‘I want to drink life to the lees’—this seems to be the mantra of the gen-next Indian youth. Exploring every nook and corner of the journey called life, the Indian youth is living life to the hilt. Swanky cars, latest gadgets, eating out at exorbitantly priced restaurants, to dancing away into the wee hours of the morning in discotheques—the HIP urban youth is doing it all in style. The present generation is surely riding high on cash and aish(fun).
Splashing out at body workshops features at the top of the spending list of the body conscious generation. Inspired by the John Abrahams, Salman Khans, Hritik Roshans of Bollywood every Indian male wants to flaunt rippling muscles to woo the members of the Y-chromosome. Both college goers and multinational executives can be spotted at premium gyms pumping iron with unfailing punctuality. Good cash, a concoction of brawn and brains and a confident go-getter attitude—that’s the NEW Indian male for you. The dainty females are also not to be left behind in this fitness mania routine. Meenakshi Rawat, a call-center executive spends 30% of her monthly expenses on health and fitness. What other youngsters loosen their purse strings on may vary but fitness ranks high on the spending list .
Closely following the heels of the fitness splurge comes the cash that is spent on various skin/hair products, clothes and accessories to make one look good. And surprisingly the fair sex can no longer be accused of ‘wasting’ money on such narcissistic pursuits. The metrosexual man is breaking the traditional idea of the rough and rugged male. Beauty salons like Habibs have a mixed clientele of both men and women spending upto thousands for a trendy haircut or a glowing skin. Fashion designers across the country are having a ball since not only the pretty ladies are churning out lumpsum amounts for the ‘oh so exclusive’ lehenga ,saree or nightgown. Their male counterparts too are going gung ho about looking hip and cool in a Sandeep Khosla or Abu Jani creation. ‘Look good , feel good’ , is the motto for the fun loving generation of the 21st century.
Gruelling work schedules, late night shifts, meeting deadlines and stiff professional competition also contribute to this ‘work hard , party harder’ syndrome. Parties, nightclubs and movies drain a considerable portion of the young generation’s hard earned money. For most of the high-earning youngsters, it is juggling tough working hours with nightlong partying. The BPO sector, banks, multinational companies pay hefty pay packets which allow their employees to indulge in multifarious epicurean pursuits. After 5 days of hard work, the young office crowd unwind at various nightclubs and discs on weekends.
The present generation’s lust for the trendiest gizmos also burn a big hole in their pockets. From school going adolescents to multinational executives, every person is smitten with cell phones. And the good old sets with just normal call and sms features are a big no-no. To be in with the times you got to own a colour handset which is the bare minimum. Cell phones costing around ten thousand or more such as the Nokia N-series, Moto Razr V3 or the Sony Ericsson W- series are must haves to be considered fashionable. I-pods, DVD players, handycams to digicams—today’s youth wants it all and is ready to spend astronomical amounts for a lavish life style.
Multiplexes, shopping malls, fancy cars, nightclubs, restobars---options are galore to satisfy the urge to splurge. Moreover, single children brought up in the lap of luxury do not have to think about securing their future with a decent bank balance since their parents do it for them. The gen-next loves living life in a carefree manner and without having to worry too much about the future. What matters is living for the moment. To lap up the pleasures of life with open arms. So, life for most of us is a joyride which seems to go on and on and on…..
About Me
- dome of om
- A woman, a child, an adolescent Looking for love, happiness and friendship Trying to turn my failures into success Learning the hard way that life is not a bed of roses A hard core romantic, a realist too Vulnerable but with a backbone of steel Possessive about every little thing Detatched from life at moments Life amuses me, makes me cry, angers me, makes me cry out in frustration. But I love to live. I live life on my terms....
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Old Wine in a New Bottle
Do you want to make a name in the big bad world of Bollywood? Is facing the camera or delivering dialogues or garma garam action sequences not your cup of tea? There’s no reason to lose heart. For all that you know you may become the next Karan Johar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali or ahem Ram Gopal Verma. Make superstars dance to your tunes and deliver innumerable heart rending acceptance speeches at awards ceremonies. Just go behind the camera, pull up your socks and shout ‘sound, camera, action’! Oh yes, turning director is the easiest way to climb up the celebrity ladder.
