in my mom's age group. I think I remember everyone's name :). I
was surprised to find that many of the ladies were attending a kitty party for
the first time :). Now I felt confident and comfortable too. We decided on some
rules like late fine and started with money collection. Actually kitty party is
nothing but an all ladies tea party where they play some games, do some gossip
and get to know each other well and the only thing special is, an amount is
collected from each participant and the collected amount goes to one participant
in each kitty party, usually to the person who organizes the kitty that month.
And this goes on till every participant has got the money and organized the
kitty at least once. After that it starts again.
We played a game of tambola and a word game, sadly, I didn't win anything. There's always a next time :).We had some delicious snacks made of potato; I will have to ask for the recipe sometime. Altogether it was a good interative session, though many times, I was in
dilemna, whether I should offer some opinion in an ongoing discussion between
some of the ladies, or should I start a new conversation with the girl sitting
beside me :). I was a little disappointed as there was no gossip to share. But I
guess with time, it will become more and more interesting as the ladies open up.(Yes, I would not mind spending sometime in gossiping with my neighbors once a
month ;-) )
For the ladies who think that kitty parties are for dumb housewives with no
work, please change your mind. The way these housewives are managing their
husband and children, cooking delicious snacks and then winning intelligent word
games. They can do it all, they are home makers. There is so much to learn from
them. So don't say no to kitty parties :).