Dark Vs Fair

Reading an article in a newspaper today, reminded me of how much our Indian society is still
hung up on ‘fairness’!

The very term ‘ Fair and Lovely’ indicates that fairness and loveliness goes
hand in hand!
I remember, reading Shaadi.com or Indian-matrimony for fun, and
coming across loads of adverts which stated very clearly ‘fair bride wanted’.
And I do not recall any advertisement for a ‘fair groom wanted’.

Going back to the main topic – why this fascination with ‘fairness’????
Is it as harmless as the fascination for ‘tanned’ skin abroad, as some people like to claim?
I wish it were, but I would have to disagree.. Agreed, that a lot of people in the
UK and the US( and I am sure in a lot of other countries), go for sunbeds and other
tanning treatment to look good.

So what is the difference with our people trying to be – ‘fair and lovely’?

The main difference I would think is that in there is no discrimination within a society
against people who are not tanned(in UK, US etc).
Tanning is simply a beauty treatment, however, in India, a whole lot more depends of
one’s skin colour! Brides are rejected based on ‘fairness’ of the skin!

Some time back I remember seeing a ‘We, the people’ on NDTV,
where a gentleman, very honestly said that, given a choice between 2 equally qualified
people, he would select the fairer candidate, as that would be more beneficial
to his business.. Unfortunately, this mindset remains!

Somebody else, qualified the difference, saying that one would not mind having a
dark girlfriend, but when it came to the woman, to take home to mummy –
it would have to be a fair girl!

However, don’t you think, that if a woman tried to reject a prospective groom, on
the basis that he is ‘not fair’,
would be told not to be ‘frivolous’?

Even, in this age, people advise expectant mothers to eat certain foods to ensure that
the unborn child is ‘fair’! And this is not just among the uneducated,
unaware society either!

The silver lining? Well , from the look of it, today we have a market for
‘Fair and Handsome’ as well..
Well, at least we can no longer complain of inequality, I guess!

Men are from Mars and Women are from....??

He's a Gemini and I'm an Aquarion. 
  He is a twin-some sign, I am a water one.
* He's a man of few words, I'm bordering on verbose. He could live in monosyllables,
  I would die with them!
* He hates books, can't read two pages without dozing off. Me?
  I dream of a well-stocked personal library in my house,
  children who'll know Harry potter,Chetan Bhagat and others..
* He's always feeling too hot, I'm always cold.
* He'll always so organized, I'll always be so clumsy and bumping into things.
* He loves children ,I love them too,but not not like omg so cute types.
* He can lose himself in numbers, figures and directions. I can only get lost in them.
* He like Ice creams,i dont...!!!!
* He won't lose his temper till you ask for it, spell it out. I'd have lost and regained my
 cool ten times over in the same time.
* He's tall, I'm just not!
* Finally, the clincher: I blog, he doesn't even read one.

What is it about men and shopping...

What is it about men and shopping? I can never understand why my boyfriend hates shopping with such a vengeance.

For me, retail therapy is one of the most relaxing and fun experiences. It rests – right on the top – right after a spa experience  For my boyfriend, it is probably as relaxing as getting his legs waxed 

I can spend hours window shopping… I can even do that in grocery supermarkets.. I am known to stand and admire all the pretty cakes in the bakery section, while my boyfriend mutters behind me,’ Just select whatever you like and let’s get going! People are going to think that you have never seen cakes before!’ Which is why, whenever I am shopping alone, I make it a point to go to the food hall in places like Macdonalds and pizza corners and drool away   Yummy yummy yummy looking food! 

Shopping for me is pure bliss.. Looking at all the clothes on sale, trying on a few and then deciding not to pick it unless totally satisfied.. For ma guy, it is more functional – enter a shop only if he has no other option. Buy new clothes only when he has run out of decent clothes to wear. Spend 2 seconds to decide and bill it – all done in under 10 minutes.. 10 minutes! Can you believe that? How can somebody do that! It’s just not done! He despairs when I reject clothes and move on to the next shop.. I am sure he sends up silent prayers that I get what I am looking for in the next shop.

There is so much to browse; after all, we should make an informed decision – so what if it is just a pair of skirt? Or jeans or accessories or shoes.. How can we decide without knowing what is on sale next door? By the end of a shopping trip – I glow with happiness and he is totally exhausted!

For him it is a list that can be reduced where possible.. For me, there is nothing like a list when it comes to shopping.. I believe in picking up if I like it – am sure we can find a use for it , for him it is, picking up only it we are in dire need of it.

A couple of weekends back, we went Mantri mall in malleshwaram. It is  awesome with the bunch of all shops put up in one place.... The one place that makes him want to shop is when he sees some electronic shop. Reliance digital… He can spend all his life there I guess..Sooo engrossed in the magic of those tiny gadgets... Never seen him so excited in a shopping trip

Next time, I want happy, fuss free shopping, with no questions like, ‘innu shopping idya??’ or ‘innu yest hothu aguthe… every 2 minutes( as if shopping is such a precise science that I should be able to predict!) , I am leaving my boyfriend with the staff in the Reliance Digital outlet to ‘boyfriend-sit’ while I enjoy shopping to the fullest 
Or better still go shopping with a girl friend. So much better!