Back to roots

Its an interesting time to be in Punjab these days, you don’t know who is crossing where, who is joining which party or who is going to come and save the state. Punjabi’s need saving, we are sinking in the mire of drug infused frenzy or shortage of water or just anything and everything that can be blamed on the ordinary farmer who has no clue that he is duped by the politician to further his claim to fame and power. I opened my what Sapp (my extension to living, as some say) to read what was happening all around in the world and I went to one of my group chats, which has my school buddies.

One of them had written, that her son was pointing out what she should wear to go to a popular place for children, in Delhi. He didn’t want her to wear a Punjabi salwar suit. In stead, he wanted her to wear a pantsuit / trouser suit, or anything that was modern.

According to him, a Punjabi suit was not what she should wear and he didn’t want her wearing it. This got me thinking, that how young our children get conditioned in thinking that wearing a suit was a no-no, its desi and not with it, not modern.

It’s the society we live in, these days she says. Materialism and class-consciousness has seeped in to such an extent that a child recognizes that if his mother is wearing the modern with it clothes then all is good. She doesn’t stand out she just blends. The mind at a tender young age is brain washed into thinking what blends and what is appropriate. A modern mother is one who wears the western n outfit and not the pendu, desi stalwart suit that is associated with the bhenji! Bhenji here means the colloquial term for one who is from a rural background and doesn’t know what is fashion or doesn’t stick her legs into drainpipe jeans with a t-shirt that has a subtle logo proclaiming how expensive it is. Wearing a dress or jeans or anything that is far from the five-mt suit with a duppatta is preferable and with it as it is a symbol of being modern, of having style and is fashionable.

Imagine the world these children are living gin, where clothes define your status, your shoes, your logos and brand makes you acceptable.

I wonder did we ever get free from the shackles of the rule after 69 years from the British’s or did we exchange the shackles from one yoke to another? Its interesting that in the struggle for freedom we gave up the clothes of the Englishman, by embracing Khadi, and our attire defiant against the rule and what the clothes stood for; but 70 years down the road we are back to embracing them with a vigor so strong and so deep that we don’t know that we are imprisoned with materialism.

National pride in our culture, our dress, our language is limited to the official paperwork, the speeches of the politician, and the requisite language subject we need for our tenth class board! Otherwise, believe you me, we would give a run to the Englishman for his money in walking, talking English!

The mushrooming of the Language /IELTS center in every nook and corner and every third shop and billboard, matrimonial advertisement and even out numbers the shauchalyas that Modi ji wants to build is a testament to the fact that we are still looking and searching for the dream of being a blue blooded gora!

Freedom is what we got, but somewhere along the years the society lost its plot of being free, as it again sunk into the outward projection of being modern by being defined by the clothes we wear. I thought, the old line was, “ when in Rome, do as the romans do … but here I think one cant even be a Punjabi!

I think I can safely say that soon we would have an obituary for the salwar suit and loving tributes would be paid. Farewell thee faithful, you were love, cherished and will be forever missed, but are now replaced by a dynamic, sleek, modern ,21^st century design .

I am still guilty of being faithful to the old fashioned, staid, ancient, frumpy , bhenji type suit !!

Teach your children to be independent of these stereotypes and recognize the person and not get duped by the packaging! Let’s free the mind and be truly independent and not be bogged down by outer covers and manifestations. Because without our roots , we are nothing .

P for Punjab , not Pummi Aunty .

This article has no claim on the chitta or the bhukki sold in the state, nor is it focusing on the two biggest P’s of the world, Pokémon-Go and Pummi Aunty. It just focuses on Punjab, my kind of favorite word that begins with P. One of the smaller states of the country, it is going to have its elections early next year and the temperatures are sizzling high, with one of the most interesting, hard-fought elections of the country. Punjab has a way of surprising everyone. We have been written off from time immemorial but the zeal, zest and jazba that we have (yes we also come with bragging rights) is un-parallel to any other state. From the partition where one limb went to Pakistan, a line etched and drawn between the people which are essentially one, to the Green Revolution, to the 1984 riots, to the dark period of terrorism and to finally being the present day Punjab. We have always risen like the proverbial Phoenix.

Yes, I hear you, the critics that love pointing out me all that pains the state and the fact that everything and every one is wrong and as if all is breaking down.