And nowadays the job has turned easier. You do not need to spend sleepless nights in search for the perfect story. The perfect recipe which is going to set the box office afire is right there, ripe and ready to be plucked by you. All you have to do is change a few scenes here and there, remix the music and if possible arrange a casting coup with the biggest names in the industry. Lo and behold you have arrived in Bollywood. Remakes or old films in a new avatar are the current fad doing the rounds of the Hindi film industry. Here’s a look at the revamped films in recent years, some of which have set the cash registers ringing, and others being damp squibs at the box office.
Devdas, the classic tale of the biggest loser [ahem, lover] has been the favourite of many a Bollywood director. P.C Barua’s tale of the star crossed trio of Paro, Devdas and Chandramukhi was revamped by Bimal Roy with Dilip Kumar cast as the doomed lover. The film catapulted Kumar to instant stardom. Then Sanjay Leela Bhansali had the ingenious brainwave to take up this eternal saga of lost love. Shahrukh, Madhuri and Aishwarya’s presence in the film assured a good opening at the box office. Melodious music by Ismail Darbar also contributed to the film’s success. Stellar performances by SRK and Madhuri had the power to put into background ludicrous overacting by Jackie Shroff {Chunilaal), Kirron Kher {Paro’s mother}. Bhansali failed to capture the simplicity of rural Bengal, or the subtle nuances of love. But this visual extravaganza succeeded in capturing the audience’s hearts, with Devdas being the biggest blockbuster of the year.
Bengali literature seems to have been a source of inspiration for many a Bollywood filmmaker. First time director Pradeep Sarkar chose Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s tale of love ’Parineeta’ for his debut film. The setting of the film was changed to the 1960’s. Music by Shantanu Moitra, strong performances {Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt} and the nostalgia of erstwhile ‘Calcutta’ made Parineeta a favourite of the new generation as well as the old. Moreover Parineeta gave film lovers an extremely talented and vivacious actress in the form of Vidya Balan.
The success of Pradeep Sarkar’s film turned remakes into a rage. The year 2006 saw two blockbusters of yesteryears being revamped. The seventies thriller ‘Don’ set filmmaker Farhan Akhtar’s imagination to fire. Farhan's "Don" was a gadget-friendly hi-tech film and he changed the milieu as well - if the original was shot with Amitabh Bachchan in Mumbai, the new version starring Shah Rukh Khan was filmed in Malaysia. An unexpected, startling twist in the tale, Kareena Kapoor’s sizzling dance number ‘yeh mera dil’ and King Khan dancing to ‘khaike paan banaraswala’ helped lure audiences to theatres.
Unfortunately J.P.Dutta’s remake of the classic tale of the infamous Lucknow courtesan Umrao Jaan failed to recreate the magic of the original. The journey of this love starved woman was brilliantly essayed on celluloid by Rekha. But Aishwarys, despite being one of the biggest Indian beauties failed to capture the essence of Umrao, her pain, the angst of unrequited love and hurt by the ingratitude of family members. A disinterested performance by Junior Bachchan did not help the film to gain the favor of film lovers.
Ram Gopal Varma may be touted as the king of remakes. First, Ramu decided to revamp his own creation ‘Shiva’. But the film failed miserably to match up to the intensity of the original which had Nagarjuna in the lead. A critic went as far as suspecting Ramu of suffering from some mysterious mental ailment. But the worst was yet to come. Obsessed with his ingenuity, RGV decided to venture where angel has feared to tread. ‘Sholay’, the biggest blockbuster of all times inspired Ramu to give it his own colour. Cries of protest went up in the industry where Ramu was castigated for blasphemy. But Amitabh Bachchan[part of the original] decided to lend moral support to the talented and courageous filmmaker and agreed to be part of Ramu’s project as the fearsome Gabbar Singh. The makers of the original went up in arms and Ramu had to change the title of the film to ‘Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag’. But the aag turned out to be a damp squib. Amitabh Bachchan as Babban hamming away to glory could not hold a candle to Amjad Khan’s portrayal of the most fearsome villain in Indian cinema. The ravines of Chambal gave way to the dinghy suburbs of Mumbai. The vivacious tangewali Basanti gave way to the skimpily clad, profanity spewing Ghungroo[portrayed by Ramu’s current muse Nisha Kothari]. Even Urmila Matondkar gyrating and pulsating to ‘mehbooba mehbooba’ with AB’s baby for company could help the film from sinking without a trace. Ramu earned more brickbats in his attempt to remake Sholay than he has in his entire career.
