Munni Badnam-Sheela ki Jawani Chadhi Parwan

Warning : Adults Stuff, Kids stay away please

Eeeeks! I was feeling so yucky typing those words there.  Don't they sound like some C-grade movie title?  Not that I have ever seen such a movie or would like to see one, but who has not read those names on jarring posters in small towns and who has not heard about them?  I thought it made people make dirty faces listening to these crass songs.  But I was wrong.  "Sheela ki jawani" is a hit with the discotheques in Delhi!!  FM radio stations are asking Delhites what do they prefer Badnam Munni or Jawan Sheela!! Oh I am disgusted with all this.

Let me tell the readers, who do not know what I am talking about.  Bollywood is abuzz with this item dance number featuring Katrina Kaif with the name 'sheela is jawani'.  And in the recent past, it was another actress(?) Malaika Arora Khan who danced with pride on 'Munni badnaam hui, darling tere liye'.

I was not really perturbed when Malaika danced to Munni Badnam Hui - it was expected from her.  With only the item numbers in her kitty, she would have grabbed this opportunity like a hungry cat to gyrate with those uncouth looking men flirting around with his brother in law in real life, Salman Khan.  It was just expected of her.  Moreover, the setting of the place was rural and although I have never really lived in a village, but it seems nautanki (an Indian art form of drama) is still alive and nach- gaana (dance and songs)still is the source of entertainment.  So, it was digestible for me.

Now comes, this song - Sheela ki jawani, (I can't believe I am writing about all this crap). Although, I have kept myself away from such masala movies, serving a stupid old story with a tadka of jhatka and matka and the sizzler of the one man army our heroes become, but hufffff, I have to write about this one.  Katrina Kaif really did not require to do this item number, but now when she has done it, let me blurt out what I have say about this song and the dance and the costumes (were there any?!)

Here enters our (i mean, you guys') heartthrob, strategically covered in a pink satin sheet (ah, the ultimate in fantasy!) and holding it just the right way, hiding some showing some, with those guys declaring that now she is the fountain of youth - declaring that now she has become 'jawan' (young) now.  Isn't that disgusting when some one sings or even talks a thing like that?? After this Sheela gets into various avatars - take your pick boys.  Once she is in the belle dancer's costume and the next time she forgets her trousers but knows how to don that hat, and what is the role of an untied tie over there? some clue? yeah, to play some *** game girl!

I am really upset with this.  No, not because one of the top actress wants to degrade herself like this but because this song, like any other bollywood song takes the place in all the music channels, entertainment channels on TV and radio.  The song with those crass lyrics are being doled out to all and sundry.

Does someone even for a moment think about the teenagers? Teenaged boys and girls who still happen to live with their families in our country.  A sheela on the TV screen goes galloping, vibrating her body from top to bottom, screaming out loud that this delectable item is beyond your reach you boy, and we watch it as a family.  The father seems to enjoy a bit, but is visibly conscious.  The mother is shocked and still,  looking at the visuals, the son smirks at his mom, smiles a little naughtily, the daughter is embarrassed. Finally the mother snatches the remote and changes the channel.  Why are we being served such stuff on family channels and family time ie 8pm to 10 pm??

Does it not affect anybody, right from the makers of the movie, writers of the song, the actors, the people who are putting such stuff on prime time? Just nobody bothers about our children??

I am not saying Censor Board of India should be more vigilant or strict.  It must be the choice of an ADULT to decide what he or she wants to watch, or listen or read.  And it's absolutely alright to have access to material which is erotic in nature but does enrich your knowledge about the topic.  This is the land of Kamasutra.  We should not be shy about knowing the facts and the art of something which is the basic instinct of man.  It's human to be curious, even sexually.  And boys, here I am not talking about ppornography, for that in my opinion is just a way of misleading people and creating a false image about sex. I will write about it separately in a post.

Crimes against women are rampant.  Delhi is being called the crime capital.  Cases of rape, molestation are getting piled up.  It took 300 officers and men of police force to nab the 3-4 rapists, who gangraped a call centre executive at Daula Kuan area of New Delhi.  Will they get any punishment, we do not know??

