A Shroud of Sanity.

The Hindutva Talibanism that has taken over the Indian women's life by storm recently advertised their opinion on the new Indian woman and her 'provocative' sense of dressing. Not to mention a recent article by Sagarika Ghose also caused quite a stir amongst many an educated woman across the nation when she wrote about how the youth of today has nothing better to do than imitate characters from the quite well known series "sex and the city". She went on to express her desire to be more like the Nehrus who romanced and wined and dined while being discreet.


Clearly these two instances are nothing if not a critic's delight.The job here is too simple. I already read through many opinions in ink rubbish-ing them both. But at one point it got me thinking.

Firstly on the issue of provocative -ness. If the HT believe that the epitome of Indianness is wearing a saree, then so be it. But have you actually observed it? Most of us in fact die to be in one for its sheer sexiness if it wasn't for the inconvenience of walking in it or the time needed to make it perfect. Yes it wraps you up. But what about the part where it not only accentuates the breasts but literally helps you in expressing your bosom into your neighbour's face? Thank God for the safety pin. Even then. Think about it.


Then comes the midriff. Oh that part which most of our sexy tank tops and bod tubes help us in covering the flab. In case of the saree, the ENTIRE stomach (if I can be explicit) is shown. Only if you stand straight and keep the "pallu" in a particular way can the rest of the world be assured of not going into fainting spells.


At this point I'd like to introduce you to the blouse. Which most of us do wear. High necks are out, though I do think they look good. This means that the blouse exposes the back. That fleshy and I dare say probably one of the sexiest part of the woman's body is out there when she's all wrapped up in a saree. Of course the arms are in full sight but not the legs. But sigh. When you've exposed three fourth of your body through voyeurism-ish, attention grabbing peek-a-boo sense of fashion who cares if you're legs haven't been exposed?


So what exactly about tight jeans or a mini skirt offends these men? If nothing else, it clearly shows that they prefer to be provocated through a bit of this and a bit of that. And since we're on that topic.

Does not it only validate their weakness in the sexual arena? By saying that they are getting provoked does not it mean that they don't have the will power to keep them from hurting another human being? Does not it more so show their indulgence in voyeurism?
And besides if you look up the statistics about the number of women who fell victim to rapes, most of them were literally covered up from head to toe. So are these Hindu Talibaans saying that even a toe can kick them into a fervor of sexual aggression? In which case, whats the point of any of this in the first place?

It just feels like talking to a wall right now. I'd like to be open minded but I just can't. As Sagarika Ghose mentioned quite cleverly, it definitely is a class war expressed through culture. This was bound to happen. It can happen in a society where the rich and the poor co-exist. But having said that, are these goondas against all rich? No. Not really. They are okay with the the traditional rich. But not so okay with those who have the money and flaunt it in ways they don't understand. So perhaps here we have an issue of a class war waging over the lexicon of understanding.


And since we are on the topic of Miss Ghose's superfluos article on how the youth of today (and she points at the Indian youth in particular), try to recreate a sex and the city feel leading a shallow life. worthless even. She urges us, you and me to be more like Sarojini Naidu who although a great fan of Shelley, sported a tongue of talent, speaking three Indian languages. And of course, the Nehruvian days where they so tastefully wined, dined and romanced, all the while being discreet.

In my defence, I would first like to point out the fact that I am Indian. Indian YOUTH. Extremely proud to be one and an ardent SATC fanatic.
so,
A) whats wrong in watching SATC? All the characters in it are independent, strong women. They have a sense of who they are and they like to have sex. Who doesn't?

B) The whole terminology of being "western", "eastern", "south-western" is gone. I'd like to think it was over about ten years ago. I'd like to think we are global. We mingle with different cultures, we take good and bad from all. We co-exist. Big deal. We can fend for ourselves. Thank you.

C) Do you really think that the young Indians of today are that shallow? Because from where I stand, and from what I've seen and sensed, we have been so much more succesful in not just being good at our careers, but also learning ten different languages, being able to travel the world in a jiffy, donate our entire savings to organisations in need, earn some more, read and read and read, learn to dance, take care of our parents, even our grandparents, find true love, vote, stand up for our rights- even if that right has to do with the freedom to do a samantha while sipping off a cosmopolitan, have children, edit a book, publish a book, learn to make tiramisu, prepare an Onam sadhya, read the Gita, do the tango, help our friends, be there for our friends, love all like we've never loved before, climb some peak any peak, adopt a child, recycle, listen to the maid at home spill out her troubles, give out your old clothes, watch porn, write a blog, hug a tree, pray at Mookambi, recite the Lalita Sahsranaaman in 15, write a thesis, repair the pc, fix the bike and so much more all the while....looking your best. Being your best.

Whats wrong with that?