The outfit is never just an outfit
The morning of Diwali, you are not choosing clothes. You are choosing how much friction you are willing to absorb before the pooja even begins. The saree your mother laid out is not a suggestion. The salwar your mother-in-law mentioned last week, twice, casually, was not casual. Indian festival dressing operates on a system of signals so internalized that the people sending them often don't know they're doing it. The clothing is the message. The message is: who are you, where do you stand, and do you understand your place in this family well enough to dress accordingly.
