Andrew
WE were at a wedding party when one mistake of a gentleman rose from his seat to advise a bloke who was part of the bridal team, who had earlier borrowed a suit from him, to dance in a way that did not endanger his garment.
“Musazonyanya kudhasharara mudhara mungandidamburire hanzu,” the bloke shouted to ensure everyone within earshot would hear that the dancer was resplendent in borrowed apparel.
Such is the embarrassment one would have to contend with for wanting to look chic in swanky outfits that do not belong to them.
Despite knowing full well the pitfalls associated with this behaviour, it seems some people never learn.
“Ko chako zvachakanaka wani, uchachida riniko zvaunoda zvevamwe? Chirego gunun’na segotsi, zvaunoda kuona zvemberi ndezvehuma,” sang the late music legend, Leonard Dembo, and his trailblazing Barura Express.
Gentle reader, despite such warnings, people seem to have an insatiable appetite for borrowing.
They borrow almost everything, from cars to cash, clothes, gadgets and little everything else they can lay their hands own.
Called “Kumbirai”, “Mukumbiri”, “Professional Borrower”, “Ndipewo”, among a host of other derogatory names, some people will just never stop borrowing.
Knowing them is as if you committed a crime because no conversation will ever end without being asked for a little favour.
People borrow clothes from their peers to attend a church service, wedding, funeral, family gathering, school reunion or job interview.
This they do to appear to be living the life and present themselves in a good light instead of having to be remembered as the bloke who turned up for a date in torn jeans.
However, the people they borrow from are not well-meaning.
Did you know that the moment you borrow a pair of shoes, shirt, trousers, jacket or suit, you temporarily lose your right to the benefactor until the time you return the clothing items?
Some characters will ring you endlessly on the day you are supposed to return the clothes and tell everyone who cares to listen that you go about borrowing other people’s clothes.
“Oh, I am actually unhappy with myself because at times I become so concerned with addressing people’s challenges at my expense. I lent Jonathan my suit and now it’s torn, and had I known, I would not have helped him out,” I heard some chap saying in a kombi during a recent trip into town.
“People who borrow clothes from others lack self-confidence. They actually do not trust their judgment, and the sooner they start buying their own clothes, the better,” a gentleman called Simon said during a beer drink recently.
He said the challenge of borrowing clothes from relatives and friends was not confined to the poor.
Rich people do so too.
“I have a challenge with a former schoolmate who earns much more than I do. He has a very good job but lacks taste. He makes sure he borrows a suit and a pair of shoes from me each time he has an important meeting to attend because he knows I do not compromise in terms of quality,” he said.
Some people who were part of the discussion said they did not trust people who borrowed clothes from others, arguing it was easy for such characters to propose love to the spouse of a colleague.
Gentle reader, while human beings are social animals that rely on one another to overcome challenges, there is need to control our appetite to borrow. Tingazezwe!
Inotambika mughetto.
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