What we know is that media has a role to play.  What is know is that the poor ratio of male and female population is showing it colours, it had been showing, but now we seem to realise it and accept it.  If the number of females would go less, obviously the males who are getting nobody to have an intimate relationship with, would get frustrated.  There are bound to be more crimes towards women, sexual crimes, I mean.  If you see, many a times, it is the men of adjoining states, of small towns and villages who are getting into such crimes.  The boys and men of the city are also no less. Lack of employment opportunities, and a huge population again makes things worse for them.

Are our movies justified in tempting the rickshaw pullers, street vendors kind of people (with  no disrespect to any profession) by playing such songs and dance.  Yes, I name them here because the class of society they are addressing is them only.  (Ever heard a city girl with the name 'Sheela'??  For God's sake - my great grandmother's name is Sheela!!)  There had been many vulgar songs before this, but a lead actress, who first made a place in the industry and the people's heart with her cute, innocent ways, has even done such a crass, dirty and third class song is what makes me so angry.  Money buys everything huh?!

It was madhuri dixit, who did 'choli ke peeche kya hai?' But if you see the answer negates all your dirty thoughts, when she says 'choli mein dil hai mera'. (Although it was too a very suggestive song at that time, but my kids had not grown up for me to feel so angry, I guess).  Coming back to sheela song, if you have heard the song properly, it suggests... well..... self gratification.  Wow, the great lyricists that we have, why should boys have all the fun ha? why 'apna haath jaganath' for men ha? why not pull women into it ha? It's shameful.  It's shocking how the standards of decency are going down in the art of our times.  Art is a reflection of our society.  Is our society... our youngsters too getting this crass?? I ask this to the youngsters who read this post. 

As an art form, I am not against nudity in paintings or sculpture.  As long as the beauty of human body can be portrayed in an aesthetic manner, it is beautiful.  It's the celebration of life and beauty.  But as soon as the posture changes, it becomes animalistic, raw and in bad taste.

I sincerely wish, somebody out there reads my post and understands how movies and TV are misleading our youth, titillating their senses, teasing them, making them animals.  At least leave the prime time of TV, spare our children from this unnecessary exposure to vulgarity.  Let them grow up and have their share of fun later, not in their early teens at least.

What do you feel about it as a youngster, as a teenager, as a mother or a father? How do you see the degradation of the quality of songs? Especially the elderly must be really feeling bad, and missing those golden songs.  Do let me know what you think about it.

RESTLESS

Hair - Herbal Hena To Hibiscus Hues !

Once upon a time, black, shiny hair were considered to be the barometer of your health, and the dull, light brown and dry hair meant the person is not having proper diet.  Today, the rules seem to have changed.  Brown and burgundy have become the new black.

Hena - The Natural Colour:

Earlier, women having grey hair would colour them with henna, mixed with various natural kitchen items to make them look black, orangish, or brown.  Don't believe me? Add boiled tea water or boiled coffee water to hena powder and see the effect. Also add curd, egg, and black pepper powder for relief from dandruff.  Also, cheap chemical dyes were also sold freely in market.  And people, especially women would buy them, as they were sold as herbal dyes. And it goes without saying that such products had a bad effect on the hair growth.

In those days colouring was done only if you have greys and women would generally shy away from telling that they apply hena on their hair, would also hide those tell tale signs of the hena marks on the forehead and near the ears!

Hair Colour - The Hot Trend :

And now, girls, in college, want to colour their hair and they do it too.  Streaking, highlighting, or colouring full head, take your pick. Choose from hues like light brown, burgundy, chestnut brown, etc.,  depending on your skin colour from international brands and join the hep club.  And then don't forget to buy a shampoo and conditioner especially for coloured hair.  And of course, you have to do touching (colour the uncoloured hair as it grows from the roots) to look great!  Be it colouring, straightening or perming, to look great you have to pay a big price too.  As they say, there are no free lunches!!

Greys are graceful :

It's not that coloured hair only look nice. Some women carry grey hair with grace.  I have always admired Indian actor Nafisa Ali, with her grey streak of hair.  She looks so beautiful with her healthy skin and fit body, and so active in social activities.  In fact, I like the picture of my co-blogger Sharbouri for this very reason, she looks lovely!

Hair And Money

Oh My God! this one pinches me badly.  The hair treatments (hair spa, olive oil massage by specialist etc), hair cuts, hair settings for occasions (blow dry, curling, rollers, buns and knots), chemical treatments of hair (perming, straightening, colouring etc) and the hair products for such coloured (damaged) hair (shampoos, conditioners, serums, leave in serums, special oils) etc are so expensive, can range from Rs 500-10,000, (oops! haven't yet downloaded the new Rupee symbol) depending on various things.  Beauty comes with a price tag!