The hit thriller ‘Victoria 203’ with Ashok Kumar and Pran was remade by failed actor Kamal Sadanah. Lackluster performances, unconvincing storyline and insignificant music helped the film turn into a disaster. Vinod Mehra’s daughter could not rekindle the fire of Saira Banu’s smouldering sensuality.
The dismal performances of these films however have not deterred filmmakers from joining the remake bandwagon. Pritish Nandy chose to remake the classic ‘Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam’ but the project has finally been taken up by the ace director from Bengal, Rituporno Ghosh. Filmmakers are being smitten by the tale of the unfortunate lover Devdas. Sudhir Misra and Anurag Kashyap have announced to make revamped versions of Devdas with Shiney Ahuja and Abhay Deol respectively. The Rishi Kapoor-Simi Gerawal starrer Karz is to be remade with the singing/acting sensation [albeit nasal] Himmesh Reshammiya. More and more filmmakers are turning to remaking films as an easy way to instant success. But a thought should be spared for film lovers across all ages. Just as instant coffee fails to satisfy the tastes of connoisseurs, remakes fail to satiate true film lovers. If all films are remade, then nothing new will ever be manufactured to be remade in turn by our next generation. So here’s some food for thought for the ever increasing remake machinery of Bollywood.
And nowadays the job has turned easier. You do not need to spend sleepless nights in search for the perfect story. The perfect recipe which is going to set the box office afire is right there, ripe and ready to be plucked by you. All you have to do is change a few scenes here and there, remix the music and if possible arrange a casting coup with the biggest names in the industry. Lo and behold you have arrived in Bollywood. Remakes or old films in a new avatar are the current fad doing the rounds of the Hindi film industry. Here’s a look at the revamped films in recent years, some of which have set the cash registers ringing, and others being damp squibs at the box office.
Devdas, the classic tale of the biggest loser [ahem, lover] has been the favourite of many a Bollywood director. P.C Barua’s tale of the star crossed trio of Paro, Devdas and Chandramukhi was revamped by Bimal Roy with Dilip Kumar cast as the doomed lover. The film catapulted Kumar to instant stardom. Then Sanjay Leela Bhansali had the ingenious brainwave to take up this eternal saga of lost love. Shahrukh, Madhuri and Aishwarya’s presence in the film assured a good opening at the box office. Melodious music by Ismail Darbar also contributed to the film’s success. Stellar performances by SRK and Madhuri had the power to put into background ludicrous overacting by Jackie Shroff {Chunilaal), Kirron Kher {Paro’s mother}. Bhansali failed to capture the simplicity of rural Bengal, or the subtle nuances of love. But this visual extravaganza succeeded in capturing the audience’s hearts, with Devdas being the biggest blockbuster of the year.
Bengali literature seems to have been a source of inspiration for many a Bollywood filmmaker. First time director Pradeep Sarkar chose Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s tale of love ’Parineeta’ for his debut film. The setting of the film was changed to the 1960’s. Music by Shantanu Moitra, strong performances {Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt} and the nostalgia of erstwhile ‘Calcutta’ made Parineeta a favourite of the new generation as well as the old. Moreover Parineeta gave film lovers an extremely talented and vivacious actress in the form of Vidya Balan.
The success of Pradeep Sarkar’s film turned remakes into a rage. The year 2006 saw two blockbusters of yesteryears being revamped. The seventies thriller ‘Don’ set filmmaker Farhan Akhtar’s imagination to fire. Farhan's "Don" was a gadget-friendly hi-tech film and he changed the milieu as well - if the original was shot with Amitabh Bachchan in Mumbai, the new version starring Shah Rukh Khan was filmed in Malaysia. An unexpected, startling twist in the tale, Kareena Kapoor’s sizzling dance number ‘yeh mera dil’ and King Khan dancing to ‘khaike paan banaraswala’ helped lure audiences to theatres.
Unfortunately J.P.Dutta’s remake of the classic tale of the infamous Lucknow courtesan Umrao Jaan failed to recreate the magic of the original. The journey of this love starved woman was brilliantly essayed on celluloid by Rekha. But Aishwarys, despite being one of the biggest Indian beauties failed to capture the essence of Umrao, her pain, the angst of unrequited love and hurt by the ingratitude of family members. A disinterested performance by Junior Bachchan did not help the film to gain the favor of film lovers.
