A memorable journey

We enjoyed a vacation to Coastal Karnataka, post-Diwali of 2004.  The journey to our first halt in Belgaum is clearly etched in my memory. I vividly remember the beautiful early morning when the nineteen of us, twelve adults and seven children met.  Bhaubeej, the last day of Diwali had concluded the day before. Remains of firecrackers lay everywhere on the street, corridors of homes looked beautiful, decorated with rangoli designs and lanterns. We all had mixed feelings in our hearts, excitement about the vacation and a bit of gloom as the most awaited festival of the year was over.

We boarded our vehicle and the journey, heading towards Kolhapur, began at 7:00 am. Breakfast comprised of yummy pattice from Hindustan bakery and Diwali delicacies. At around 11:00 am, suddenly our vehicle came to a grinding halt. The driver and the men of the group started their research about what had gone wrong. Despite their best efforts, were unable to locate the fault. We were stranded for three hours. As a last resort, the vehicle owner was informed. He, along with his mechanic started for Satara immediately and reached the spot pretty soon. The expert checked the vehicle and found that a small pin from the tyre had fallen off. The mechanic took care of the repairs in a couple of minutes and the vehicle was ready.  We thanked the two Samaritans profusely, had a quick lunch and started on our journey.  

We reached Kolhapur in the evening instead of in the afternoon as scheduled. A visit to the Mahalaxmi temple was rejuvenating to say the least. We enjoyed some sumptuous Bhel and other chat items in Kolhapur and then were on our way to Belgaum. Throughout the travel, we chatted, played antakashari, ate much more than we should have and admired the bountiful nature on the way. To sum it up, we had a blast. We reached Belgaum at around 9:00 pm, and checked into our rooms at hotel Ramakrisha. After a delightful dinner, we retired for the night.

The experience reiterated an important lesson of life. “Every cog in the wheel is important."

Women’s Fashion

What comes to your mind immediately when I say fashion?…its “women” isn’t it? Of course it is. It is the Universal truth that women invest a lot of time, energy, and money to put together that perfect look.

When I think about fashion, I think about ramp walk, skinny models wearing weird clothes, and expensive ones..at that!! I see Sarah Jessica Parker and her friends enjoying the popular New York Fashion show with so much love and excitement. I wonder..what is so exciting!! ..they are just clothes..and expensive ones..!! It is simply their love and passion for clothes.. I can understand that..I can relate to that…

If we are watching movies.. or celebrity interviews..don’t we check out the clothes?..of course we do J

Is fashion meant only for the rich? No…not at all!!

Every morning women make the important decision of what to wear.

Why!!

Because, clothes speak for us, they make the first impression. Looking good..gives us the much needed confidenceJ
What is fashion exactly?

Fashion is about current trends, and good looking clothes. But, more important than that, one should be comfortable in what one is wearing. One must not jump the bandwagon just because it is the latest trend!!

Today, women’s fashion is a huge industry, supported by women all over the world. There are lucrative jobs in this industry such as fashion designing, clothes modelling, clothes manufacturing, jobs t fashion magazines etc. It is a glamorous world out there. There are jobs such as “buyers”, imagine, one is shopping, for a living.

How does fashion help women?

For one, looking good and presenting oneself well is very important to women. Besides, not so young women want to look young and the young women want to look younger. Clothes that make women look younger are an important part of their wardrobes. Women want to have the latest of everything so they are updated about the latest happenings.

Also, fashion is not restricted to clothes only;  it includes shoes, accessories, hairstyles etc. Women have closets full of shoes, accessories that come in all kinds of designs and colours that match their outfits. Women have heart to heart chats with their hairstylists and they function as women’s therapists..sort of J

How do we as a country fare in this world?

In India, I think it is a bit class based. The high society women are driven by trends, the goings on of the Lakme Fashion week, brands, work from top designers, etc. While the rest of the country is influenced by Bollywood and thrives on cheap imitations. For the middle class working women fashion is clothes that fit her budget and what they are comfortable in. For young college kids, they just love their denims, get them in all sizes and colour. It seems that the craze of the West has not entirely caught on in India, yet.

For those who have a passion for fashion and think of it as a science must pursue it relentlessly, for passion is what makes us all tick.

Political scenario

“All is not well” seems to an apt phrase for the current political situation faced by our country.

Miserable monsoon throughout the country has set fears of a severe drought. Maharashtra is one of the front runners of the affected states, already plagued with huge debts and farmer suicides. Nature has added to its woes. Agricultural output will be low, leading to an adverse affect on the economy. Hardly any money earned will result in hardly any money spent. Government is trying to help the affected through various schemes. This help must reach those in need and not be siphoned off by greedy, corrupt officials.

The stock market of mighty China plummeted recently, and in reaction so did the markets of the world. Whether China recovers or worsens further, remains to be seen. Meanwhile, this situation may not affect Indian economy directly as India is not a huge exporter to China. But, there are other countries such as US who have huge business deals with China. Therefore, slowdown in China will bring about slowdown in their economies. This, in turn, will affect the foreign direct investment in India as well as the boom in IT sector. The silver lining in this dark cloud may be the cheaper prices in global markets for products that we import. The RBI is doing its best to control inflation and seems to have succeeded presently to say the least. This defends the downfall in Rupee but the situation may not last long.

What comes as a great relief to the common man is the reduction in petrol prices, hope this may continue. It will act as a blessing for the present government.

Elections will take place in Bihar soon. In the wake of the Government not living up to its dream of “acche din” it will be interesting to see how BJP performs in Bihar.

The affluent Patel community is fighting for “reservations” in the jobs and education sector. The “forward” community is asking to be termed as “backward” in order to exploit the advantages that lay therein. We need to take a closer look at the entire “reservations” system. It should cater to those who are economically backward and deserving of any given course/education.

Our Prime Minister is literally on a world tour, having visited many countries in the recent past. Benefits from these visits are various kinds of agreements, contracts etc. Japan, for example will help India build smart cities. The prime minister is, through these visits gaining allies, friends, in displaying to a country “you are important” to us, we become important to them too. Another very important by product of these visits is the emotional appeal to the NRIs world over to invest in the betterment of their mother country, India.

A very important event is the withdrawal of the Land Acquisition Bill. This proposed bill has been touted by its detractors as anti-farmer and pro-capitalist. Supporters of the bill advocate it to be tailored for the benefit of rural India. The bill stresses that:

Government will acquire land from its owners for purposes such as defence, infrastructure, housing, electrification etc.

Government will use the land it already owns first, then barren land and then agricultural land, if required.

Landowners will get compensation in the tune to four times the market rate.

The clause of returning land to the owners, if projects do not get completed in five years was changed to time projects get set up or five years. Of these, the period wasted in legal hassles is not being incorporated.

The LAB is implemented honestly and passionately, it will bring about great progress in rural India. This will stop people from flocking to the cities that are already overburdened. The LAB needs to be taken to the voters, educating them, bringing about further reforms in it as required and then implemented.

Although it is too early to say, my romantic soul wishes the Government fulfills all its promises, making India the land of progress and reverse brain drain.