Falling in Love in India

Falling in love anywhere is easy; staying in love anywhere is tough. Yet each country poses its own unique cultural and social challenges to the human race when it comes to love. The west is perceived as a place where the entire multitude is still writhing in the ecstasy of the 60’s. It is not the permissive nature of the nation that gives this impression, it is the media projected out of there, into millions of middle class Indian homes. Thank you cable TV. I am not going to rant about how twisted that makes our slightly prudish minds, I am genuinely thankful to Cable TV. It has opened a whole new chapter of entertainment for me, considering my idea of fun was the outdoors and books. A good combination according to my parents but teenagers needed more than that. Suddenly everything was so colourful and loud, that’s my most vivid memory of 24x7 TV viewing. I remember the Valentine months most. Every show had a ‘valentine’ episode, every product had a ‘valentine’ promise and every channel had ‘valentine’ specials. I am quite sure there was an Ad for coconut oil that promised ‘Valentine Beau’ attracting tresses in a week. Thankfully it aired a fortnight before ‘Valentine’s Day’.

Unregulated cable TV seeped into Indian life around the time of the Gulf War in 1991. Metropolitan cities in India could view live broadcasts of glowing scuds whizzing across Kuwaiti skies, courtesy CNN. Shortly after that came the day time soaps, some of which are still revered by the now 30 + year old Indians. The third momentous entry was definitely MTV, with its brazen attitude, mind numbing graphics and freaky dating shows. You could practically see the minds blossoming right out our skulls.

Things are more or less the same 15 years down the line. There are more channels, more products and more ‘this and that days’, but the marketing blitz for Valentine’s comes in a close second after Diwali. Locally every restaurant and store has a promotion aimed at lovers of all kinds, young, old, just friends, mistresses, crushes and of course teens. Nationally, FMCG and Fashion brands cash in on this occasion. The Indian psyche has morphed itself slowly but surely. We don’t condone ‘love marriages’ yet all our kids are manically buying Valentine paraphernalia every February 14th. We don’t approve of dating among our teenaged kids yet each one of them knows when Valentine’s Day is versus when Gandhi was assassinated. Love makes the retail world go round, money makes the real world go around.

So far the general perception and awareness about Valentine’s Day is limited to the love between a man and a woman. This makes the marketing efforts concentrated towards the youth of India, 51% of India is below 25. So I am guessing it is fair to call this kind of product pushing an ‘advertising frenzy’. If only the awareness could be brought up a notch and India would realize that Valentine’s Day celebrates love, all kinds of love.

I can picture Kingfisher Airlines doing a ‘Senior’s Valentine’s Special’. Any Indian couple over 65 years old, flies to any one of the ten listed romantic destinations in India at half the price. Now, open this promotion to foreigners. Give them Agra for the Taj, Goa for the party, and Ladhakh for the mountains, give them an Indian love experience. China attracts 87 million tourists a year versus India’s measly 2.5 million. We need to hop on the global media bandwagon, make ourselves heard, make ourselves seen, and make ourselves marketable. Let cable TV be our guiding light. It is time to wake up and take stock of every day that means something to somebody and then sell, sell, sell!

Happy Valentine’s Day. Do check out our eclectic collection of ‘love’ images on Photosindia.com. ; )

View Valentine 2008 Stock Photos by PhotosIndia.com

The Sensual Sari

View Stock Photo Gallery by PhotosIndia.com

The ‘sari’ adds a whole new meaning to the term ‘the whole nine yards’. It is a 5000 year old traditional outfit, worn by an estimated 75% of the female populace of India. It is a one piece garment and its length ranges from five to nine and half yards. All of which is wrapped around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder. It is worn all over India in over 15 regional styles and in every way that a 'Sari' is fashioned it adds sensuality and femininity to a woman’s body.



From the basic cotton to rich silk, sexy satin and elegant organza, the sari comes in a variety of fabrics. Sari’s can be block printed with natural dyes; they can be embroidered with intricate patterns or woven with imaginative designs. Even avid ‘sari’ collectors will say no one can have them all. Some of the popular regions for ethnic ‘sari’s are West Bengal where the wondrous ‘Baluchari’ comes from, it always has images of Indian religious epics as a pattern. The state of Tamil Nadu offers the richly brocaded ‘Kanchipuram’, they are silk saris much sought after and considered a must for every woman to own. Orissa has mastered the art of yarn dyed patterning, their Sari’s are stark and geometric. Rajasthan and Gujarat derive their inspiration from the gypsy culture of that region, their bandhini’ sari’s come in vibrant colors achieved from the process of ‘tie and dye’. The list of ethnic sari’s is endless but the ‘sari’ has evolved. As times have changed so has the ‘sari’, in order to suit the 21st century Indian women, sari’s come with more modern designs and in more manageable fabrics. Embroidery on ‘sari’s’ has been replaced by sequins and ‘Swarovski’ crystals, only to invite a whole new generation into its fold (pun intended)!

What really makes this outfit extremely versatile is that it can be worn as a trouser, as shorts or as a simple skirt, without one single stitch on it. Sari’s suit the weather of the Indian subcontinent, it is airy and light yet sensual and suggestive. A hint of the midriff is all an Indian woman will divulge but the sari hugs a woman’s curves so beautifully, that she stands out despite her whole body being covered.

The ‘sari’ is draped and tucked into a skirt like garment called the ‘petticoat’ and on the upper body a short bodice called a ‘blouse’ is worn. The midriff is bare. Every state of India has a traditional weave for the ‘sari’ as well as a traditional style of draping. North India produces fine block printed cottons and textured silks like those found in Varanasi. South India on the other hand prefers to ignore the glaring sun and produce richer and heavier silk saris with ancient motifs and patterns. Every region of India boasts of a typical ‘sari’ only found in that area.

So if you haven’t worn one yet, go ahead take the plunge. The real secret of the ‘sari’ is – it adds curves to the right places and hides curves in the wrong places. Enjoy!