Ram Gopal Varma may be touted as the king of remakes. First, Ramu decided to revamp his own creation ‘Shiva’. But the film failed miserably to match up to the intensity of the original which had Nagarjuna in the lead. A critic went as far as suspecting Ramu of suffering from some mysterious mental ailment. But the worst was yet to come. Obsessed with his ingenuity, RGV decided to venture where angel has feared to tread. ‘Sholay’, the biggest blockbuster of all times inspired Ramu to give it his own colour. Cries of protest went up in the industry where Ramu was castigated for blasphemy. But Amitabh Bachchan[part of the original] decided to lend moral support to the talented and courageous filmmaker and agreed to be part of Ramu’s project as the fearsome Gabbar Singh. The makers of the original went up in arms and Ramu had to change the title of the film to ‘Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag’. But the aag turned out to be a damp squib. Amitabh Bachchan as Babban hamming away to glory could not hold a candle to Amjad Khan’s portrayal of the most fearsome villain in Indian cinema. The ravines of Chambal gave way to the dinghy suburbs of Mumbai. The vivacious tangewali Basanti gave way to the skimpily clad, profanity spewing Ghungroo[portrayed by Ramu’s current muse Nisha Kothari]. Even Urmila Matondkar gyrating and pulsating to ‘mehbooba mehbooba’ with AB’s baby for company could help the film from sinking without a trace. Ramu earned more brickbats in his attempt to remake Sholay than he has in his entire career.
The hit thriller ‘Victoria 203’ with Ashok Kumar and Pran was remade by failed actor Kamal Sadanah. Lackluster performances, unconvincing storyline and insignificant music helped the film turn into a disaster. Vinod Mehra’s daughter could not rekindle the fire of Saira Banu’s smouldering sensuality.
The dismal performances of these films however have not deterred filmmakers from joining the remake bandwagon. Pritish Nandy chose to remake the classic ‘Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam’ but the project has finally been taken up by the ace director from Bengal, Rituporno Ghosh. Filmmakers are being smitten by the tale of the unfortunate lover Devdas. Sudhir Misra and Anurag Kashyap have announced to make revamped versions of Devdas with Shiney Ahuja and Abhay Deol respectively. The Rishi Kapoor-Simi Gerawal starrer Karz is to be remade with the singing/acting sensation [albeit nasal] Himmesh Reshammiya. More and more filmmakers are turning to remaking films as an easy way to instant success. But a thought should be spared for film lovers across all ages. Just as instant coffee fails to satisfy the tastes of connoisseurs, remakes fail to satiate true film lovers. If all films are remade, then nothing new will ever be manufactured to be remade in turn by our next generation. So here’s some food for thought for the ever increasing remake machinery of Bollywood.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Madness
In madness When the dream is realThe Dalai Lama's ghost appearsAnd haunts my soul With sun-lit blissHigh above the mountain mists
Then I hear the Dark one talkIn silken tones that hide the bark"Reality's a lonely childWho serves my wishes for awhile And lets you see what you can't be;Creator of Eternity."
Today is just another dayThe medication smoothes the wayThe trembling hands, the need to prayThe gods have left, the halls are grey
Though collared by the silken voiceI wonder if I had a choiceTo stay inside that fateful dayWhen madness called me out to play
Woody Pine
Saturday, September 29, 2007
gandhigiri the munnabhai way
26 year old Rahul at a disc with his girlfriend and a few friends. Some guys pass lewd comments at the woman. Friends crow in fear since Rahul is infamous for his volatile temperament. Rahul walks towards the offenders while friends watch with bated breath, places his hands on one of their shoulders and in a cool voice delivers a sermon on how to respect women. Friends gasp in surprise, has this guy been attending anger management classes? No, not anger management classes, explains Rahul, but the effects of Gandhigiri as inspired by Munnabhai.
Not only Rahul but innumerable Indians have turned over a new leaf after having watched the roaring 2006 hit Lage Raho Munnabhai. Patience and tolerance seem to have made inroads into the hearts of otherwise impulsive and a restless mass. In Lucknow a wine shop owner Gurnaam Singh was presented flowers by a dozen youths who wanted him to close down the liquor joint in front of a temple. Gandhigiri spread like wildfire since then and people throughout took to this unique concept of showing their protest.
The film’s director Rajkumar Hirani was flooded with hundreds of stories from across the country about the way audiences have been reacting after watching the film. An old couple was about to move into their new house and was thinking of consulting a Vastu expert before shifting. But they dropped the idea after watching ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’, which rubbishes the beliefs in numerologists and astrologers.In another incident, a young guy came out of the theatre after watching the movie and after noticing the disposed off tickets strewn all over the place he started picking them up and threw them in a waste basket. Meanwhile, in Delhi some youths have already adopted the slogan and written on the back of their cars – ‘Gandhigiri wins over Dadagiri’.
