two ladies

some doodles. one is a fisherwoman, and another a girl with blue hair.

Sari-draping for dummies

 

I am trying to document all the knowledge I gained during the process of getting married. One of the crucial learnings was how to sucessfully drape and be comfortable in saris. Sari-draping is a complex process, and you can only improve with practice. I say this from personal experience. And here's a shout out to my ex-colleagues R. here who inspired me to wear saris to office :) and Nabs for all the styling tips.

Taking the bus in Bangalore

(image source: The Hindu)

Some cons:

1) all buses are full. if you think the next bus will be less full, you are wrong. they are ALL full.

2) traffic starts, and then stops. then it starts again but then (oh no) it stops.

3) it takes 2.5 hours to cover 10 kms. you do the math.

4) the conductor wants to push towards the front of the bus after every single stop.

5) If you don't have the exact money for the fare, you will rarely if ever get back change.


Some pros:

1) people hold conversations around you and you are free to eavesdrop. nobody cares.

2) there's a separate women's section and men's section in the bus. so no gropers/eve-teasers/pinchers will be entertained.

3) women who are sitting will offer to hold your heavy bags. which is super nice of them.

4) the weather is awesome, so you are not stinky and sweating by the end of your commute

The Women of Bollywood

 

Has anybody seen 'Dil To Pagal Hai'? 

Relax, thats a rhetorical question. OF COURSE, everyone has.

I saw the movie almost 14 years ago and yet, I clearly remember this dialogue:

Raj (played by Shahrukh Khan) is dreaming about his perfect muse,

"Uska naam hai...XYZ.." (Her name is..XYZ)

One of his dance troupe asks, "Lekin yeh XYZ karti kya hai?"(What does this girl do?)

"Sapne dekhti hai." (She dreams)

I remember being very annoyed. Is that it? She dreams?Thats, like, her job? And dances on verdant lawns wearing spotless chiffon dresses?

Bollywood has never been known for its deep characters; but its biggest crime is stereotyping women. It is very rare that any of the leading female characters actually has a job or a career, the maximum that they can do is...fashion designer. 

Lately there has been a spate of movies where the lead female character is; perky, bubbly, empty-headed, quite hot and yet, pure. Classic examples; Kira(played by Priyanka Chopra) in 'Anjaana Anjaani', 'Ayesha' (played by Sonam Kapoor) in Ayesha, Tanu in 'Tanu Weds Manu', Geet in 'Jab We Met'...

To review one movie: I actually started off liking Anjaana Anjaani, I gave full marks to the director to actually put in a character like Kira who was an alcoholic, suicidal, and co-dependent. But as the movie progressed, Kira became more and more annoying. All her problems in life were due to the oldest, most clichéd situation; being dumped by her fiance.  And Akaash(played by Ranbir Kapoor) only needed to meet a girl who was bubbly (yet depressed and needed his shoulder to cry on), did things on the spur of the moment(yaaay, lets go ice-skating in winter), and yet, YET had an air of mystery (the reason for her depression was not revealed for an excruciatingly LONG time). So it turns out that Kira, who was irresponsible, immature, untidy, disorganised and of dubious job-history, was still attractive to Akaash. Akaash on the other hand, is well-educated, has the balls to start his own business, has a bunch of friends who genuinely care for him. And yet...somehow, Kira and Akaash end up together. What's the message out here?

Bollywood shapes a lot of perceptions out there, and is this really the impression we want to make? Of women being decorative dolls? Most the women I know are educated, with good careers, and yet thoughtful, put-together, well-read, and interesting. If movies reflect life, why aren't there more movies which show women to actually have a personality of their own?

Hollywood actually has a term for shallow women whose sole purpose in life is to look pretty, act ridiculous and live on someone else's kindness: the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. As I read the article, I realized that this phenomenon is not restricted to Hollywood. Bollywood has its share of MPDGs too. And its gotta stop, seriously.

(Note: This article/rant has been inspired by this one.)

Roti-making for the dummies

I recently have managed to make rotis, so here are my handy hints for all you roti-making amateurs out there.

Another shoe-comic

My love for good shoes is well-known, though I am not exactly Carrie Bradshaw.

why i gym

i love the rush endorphins give me, it makes me quite creative.