How come, then we still function? Something, somewhere is going right. Right now in the run up, for 2017 we have coffee with Captain  (subtle play on the alphabet C to re-enforce the party Congress), AAP di khichdi, Sukhbir di lassi.

All the three parties are trying to woo the electorate, to promise us a clean, corruption less, with a better development plan to usher in a successful Punjab promising us the moon and back. It was interesting to ask the question today morning on face book and I had six likes and just thirteen people commenting over a strong 450 plus friends from which more than half are Punjabis.  It went from advocating military rule, to a mixed ‘new’ party where all the candidates were from the parties to be the best and form the best government.

One of them candidly was on a diet and didn’t like my idea. One very sweetly, said NOTA were the dessert option.

One of them was open enough in saying that the present government that he hates is finally making the right moves to development. While Congress has record of giving prosperity to the state, but that doesn’t seem to be happening, while the bubble that was AAP is bursting, they peaked too fast and they have no administrative skills. I personally don’t like them one bit.

In fact, the surprising sentence was that he would rather go with the Akalis and BJP alliance rather than AAP.

The Maharaja true to his royal lineage and his mannerism fails to translate his charisma into votes and they have infighting over every constituency, they have so many power camps.

Another point that I feel is going to play a huge role is the fact that disgruntled, upset, politicians who are not getting their due in their own home party are leaving and joining another party thinking that would translate in to a higher percentage of votes and are causing all the ruckus. The Punjabi election is so interesting that we have singers, poets and sundry all singing paeans over the lost glory and also hoping for a revolution to change the winds in our state.

Isn’t it interesting we look for answers from people who rise from us, (we give them power) forgetting that they all have feet of clay and we start giving them demi-god status? Hoping for a change overnight is a dream that will become a reality if we all help and do our bit.

Hoping that the linen count of 150, white starched kurta pajama wearing turbans the color of their political parties; and sporting expensive watches and flowing beards is not the answer .

We need not a khichdi , but a clear mandate to rise like the Fawke’s .

Four suits and some money

Some days you hear an incident that keeps on reverberating in your mind and you want to share it. A cousin of mine does charity work in her own way and she believes education is the key way to changing and making a difference in the society. Every year she sponsors a girl child be it, from the school level or the college going young woman. This year, she is sponsoring someone at the college level, all the girl wants to do is read and study further.

My cousin happened to come home, and she narrated how she had met the girl and asked her to buy books and all the stationary she would require for a few months. She picked up one pen and refused to take any more. She prodded her to take a few more she hesitantly took some. Then, she asked her do you have any money? She replied with full confidence, yes yes, ji I have enough. She was happy that Neena (young girl) had money. When she asked her how much do you have? She said, oh I have Rs 200 ji.

My sister was stunned, and she couldn’t answer. She kept quiet, wondering how she could be happy and content with Rest 200.  Neena said she was happy with what she had.

When she was further asked, do you have clothes? She said, yes I have four suits and those are enough. In turn I wash them and use them.

I was amazed at the fact that a young girl of this day and age where we always never have anything to wear is contended with Rs 200 and four sets of clothes. She just wants to study and be educated.

Here , we constantly keep on harping non stop about more and more things , more of everything , trying to appease the want and to fill the ever deep chasm that has no bottom. Its as if one more would make us happy. And , money the root cause of evil . Who doesn’t want a smidgen more ? Just a tad bit more to buy one more thing . It’s the sense of security that money can buy us everything . Money is the false premise which makes us believe that it can buy us happiness, contentment and satisfaction. It is the race to acquire more mammon that causes Man’s greatest downfall. Since, we reach age ,all our focus is towards being something , someone to earn money , to  have a position in the society. We stopped raising children to be empathetic, compassionate and to be most content in what they have. The drive to succeed and to make money, and more of it is the measure of success these days. It is seen by the diamonds, one has, the designer things/items one possesses and what one drives.

Being senti is just not fashionable you see! And to just have Rs 200 is just not the done thing. Actually, Rs 200 would not even cover the cost of a drink in the places these college going kids go in Chandigarh.

The need of the hour is not a crazy app like Pokemon Go , or a swachh abhiyaan , or building more shauchalayas, or even watching more Pammi aunty but to have children who are more compassionate and sensitive to each other to be more humane.

Let us become more fashionable, by raising children who are kinder and not caught in the rut of fashion like us. The onus all lies with us and it’s us who can make a change so we have a trickle down effect.