Saturday, January 30, 2010

Style down South

I'm a South-indian and a proud one at that. But nothing really stops me from being overly critical about the style choices and fashion quotient of my brothers and sisters down south.

Here's your average south indian girl (if she's not wearing a salwar kameez or casual western wear) - a half sari - which I've never understood. I guess I'm being closed-minded about the outfit, but I just don't get the reason behind it's existence. And to add to the half sari, is beautiful black hair soaked in coconut oil, making it not-so-beautiful anymore. And if the whiff of coconut oil in the air wasn't enough, there's some jasmine flowers in the hair. So overall, you're seeing the brightest colours in the world clubbed together in the form of a half sari and a powerful, just short of pungent, smell in the air caused by the mixtures of coconut oil and jasmine. I always think I'd die of suffocation or an asthma attack when I smell this.

Let's move on to the men. Huge thick moustache, crisp white veshtis - oh wait..crisp white veshtis, folded up above the knee to look like a mini-skirt. Some men go a step further and reveal their striped or checked knickers. Sometimes I feel the men down south have better legs than the women there...well toned rather than thunderous thighs.

And oh, I almost forgot about the Gold obsession. Gold is a part of clothing..it needs to be around your neck, your wrists, waist (on those occasions where you can flaunt it), ankles, fingers, ears, etc...if you're able to find more places to house some gold, you're respected! The more you have the better. Not only gold, any article of jewelry is appreciated and praised. And it doesn't even have to match what you're wearing. Just wear it cos you have it!

If I'm wandering off the topic, style seems to have it's own meaning down south. I guess its more of comfort than fashion. Maybe comfort is fashion. But I wonder how your eyes are comfortable looking at a purple and yellow combination of silk on your body. And better still, the purple and yellow are in checks, with thick gold threads every alternate check, and a thick band of gold right it the bottom of the sari and on the pallu. I don't know how the eyes could be comfortable seeing a man bend over only to show his knickers and thighs. And I don't know why I'm not yet blinded by the gold bling attack.

Nevertheless, I'm South Indian, and yes, a proud one. Seeing such fashion sense does remind me of everything we've studied about the cultures in India - the diversity blah. As long as I'm not forced to wear what I've talked about so far, I'm fine!! Well, the veshti and knickers are out of question - not cos women don't wear veshtis, but cos the South Indian man will always have better legs than me!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

25 Random things about me

1. I love filter coffee and need my 2 cups everyday…I wouldn’t mind more than 2 :P
2. I love curd rice..it’s the ultimate meal..no meal of mine is complete without curd rice…even if I go out for pizza, I’d get back home and have some curd rice.
3. I love food…junk food
4. I hate working out, so I don’t.
5. I love music. Learned Carnatic music and learned a bit of Bharatnatyam as well. And with the little knowledge I have of these art forms, I always behave like the no.1 critic when it comes to analyzing the two.
6. I’m asthmatic and as a child I feared dying of an asthmatic attack.
7. I love adventure sports and one thing I can do again and again is white water rafting down the Zambezi River in Zambia
8. I grew up in Zambia, Africa and feel I’m an Indian with an African soul. – cos I feel like dancing and singing when I’m sad, happy, ecstatic, proud, and all of those extreme emotions…like a true African.
9. At one point, I had 32 dogs while growing up!!!!! Ironically, I don’t have even one now :(
10. I go for at least for 3 safaris when I’m in Zambia..I’m never tired of them..I love nature and wildlife.
11. I was once chased by a de-horned rhino on a safari – that’s why ur not supposed to get off the jeep.
12. Lion King is my fav animated movie
13. I deny being a romantic though I cry when I watch romantic movies. I’m a closet romantic I guess..
14. I believe in love and happy endings…..this is the closet romantic talking :P
15. I was so skinny as a child….dunno what happened along the way but I like myself this way :)
16. I have more male friends than female friends…I find guys more comfortable to be around. Sports interests me more than clothes and make up.
17. At one point in time (I still catch a peek every now and then) I was hooked onto the WWE
18. I love sports and played basketball in school. I can’t believe how bad I am at it now.
19. My friends and family are very important to me. I’ve never fought with a friend..at least never initiate a fight.
20. I hate fights and arguments and refrain from confrontation. If anyone yells, argues or fights with me, I immediately look at myself as the cause for the outburst and feel guilty of hurting or upsetting that person bad enough for them to lash out at me.
21. I’m a cleanliness freak and arrange and organize my belongings in a specific way that I don’t like re-arranged or messed with.
22. I’m very patient and tolerant with people.
23. I get stressed out very easily because I love order and preparation. So when things happen randomly or are uncalled for, which is most times, I have a mini panic attack.
24. I’ve lived away from my parents from the age of 11 and miss them a lot. My mum visits about twice a year and I miss her like crazy. Miss my dad terribly and get to see him only 6 weeks in a year.
25. My source of strength and sanity is my sister, who is a total brat if you ask me..but I love her beyond words and could not live without her.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Finally..a proper blog

Finally, I've decided to create a blog with the regular journal-like updates. Well, I really don't think I'll stick to the daily update thing, but I do want to give a shot at posting as much as I can. While most of my friends are avid bloggers, I've usually kept my writing skills close to myself and haven't explored the blogging domain much. With a lot of insistence, here I am. And as you can see, I'm not doing too good a job engaging you right now with this piece. Cos I have nothing to right about right now. Really! Nothing at all. I'm absolutely jobless and whiling away time online. Sigh! If only I used all my free time this way earlier...would've been an entertaining read for me years later.