Crazy Superstitions in India: a needle and thread

Yeah we all know most of these superstitions and you guys must be thinking why I'm making a big deal out of it. Not that I'm someone who is oblivious to these superstitions. But today I think it reached a limit, I feel like expressing my frustration here.

So just sometime back I realized, that by mistake, one of my new shirt's button got ripped off during washing. So I thought of getting it stitched myself. I went to a normal stationary store in search of a needle and thread.

Location: Pune. A stationary shop in BVP campus.

Time: 7:00 pm

Me(to shopkeeper): Do you have a needle and thread?

Shopkeeper: No.

Me: (Umm why not?..Chuck that) Where else can I get it?

Shopkeeper: May be at the next stationary shop..

I moved on to the next stationary shop to get the same reply from there. :( I started wondering may be stationary shops no longer sell a needle and thread.(a speculation  :D) May be I should check at a grocery store.

At the Grocery Shop:

Me(to shopkeeper): Do you sell a needle and thread? (I had to ask :D)

Shopkeeper: Yes.

Me: (Sigh of relief), Okay then Can I get one?

Shopkeeper: (Looks at the watch (around 7:30 pm)) Nope I can't sell you.

Me: (WTF??)  Why not? I'll pay you :D

Shopkeeper: Its late now.

Me: but shops are at least open till 9 'o clock, right?

Shopkeeper: Yeah but its already night and we don't sell a needle after evening.

I felt like abusing him :D but thought it would be in vain, So left the shop in the hope that this whole 'not selling after evening'  could be only this guy's thing.

But after checking out at least 7-8 grocery and stationary shops, it turned out that, its a ritual (rather a shitty superstition) to stop selling/using a needle after a diya has been lit up in puja ghar in the evening and Not to my surprise, not a single one of them following this superstition knew the reason behind why they don't sell it. 

Uff .. Crazy stuff..

One of them even went to an extent saying, that he could sell me a thread right now and I should come for the needle early next morning. (What will I do with only thread?) Still I asked, "how early?" He said, "Sooraj ki pehli kiran ke saath.... Shop opens at 6:30 am"

I felt like the helpless Jackie Shroff from the movie Border, begging God for the Sunrise. (Saali yeh subah hoti kyun nahi hai?? Baaaaang!!:D :D)

huh,

As a matter of fact, at the time of writing this post, I still don't know why they don't sell it? 

I'm wondering now, if climates were to change ever, (may be after 2012 predicted tragedy or something), and it happens that India's climate conditions become 6 months night and 6 months day, like Sweden, then people would wear torn out clothes for half of the year and spend next half year stitching them.

Hope you understand the Bhavna (frustration) behind this exaggeration.

And I think I now understand what the term "time" stands for, in the phrase, "a stitch in time saves nine"