In Delhi elderly people stripped off clothes (this is directly out of Lage Raho Munnabhai) to shame government officials in charge of pensions to actually disburse their funds. And there are stories about pavement dwellers, in response to trash outrageously dropped where they live by thoughtless passers-by, cheerfully (but pointedly) cleaning it up — again right out of the film. The father of the nation would really be smiling to see his children living out his tenets nearly 60 years after his death.
Not only Rahul but innumerable Indians have turned over a new leaf after having watched the roaring 2006 hit Lage Raho Munnabhai. Patience and tolerance seem to have made inroads into the hearts of otherwise impulsive and a restless mass. In Lucknow a wine shop owner Gurnaam Singh was presented flowers by a dozen youths who wanted him to close down the liquor joint in front of a temple. Gandhigiri spread like wildfire since then and people throughout took to this unique concept of showing their protest.
The film’s director Rajkumar Hirani was flooded with hundreds of stories from across the country about the way audiences have been reacting after watching the film. An old couple was about to move into their new house and was thinking of consulting a Vastu expert before shifting. But they dropped the idea after watching ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’, which rubbishes the beliefs in numerologists and astrologers.In another incident, a young guy came out of the theatre after watching the movie and after noticing the disposed off tickets strewn all over the place he started picking them up and threw them in a waste basket. Meanwhile, in Delhi some youths have already adopted the slogan and written on the back of their cars – ‘Gandhigiri wins over Dadagiri’.
In Delhi elderly people stripped off clothes (this is directly out of Lage Raho Munnabhai) to shame government officials in charge of pensions to actually disburse their funds. And there are stories about pavement dwellers, in response to trash outrageously dropped where they live by thoughtless passers-by, cheerfully (but pointedly) cleaning it up — again right out of the film. The father of the nation would really be smiling to see his children living out his tenets nearly 60 years after his death.
Living in Sin
Who says you cant have the best of both worlds!!! For those Gen-Next members who shirk away from the idea of marriage, but would at the same time love to live in close proximity with their partners, live together or live-in relationships seem to be the most viable option. Surprising but true, live in relationships are also slowly becoming a feature of the urban Indian lifestyle. Throwing caution to the winds, many of the city based youth are choosing to live under the same roof without tying the knot. Here too the role of Bollywood in colouring the mindset of the populace cannot be denied. The 2005 film ‘Salaam Namaste’ had its protagonists, Ambar(Preity Zinta) and Nik(Saif Ali Khan) living with each other without performing the nuptial rights. And though the setting of the film was in Australia the picture in India is not much different.
Though the conservative Indian mindset is yet to welcome the concept of live together with open arms, the custom of men and women living together without marriage has been in practice for ages. Earlier, it was a fashion for zamindars to maintain several live-in women in their ‘zennas’. The idea of a man of considerable wealth having an additional household for his entertainment was not at all seen as immoral. This trend changed with the emergence of independent India,as the era of the extravagant and pleasure seeking nawabs,princes and zamindars came to an end. With monogamous marriages becoming the order of the day, the extra marital live-in lifestyle of men steadily declined.
The biggest determent in live-in relationships through the ages seems to have been the Indian society’s obsession with virginity. Indian women are expected to remain virgins till they marry. A woman with pre-marital sexual experience or with a history of ‘living in’ had slim chances of being accepted in ‘respectable’ society. But in this age the Indian woman is no longer afraid to explore her sexuality and Indian men, specially the youth, normally do not cherish the thought of getting married to a virgin. Indian society is slowly creeping out of the various moral regimentations and a woman who lives in with her partner is no longer treated as a social outcaste. Many television actors and actresses like Jaya Bhattacharya(of Kyuki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi fame) are opting for live-ins.
The sudden swell in the BPO industry is also one of the reasons for the youth working in this sector to opt for living together rather than getting married. Economic independence, coupled with self-assurance and a higher spending power has effected a change in the social structure as traditional units dissolve and new ones come into shape. Young men and women working in the BPO or IT sector have erratic workhours and at times find it difficult to manage their marital and work lives. The odd work hours might cause a tension in the household and so many of the young BPO professionals shed their inhibitions and settle for a live-in relationship.
