The bother less days of strolling in a cute, printed t-shirt
and denims are long gone now. With the changing atmosphere my attire has also
changed accordingly. If I dress up that way now, all I get is stares and looks
that make me feel queasy inside. In bus stops, restaurants and other places you
would become the eighth wonder of the world- crafted with great precision which
invites curious glances and even dirty smiles from the perverts.
It is an all-in-all salwaar situation here. Whatever you are
inside, if you cover yourself up with a classy salwaar, braid your hair, apply
a little bit of kohl and there you go – you blend into your surrounding just
like another green frog in a lush grassy lawn. And please don’t even think of
not becoming the frog- it is some kind of an invisible rule written in even the
slightest breeze of India- “wear salwaar suit or sari”. Anything else is a big
no, even if it covers your body more than what saris do.
The only place where modern outfits are accepted is the big
malls, where people don’t care about anyone. There is no one to steal glances
from you; everyone is busy looking for something or sometimes nothing at all.
Everyone there is completely lost in themselves that they hardly care what the
others are dressed in. It is one place where you can comfortably roam in
denims, sleeveless tops, and all other modern outfits without having to search
for the dirty eagle eyes staring at you. My once t-shirt and jeans dominated
wardrobe has now transformed itself into a fully classy one. The shirts are all
shoved to one side and all I can get my hands onto are printed salwaar suit, or
long classy Indian outfits.
Stud earrings are replaced with longer jhumkas, bracelets with jingling bangles and a lot of bindi too, to complete my Indian look.
It is quite amusing to trace the origin of this sudden
change that I have had- from a modern babe into a complete typical Indian girl.
When in Rome be like the Romans, and even if I come out of this Indian-Rome I
will still be a Roman. I have adapted now. As quoted in Lena Coakley’s ‘The
Mirror’ –human minds are incredibly adapted. When I remember this saying I
recollect how I hated to drag the long shawl of salwaar and preferred the
shirts more, how I hated wearing long earrings and bindis to. Now I like all of them and would love a nose pin too to
top it all up.
But still the peering glances the people throw at you
outdoors disturb me when I have stepped out of home –accidentally- in a modern
dress. Those stares the people welcome us with, sends a chill down my spine and
all I want is them to mind their own business at those times.
The majority is judgmental and with one glance at you, draws
a conclusion and also prepares a blue print of your character in their reckless
brains- where you mostly get the spoilt girl image even if you are not. The
time is changing swiftly as hurricanes but Indians are still stuck up in the Stone
Age. If you drape a sari around you, and wear a ‘mangalsutra’ you are judged as a perfect lady, though you might
have a good number of affairs or a not-so-good-character. Whereas you wear a
denim, a t-shirt and the same ‘mangalsutra’
and walk out in public, people whisper ill among themselves about what you might
be though you are a sinless soul.
Even if you are a perfect daughter, sister and mother why is
it that our society demands it to be proven? Why is it that someone looks at
you for just fraction of a second or two and decides what you are? Why have people become
so judgmental that they don’t try to see anything beyond what their eyes
present themselves with? Seeing is not always to be believed. Sometimes our
eyes need a wider prospective of viewing things, in and around us.
I have adapted now, I haven’t stopped wearing my best modern
collections but have surely learnt to ignore comments and the ill glances
people give you. You just blend in. But one question that we all need to really
ask ourselves is that have the dresses become a mask to hide what you really
are? Dresses only show what a person looks from the outside but friends in this
busy life, do borrow some time to know
what people really are.
Widen your prospective and never judge a person by what they
look, because it might just be yet another big blunder of your life. Things are
not always as they seem to be….
Open your eyes not just to see
but to perceive too.
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