Dress me up!

“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”
― Mark Twain

      Quite a pity that Mr. Twain lived in another era. An era sans Pamela Anderson or Sunny Leone (discount the fact that both appeared on Big Boss, they had more clothes on than most other times in their lives). Even now, I'd half-expect him to walk out of his grave and scrap this quote.

     The media has found their latest scapegoat, an ignorant minister who delivered a sermon on "provocative dressing" (the denial has followed suit as well - media coverage two-two times). Especially, at this time of the year when the annual moral-policing membership is up for renewal  (remember the case of the pink panties Chaddis). What do Indian women have to fear when their brothers & uncles are out to maintain their respectability*.

     Coming back to the original point. It's a farce that during the middle-ages, women were not allowed to cover the upper-half of their body as a rule (remember the movies that come at the stroke of midnight, we're not talking about those). And then we progressed to the next level. Celebrities played peek-a-boo with the media (lexicons terming them as "wardrobe malfunctions"), and our films and heroines grew bolder (boldness directly proportional to the amount of clothes shed). Nubile young women ruled the roost; Cricket matches peppered with glamorous foreigners in their skimpy clothes, Kingfisher calendars that adorn desk tops and walls, Television, media (Bangalore times rocks!), the internet. And yet, we were never "provoked".

      It was all supposed to be part of a shift in culture, to advance with the times. Upstream fashion designers found Mumbai & Delhi just like New York or Paris. The Indian woman could, and would break the shackles of an orthodox life. The saree & salwar would eventually be an anomaly from the daily Jeans & Tee. Sadly, society didn't follow suit. Our men who had salivated at the glimpse of foreign women in micro-mini skirts wouldn't accept a similar trend in their household. The hypocritical Indian was at his peak.

     Quite recently, a couple of teens were charged by the cops in Kerala for wearing their pants below the waist (almost at their knees), thereby exhibiting the branded underwear to the public. The youth were booked for displaying obscenity in public and totally deserved it. But more often than not, we tend to treat such instances as a restriction to our freedom.

     Similarly, a woman is free to chose an attire that suits her comfort & sensuality. But, at some point we would need to draw a line. I don't intend to say that our women-folk hide behind a Burqa or Abaya, but let's not forget the primary intention of wearing clothes, to protect our body from social and physical considerations. Being trendy does not necessarily mean that our modesty is exposed.

      Probably, in the future things might change. Clothes might end up as an option, rather than a priority. Till then, spare a thought for Mark Twain's words.

"Our minds want clothes as much as our bodies." - Samuel Butler

*Conditions apply. Conditions include walking alone without any male companions, even at the middle of the night. Moreover, the couple should not be siblings since they might get married off at the same juncture.

P.S: An interesting read from today's newspaper.

     "Welcome to another cycle of ‘Let’s blame the victim for the crime’. It’s a phenomenon that occurs everywhere in the world every few years, or months. It doesn’t matter that women usually know what clothing is appropriate for what company. It doesn’t matter if the victim is old or middle-aged. The onus is on the woman, not to inflame the passions of men. Never mind that this does not explain crimes against women committed in countries like Afghanistan, where no amount of traditional clothing could save Gulnaz, or the Quatif girl in Saudi Arabia." Read further.