The advocates of live-in relationships feel it is a good idea to live together before getting married to see how compatible a couple really is. They stress that it is easier to overlook the ‘annoying’ side of one’s partner during dating. But living in 24*7 with the someone makes you discover the true essence of that person. So you know exactly what you are heading for if you eventually decide to get married and are saved from rude shocks later on.
Moreover many of the live-in couples feel that it is easier to walk out of the household if the marital legalities are not involved. A divorce brings in a lot of cumbersome legal work and also jeopardizes the lives of not only two individuals, but also their families. On the other hand in a live-in relationship one can sever the ties much more conveniently as there is no law to hamper one partner from moving out of the current living-in arrangement.
Moreover in this jet age, marriage has lost its appeal to most members of the younger generation. Marriage means commitment , responsibility and faithfulness which their carefree bent of mind finds it difficult to handle.
The question though remains: Is Indian society ready for live-in relationships? In a nation where marriages are still negotiated by parents and daughters are conditioned from childhood to submit to their parents decree, can live-in relationships ever become the norm?
Its true that the trend is catching up in the metros. More and more couples are living together before marriage to gauge their compatibility. But the scenario is not quite the same elsewhere in the country. India still remains a largely conservative society and the phenomenon of unmarried couples living together is largely restricted to city-bred professionals.
Though the conservative Indian mindset is yet to welcome the concept of live together with open arms, the custom of men and women living together without marriage has been in practice for ages. Earlier, it was a fashion for zamindars to maintain several live-in women in their ‘zennas’. The idea of a man of considerable wealth having an additional household for his entertainment was not at all seen as immoral. This trend changed with the emergence of independent India,as the era of the extravagant and pleasure seeking nawabs,princes and zamindars came to an end. With monogamous marriages becoming the order of the day, the extra marital live-in lifestyle of men steadily declined.
The biggest determent in live-in relationships through the ages seems to have been the Indian society’s obsession with virginity. Indian women are expected to remain virgins till they marry. A woman with pre-marital sexual experience or with a history of ‘living in’ had slim chances of being accepted in ‘respectable’ society. But in this age the Indian woman is no longer afraid to explore her sexuality and Indian men, specially the youth, normally do not cherish the thought of getting married to a virgin. Indian society is slowly creeping out of the various moral regimentations and a woman who lives in with her partner is no longer treated as a social outcaste. Many television actors and actresses like Jaya Bhattacharya(of Kyuki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi fame) are opting for live-ins.
The sudden swell in the BPO industry is also one of the reasons for the youth working in this sector to opt for living together rather than getting married. Economic independence, coupled with self-assurance and a higher spending power has effected a change in the social structure as traditional units dissolve and new ones come into shape. Young men and women working in the BPO or IT sector have erratic workhours and at times find it difficult to manage their marital and work lives. The odd work hours might cause a tension in the household and so many of the young BPO professionals shed their inhibitions and settle for a live-in relationship.
The advocates of live-in relationships feel it is a good idea to live together before getting married to see how compatible a couple really is. They stress that it is easier to overlook the ‘annoying’ side of one’s partner during dating. But living in 24*7 with the someone makes you discover the true essence of that person. So you know exactly what you are heading for if you eventually decide to get married and are saved from rude shocks later on.
Moreover many of the live-in couples feel that it is easier to walk out of the household if the marital legalities are not involved. A divorce brings in a lot of cumbersome legal work and also jeopardizes the lives of not only two individuals, but also their families. On the other hand in a live-in relationship one can sever the ties much more conveniently as there is no law to hamper one partner from moving out of the current living-in arrangement.
Moreover in this jet age, marriage has lost its appeal to most members of the younger generation. Marriage means commitment , responsibility and faithfulness which their carefree bent of mind finds it difficult to handle.
The question though remains: Is Indian society ready for live-in relationships? In a nation where marriages are still negotiated by parents and daughters are conditioned from childhood to submit to their parents decree, can live-in relationships ever become the norm?
Its true that the trend is catching up in the metros. More and more couples are living together before marriage to gauge their compatibility. But the scenario is not quite the same elsewhere in the country. India still remains a largely conservative society and the phenomenon of unmarried couples living together is largely restricted to city-bred professionals.
heart of darkness
In this 21st century, we the modern people referred to as Gen-Next, laud ourselves on being progressive pertaining to matters regarding caste and creed. But even in this era of globalization and ‘enlightenment’ we have pushed another burning issue to the background—COLOUR: that of fair and dark people. Moreover, this discrimination against the not so fair skinned people seems to be directed only towards the so called ‘weaker sex’ of society. Though it may be difficult to believe, girls in India face this problem even today.
