A(L)Lure
It is 6:00 in the morning....India's Topsy turvy sports run over the last few days has left me so disenchanted with things.....once again! Hockey, sigh...let us not even go there (seriously people, I am betting all my money..or whatever is left of it, on our very own kabaddi team. At least these guys are as much as, if not more than, in love with the game than KPS Gill is, with his power and money!) Such a disappointment, such disgrace, such naivety while handling this implosion.....while the rest of the world points and critiques.....and what do we do? Instead of working on setting things right, we blame the referees!!! Come on folks....grow up!!!! So, I then move to another section of the sports section of my favorite news sites....only to see our Indian cricket team crumble like a pack of cards! I guess my dad's hypothesis is right...these players want to be be fit for the IPL...such a shame! But ok, I will not rant and rave about cricket...we still pulled some glamorous wins recently......
So, now...I have nothing interesting left to peruse.....so I decide to hit the gym. Hey, who says MBA leaves you no time to exercise...I so totally do...bike nowhere, while I read the day's case study.....anyway, let me not digress....let me talk about the reason I decided to pen a few thoughts.....of course, this continues with the trend of my US discovery......
I am a 25 year old, reading a case study on Zara, while I see a perky 18 something reading "Allure"....a fashion magazine, I presumed looking at the weird outfits that the models had donned..anyway, so she is chewing gum (like a cow!!! they would all idolize Steve Waugh, for sure!) and reading "how to survive aging.....post 25"!!! Ok, firstly, I am a geek reading my course work in the gym.....to make matters worse this high pony tailed, perky, masticating, mass of protoplasm is reading about "old age"....what was more insulting, you ask.....whether I felt "uncool"...or whether I felt "old"!!! Well, it seems to me, I felt like a bit of both....more like a dressed down mummy-with neither an opulent tomb nor a eulogy glorifying my beauty!!! So I pedaled harder with more intensity and while the bike began to creak, this new born turned towards me and said "tough case, huh?".....I stammered and stuttered while I was thinking "this 'diva' has acknowledged my presence....acknowledged the presence of an unmade 25 year old maid with a numb expression plastered on her face" ...."Oh no....this is one of the more interesting cases that I have read...". Then I spoke.....I had to....am not famous for being the foot in mouth champion for nothing...."that article looks really (I dont think she got the sarcasm) interesting...what does it say?", after which her eyes lit up and she started with the signature American "Ummmm"....."oh, yeah!! This is all about aging gracefully, you know......its like (!!!) ...you know....its like growing old without wrinkles...and tips on how we can postpone that to our thirties (WHAT!!!!!!!!! you numskull....thirties are when women are in their prime....past their acne, insecurity and immaturity..past the catching practice they give to all the OBG docs...what do you know!). So, this article says that we need to ......." Ok, that was when I tuned out and ruminated over the irony of life....it was only yesterday, when I made an effort to look presentable and got a few appreciative nods from my girl friends (yes, I do have girl friends now!) and now I have been brought crashing back to earth!! :( and then......and then......she saved herself from definite murder when she said "what do you do with your skin???? Its like...so tough to be doing your business course and also work on your looks..you know....trying to push this praaaablem away. Arent you scared of crossing 25? and you know...its like.....all downhill from there".........wait a minute....wait a minute...Mal, dont turn towards your hatchet.....this red head in fact thinks you are not 25.....she is not so dumb after all :P Aaaah, the bliss of not looking as old as you felt just a moment ago! the thrill of the vanishing act of your intense desire to make a dash for cover before the beeeeaaauuuuties of the US see you.....aaaah, this is heaven!
Ok, this is when it hit me.....I too had been lured into this maze of beauty and fashion and superficiality.....all these years, I dove into my pile of jeans and T-shirts blissfully unaware of fashion, aging, appearance, poise, grace, make up.....and now, I feel so naked.....peer pressure really is so bloody effective. this country is really specializing in serving most things "junk"...food, news, trends, entertainment......man! I really rue the day when the world accepted American beliefs as "trendy"....this is really quite shameful for the rest of the world....but wait, this is not about the rest of the world....why did I get sucked into this blackhole of appearance when my priorities in life are the exact opposite...when I have never been raised to consider appearances as anything close to life changing, when all that has lured me in life is success and a sense of achievement....but what if all these things are what these girls are looking for in life? I see no reason why they should not get so concerned about turning 25 (sniff......no matter how much I refuse this, it still hurts to be tottering towards a different target survey group).....
Let me not get into this diatribe about American media, ideology, lifestyle....I only felt quite duped, felt like an idiot for suspecting my own value...and for disowning the rest of the fashion challenged members of the fairer sex!! Well, I do feel lured into this trap...I really do, and I cannot stop thinking about it!
So, now...I have nothing interesting left to peruse.....so I decide to hit the gym. Hey, who says MBA leaves you no time to exercise...I so totally do...bike nowhere, while I read the day's case study.....anyway, let me not digress....let me talk about the reason I decided to pen a few thoughts.....of course, this continues with the trend of my US discovery......
