Monday, May 17, 2010

requiem of a salwar suit

This is a one-off ppl…
The newest kid on the block... the singing sensation who has literally and lyrically taken Punjab by storm (sorry about the cliché considering the present monsoon situation) Satinder Sartaaj has been roped in to compose and deliver a soulful rendition of the death of the ubiquitous salwar suit! It was decided by the Punjab Cultural / Vultural Ministry at a high level meeting at theTaj hotel attended by all in the latest golf shorts from Lacoste’ and T-shirts keeping in mind the summer pastel palette!
I wonder where has the ubiquitous salwar suit gone, why has the salwar suit been pushed in the backs of our cupboards taken out and dusted out only for formal occasions? The 5 mts. of cloth transferred into an upper and bottom along with a matching stole (this is a coy description by the upbeat stores ... where we all frequent!!) has taken a beating or better still been KO’ed by the western attire … Why is that the advent of globalization and westernization which was done so as this closed economy would radically transform itself to keep pace with the developed countries has in fact left us as a nation which is unable to be proud of its attire, into a nation, a state where it is looked down if you are not wearing the latest 7, Diesel jeans or the comfortable Juicy Couture track –pants matching with the whitest of whitest shirts , linen if you please with a thread count of 250….
Complexes, desire to blend in, not to be called a Bhenji (NO offense to the Mother of all... Mayawati ji) has given the society a new model...the 9 to 5 woman in western casuals. Why do we not take into account the fact that our dear voluptuous bodies are probably more suited to suits? This is not for the gym fanatics; size zero babes, and the genetically blessed women unlike us who have to fight the battle of the bulge!!
Radically, speaking I do not mean that we need to get back to the basics to wear the suit cover oneself with a hijaab but please be proud of what you wear and not condemn or disdain anyone if they wear suits and say..Oh, bhenji , pendu hain!!
Remember we all rose from these roots to the pinnacles, and if we forget our roots we lose everything.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Dharma 2 / editorial for june issue

Breathe .Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.
Oprah Winfrey
Dharma is complex. We take what we have for granted and are so caught up in our mindless pursuits of power, prestige and above all Mammon that we forget to cherish our real wealth. This rat –race is consuming us and stripping or should I say stripped away the moral fiber of the society. In the hindu scriptures the bull who is symbolic of Dharma who once stood proudly on four legs-austerity, purity, kindness and truth. His first three legs have been damaged by negligence, attachment, and arrogance. The fourth leg is intact because truthfulness is still honored, but it is also crumbling. The brutality which man is committing in the form of greed, lying, thievery, wickedness, poverty, deception, dispute and arrogance is crippling Earth. Is this what we want to leave for future generations: our children? Claiming that we are masters of the world and all that exists in it, we destroy it for our pleasure and convenience. Subhuman behavior in the form of gambling, debauchery, violence on women and amassing wealth are the practices of the day. Licentiousness and violence are rampant, and greed not only runs corporations but infects families and individuals as well. Not only are cattle and other animals abused, they are also slaughtered en masse for economic reasons.
WE are so bent on altering the natural world to suit our imagined needs that we have tainted our food in ways that would have been unthinkable even a few decades ago. The abuse of children and women and the neglect of the elderly-problems which have been with us for a long time-are intensifying at an alarming rate. Two generations ago parents were looked after by their children: now we think nothing of warehousing our elders. Look amongst yourselves, how many of us are passive onlookers as women are abused verbally, physically around us. People in this society create their own ethical standards and then justify their actions. The balance of nature is slowly and steadily being destroyed and destruction is setting in. This is gathering around in the form of violent revolutions, border disputes, sectarian and ethnic violence and the widening gap between haves and have-nots.
This darkness which is engulfing us can only be dispelled when we look with within. Protect your mind, the whole world is protected. Everything is interconnected and to bring out a change we first need to change ourselves. It is so easy to preach and yet, so difficult to practice. I am not being sanctimonious here but to begin would make all the difference.let us atleast make an effort and begin by stopping this passivity which has crippled us