Being fair is seen to be indicative of class, caste and status in the Indian society. You have to just browse through the various matrimonial ads to realize how the complexion hierarchy works. ‘Fair’ is the most sought after, followed by ‘wheatish medium’ while ‘dark’ features nowhere in the list. In most cases dark skinned girls are passed off as ‘dusky’. The idea is to pair off ‘fair’ people so that their light-skinned offsprings experience wider opportunities and success in life. So the vicious cycle continues, sustaining at once a widespread cultural prejudice and a parasitic beauty industry.
The cosmetic industry is flooded with skin lightening products and women ranging from sixteen to sixty wildly grab the various ‘fairness’ creams and potions. The only objective being to lighten their skin tones and thus become desirable. The Indian mindset equates fair with being beautiful. The ‘Fair and Lovely’ ad shows a dark-skinned girl being refused the post of an air hostess due to her complexion, much to the distress of her father. Applying the fairness cream for six weeks she manages to bag the job. The marketing strategy seems to blatantly sell the idea that whether you want to become an air hostess or a doctor, what matters is your skin tone and not your academic qualification.
The only silver lining seems to be the fact that in this age of metrosexuality the fairness creams are also eyeing men as potential customers. Unilever recently launched ‘Fair and Handsome’, targeted at the metrosexual, image conscious man. The underlying message being that fair is what makes one successful, desirable, and beautiful. In India, this war of colours starts very early, right from the time of birth. When a girl child is born, the first question from her ‘concerned’ family is not regarding her health but her skin colour. As it is, she starts her life on the backfoot being born a girl and if she happens to be dark-skinned then her miseries get multiplied. Comparisons with other light-skinned females around her, barbs and taunts regarding her colour, become\n her lifelong companions. Hold on, however! The scenario is not all bleak and dreary. Times are changing and ‘black’ seems to be gaining ground with a vengeance, especially owing to the influence of India’s growing diaspora. With cross cultural marriages and Indian “dark” skinned girls creating quite a sensation in the West and down under, the “brand equity” of the dark skinned is certainly on the rise. In the fashion circuit, dusky models like Carol Gracias, Madhu Sapre, Tupur and Tapur Chatterjee, Koena Mitra are all considered hot properties. Bollywood too is not lagging behind. Actresses like Rani Mukherjee, Kajol, Bipasha Basu—are changing the definitions of beauty. Taking heart from the desirability quotient of these dusky women, dark-skinned girls are no longer shy of flaunting their natural skin-tone.\n Moreover, fashion conscious females are nowadays using tanning lotions and skin darkening bases to sport the ‘dusky’ look. "
The only silver lining seems to be the fact that in this age of metrosexuality the fairness creams are also eyeing men as potential customers. Unilever recently launched ‘Fair and Handsome’, targeted at the metrosexual, image conscious man. The underlying message being that fair is what makes one successful, desirable, and beautiful.
In India, this war of colours starts very early, right from the time of birth. When a girl child is born, the first question from her ‘concerned’ family is not regarding her health but her skin colour. As it is, she starts her life on the backfoot being born a girl and if she happens to be dark-skinned then her miseries get multiplied. Comparisons with other light-skinned females around her, barbs and taunts regarding her colour, become her lifelong companions.
Hold on, however! The scenario is not all bleak and dreary. Times are changing and ‘black’ seems to be gaining ground with a vengeance, especially owing to the influence of India’s growing diaspora. With cross cultural marriages and Indian “dark” skinned girls creating quite a sensation in the West and down under, the “brand equity” of the dark skinned is certainly on the rise. In the fashion circuit, dusky models like Carol Gracias, Madhu Sapre, Tupur and Tapur Chatterjee, Koena Mitra are all considered hot properties. Bollywood too is not lagging behind. Actresses like Rani Mukherjee, Kajol, Bipasha Basu—are changing the definitions of beauty. Taking heart from the desirability quotient of these dusky women, dark-skinned girls are no longer shy of flaunting their natural skin-tone. Moreover, fashion conscious females are nowadays using tanning lotions and skin darkening bases to sport the ‘dusky’ look.