I am a 25 year old, reading a case study on Zara, while I see a perky 18 something reading "Allure"....a fashion magazine, I presumed looking at the weird outfits that the models had donned..anyway, so she is chewing gum (like a cow!!! they would all idolize Steve Waugh, for sure!) and reading "how to survive aging.....post 25"!!! Ok, firstly, I am a geek reading my course work in the gym.....to make matters worse this high pony tailed, perky, masticating, mass of protoplasm is reading about "old age"....what was more insulting, you ask.....whether I felt "uncool"...or whether I felt "old"!!! Well, it seems to me, I felt like a bit of both....more like a dressed down mummy-with neither an opulent tomb nor a eulogy glorifying my beauty!!! So I pedaled harder with more intensity and while the bike began to creak, this new born turned towards me and said "tough case, huh?".....I stammered and stuttered while I was thinking "this 'diva' has acknowledged my presence....acknowledged the presence of an unmade 25 year old maid with a numb expression plastered on her face" ...."Oh no....this is one of the more interesting cases that I have read...". Then I spoke.....I had to....am not famous for being the foot in mouth champion for nothing...."that article looks really (I dont think she got the sarcasm) interesting...what does it say?", after which her eyes lit up and she started with the signature American "Ummmm"....."oh, yeah!! This is all about aging gracefully, you know......its like (!!!) ...you know....its like growing old without wrinkles...and tips on how we can postpone that to our thirties (WHAT!!!!!!!!! you numskull....thirties are when women are in their prime....past their acne, insecurity and immaturity..past the catching practice they give to all the OBG docs...what do you know!). So, this article says that we need to ......." Ok, that was when I tuned out and ruminated over the irony of life....it was only yesterday, when I made an effort to look presentable and got a few appreciative nods from my girl friends (yes, I do have girl friends now!) and now I have been brought crashing back to earth!! :( and then......and then......she saved herself from definite murder when she said "what do you do with your skin???? Its like...so tough to be doing your business course and also work on your looks..you know....trying to push this praaaablem away. Arent you scared of crossing 25? and you know...its like.....all downhill from there".........wait a minute....wait a minute...Mal, dont turn towards your hatchet.....this red head in fact thinks you are not 25.....she is not so dumb after all :P Aaaah, the bliss of not looking as old as you felt just a moment ago! the thrill of the vanishing act of your intense desire to make a dash for cover before the beeeeaaauuuuties of the US see you.....aaaah, this is heaven!
Ok, this is when it hit me.....I too had been lured into this maze of beauty and fashion and superficiality.....all these years, I dove into my pile of jeans and T-shirts blissfully unaware of fashion, aging, appearance, poise, grace, make up.....and now, I feel so naked.....peer pressure really is so bloody effective. this country is really specializing in serving most things "junk"...food, news, trends, entertainment......man! I really rue the day when the world accepted American beliefs as "trendy"....this is really quite shameful for the rest of the world....but wait, this is not about the rest of the world....why did I get sucked into this blackhole of appearance when my priorities in life are the exact opposite...when I have never been raised to consider appearances as anything close to life changing, when all that has lured me in life is success and a sense of achievement....but what if all these things are what these girls are looking for in life? I see no reason why they should not get so concerned about turning 25 (sniff......no matter how much I refuse this, it still hurts to be tottering towards a different target survey group).....
Let me not get into this diatribe about American media, ideology, lifestyle....I only felt quite duped, felt like an idiot for suspecting my own value...and for disowning the rest of the fashion challenged members of the fairer sex!! Well, I do feel lured into this trap...I really do, and I cannot stop thinking about it!
posted by MMmmm at 6:57 PM
6 Comments:
haha... hilarious.. but kiddo, who would ever consider u past 25? Dont be mistaken, me thinks she thought that you were a freshman.. nimmadu child marriage agta ide.. abt the american fashion, i aint sure, its gotta do with peeps i guess.. even in india, ppl are aware of spaghetti tops, halter tops, et al,, i had to look up wiki to know wat these meant.. god! what would I do without wiki...
Well, I know that the trend is spreading fast and wide...but why the obsession with it? Why make it the ONLY thing to talk about instead of one of things to "small talk" around???
well... i dont know much abt women to comment.. and in this matter we are on the same side of the balance... what could women talk about? atleast the women here- beauty, fashion, shopping, and maybe men, isnt that a clear pattern? what they are really interested in materialistic things so that the limelight is on them.. to stand out from the crowd.. to have the attention of their man/men/boys always.. i doubt that women would so much about cars/sports/electronics amongst themselves since their understanding of such matters is almost nil. to them, gng to a parlor is to let out their frustrations and feelings on fellow women whom they think will emphatize.. u r more of a man trapped in a women's bod.. and these things fail to impress u.. what does small talk mean to u? sports, politics, business, stock market, finance, etc etc, how few of ur kind do this?
'am pretty much confused here....
hmm....why so? Please dont tell me the whole blog was contrite :(
"I can understand You" is what she had said then , I hated ownership then as much as I hate it now , I hated being owned as much then as I hate it now , but still it left me with a sense of belonging , of being part of some cult , a cult where one and one are enough to set the date of doom.
God Damn it I am human , " I am human" can You hear that.My proclamation has all the rhetoric of an aging actor portraying the failing hero.It does not end there , it is repeated again and again , till the phrase echoes as much against a void as the man himself.
God Damn it " I am human , I am not to be understood , I am there to be felt" .... "Yes felt" to complete the rhetoric.
I was twenty five then , and in seven years where memory rewrites itself as much as history and our body cells , a single blade of grass still quivers under the morning breeze without complicity to a cult.
...... Allha Udal
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