Tables are thus turning, albeit slowly. Black is no longer taboo. And taking a cue from Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the director who made ‘black’ a rage, we can proudly say : ‘Black is the colour of knowledge/ Black is the colour of power’. Black Is also Beautiful…
Being fair is seen to be indicative of class, caste and status in the Indian society. You have to just browse through the various matrimonial ads to realize how the complexion hierarchy works. ‘Fair’ is the most sought after, followed by ‘wheatish medium’ while ‘dark’ features nowhere in the list. In most cases dark skinned girls are passed off as ‘dusky’. The idea is to pair off ‘fair’ people so that their light-skinned offsprings experience wider opportunities and success in life. So the vicious cycle continues, sustaining at once a widespread cultural prejudice and a parasitic beauty industry.
The cosmetic industry is flooded with skin lightening products and women ranging from sixteen to sixty wildly grab the various ‘fairness’ creams and potions. The only objective being to lighten their skin tones and thus become desirable. The Indian mindset equates fair with being beautiful. The ‘Fair and Lovely’ ad shows a dark-skinned girl being refused the post of an air hostess due to her complexion, much to the distress of her father. Applying the fairness cream for six weeks she manages to bag the job. The marketing strategy seems to blatantly sell the idea that whether you want to become an air hostess or a doctor, what matters is your skin tone and not your academic qualification.
The only silver lining seems to be the fact that in this age of metrosexuality the fairness creams are also eyeing men as potential customers. Unilever recently launched ‘Fair and Handsome’, targeted at the metrosexual, image conscious man. The underlying message being that fair is what makes one successful, desirable, and beautiful. In India, this war of colours starts very early, right from the time of birth. When a girl child is born, the first question from her ‘concerned’ family is not regarding her health but her skin colour. As it is, she starts her life on the backfoot being born a girl and if she happens to be dark-skinned then her miseries get multiplied. Comparisons with other light-skinned females around her, barbs and taunts regarding her colour, become\n her lifelong companions. Hold on, however! The scenario is not all bleak and dreary. Times are changing and ‘black’ seems to be gaining ground with a vengeance, especially owing to the influence of India’s growing diaspora. With cross cultural marriages and Indian “dark” skinned girls creating quite a sensation in the West and down under, the “brand equity” of the dark skinned is certainly on the rise. In the fashion circuit, dusky models like Carol Gracias, Madhu Sapre, Tupur and Tapur Chatterjee, Koena Mitra are all considered hot properties. Bollywood too is not lagging behind. Actresses like Rani Mukherjee, Kajol, Bipasha Basu—are changing the definitions of beauty. Taking heart from the desirability quotient of these dusky women, dark-skinned girls are no longer shy of flaunting their natural skin-tone.\n Moreover, fashion conscious females are nowadays using tanning lotions and skin darkening bases to sport the ‘dusky’ look. "
The only silver lining seems to be the fact that in this age of metrosexuality the fairness creams are also eyeing men as potential customers. Unilever recently launched ‘Fair and Handsome’, targeted at the metrosexual, image conscious man. The underlying message being that fair is what makes one successful, desirable, and beautiful.
In India, this war of colours starts very early, right from the time of birth. When a girl child is born, the first question from her ‘concerned’ family is not regarding her health but her skin colour. As it is, she starts her life on the backfoot being born a girl and if she happens to be dark-skinned then her miseries get multiplied. Comparisons with other light-skinned females around her, barbs and taunts regarding her colour, become her lifelong companions.
Hold on, however! The scenario is not all bleak and dreary. Times are changing and ‘black’ seems to be gaining ground with a vengeance, especially owing to the influence of India’s growing diaspora. With cross cultural marriages and Indian “dark” skinned girls creating quite a sensation in the West and down under, the “brand equity” of the dark skinned is certainly on the rise. In the fashion circuit, dusky models like Carol Gracias, Madhu Sapre, Tupur and Tapur Chatterjee, Koena Mitra are all considered hot properties. Bollywood too is not lagging behind. Actresses like Rani Mukherjee, Kajol, Bipasha Basu—are changing the definitions of beauty. Taking heart from the desirability quotient of these dusky women, dark-skinned girls are no longer shy of flaunting their natural skin-tone. Moreover, fashion conscious females are nowadays using tanning lotions and skin darkening bases to sport the ‘dusky’ look.
Tables are thus turning, albeit slowly. Black is no longer taboo. And taking a cue from Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the director who made ‘black’ a rage, we can proudly say : ‘Black is the colour of knowledge/ Black is the colour of power’. Black Is also Beautiful…
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