Do hair style has something do with women's mind?

I think so.  First, if we see the evolution of hair styles in India, we see two plaits were synonimous of a teenager, graduating to one plait, a mature girl, and low bun would be donned by married women, with a palloo tucked to it. 

With exposure to new trends, with cinema actors being our models, of course fashion magazines, media, the desire to look good has increased. 

Hair is just one part of looking good, but the changing trend from low buns to today's open hair, I see it as women's sense of freedom from those set rules about dressing one's hair. We do form impressions about a woman seeing her hair style. I think, letting your hair down, this phrase came from the fact that enjoing yourself, having fun somehow means letting go of your hair in a free fall, a free wave!

By the way, while I was searching for 'indian women in buns' pics for my posts, I noticed that, these were rare.  More of western celebrities donned a bun or a knot than Indian beauties.  Shows the trend!

Have a colourful time!

RESTLESS

(If you liked this post then you'll like this and this too!)

PS: image on top courtesy fineartamerica.com

Mind Your Mane Baby!

I wrote about my trysts with my tresses in my last post ! Quite funnily, I realised that I can write so much about hair, so here I go blabbing about women's hair - this time cuts, styles and hair care  - then and now!

Hair and beauty of a woman:

The hair and  the hair-dos have been a very important part of a woman's beauty, but external beauty, as I have always believed that there is so much more in a woman to be and feel beautiful about apart from her looks.  The beauty of a woman, and for that matter a person is deeper than the skin, it beyond the physical form, it's intrinsic, a person exudes beauty, if he/she is beautiful inside, as a human being.

Although, interestingly, I read about this research a few years back that facial features hold a key to one's mental makeup or one's psyche. Hence, a face is more than a face really. 

Hair - then and Now

Hair of a woman are indeed one factor which not just affect her looks but also reflects so much about her - her ethnicity, her socio-religious background, her mind, her choices and yes, not to forget the trends of the times!

Talking of hairstyles and colouring in last twenty years, myself in 30s can say, it has undergone a tremendous change, just like the dress up of women.

Cuts - The Long And Short Of It !

During my school days, apart from the plain Jane, plaited look (one or two plaits) or a better version - pony tailed look, girls also sported short hair - mostly, boy cut (boy?!!), bob cut,   blunt cut, steps cut.  If you did not want the whole length to be altered, then you would go for a fringe cut in a layer, of course the part of hair close to the forehead.  Which cut to choose would depend on the shape of your face, the quality and texture of hair.

In last few years, the hair trends have changed and are changing so much. Years back, came the perming of hair.  Hair were curled permanently (lasted for a few years) in spirals or ringlets of various diameters, sometimes half length of the steps of cut hair and sometimes, the full length.  That was a rage at that time. 

Then came the straight silky look, with a shoulder length hair or little longer.  Since, I naturally had straight silky hair, so I suddenly realised I was having a trendy hairstyle, though without any effort.  And I was so flattered when girls would ask me, how do I manage to keep them straight? and what shampoo do I use?!  I would just smile and say - "Ah! it's natural!"

Since, then cuts mostly keeping the hair length till shoulders or little longer, with steps, layers, razor cuts, curled or straight are mostly kept by girls and women.  Sometimes, our bollywood beauties have donned a short crop or even bald look, which is not so common. .

Hair Buns And Knots :

Plaits or Braids :  The plaits have vanished gradually. Earlier, I was an unsaid code that unmarried girls used to make two braids and married would make one brain or a bun.  But all that has changed now.

Buns, Judas and knots: also started becoming a symbol of being elderly and were avoided by young married girls, even for family functions.

Moreover, earlier, growing up girls, would learn different types of Judas, before marriage, this trend has died down completely, with the blooming of beauty parlour culture.  In Delhi, you will find a beauty parlour in every place, small lanes, homes, posh areas or small colonies.  Women get buns and hair knots made for special family occasions by hair dressers in beauty parlours. The yesteryear's puffed up hair from front with a voluminous bun on top looks fabulous for traditional Indian marriages.  A French knot, my personal favourite, goes well, with traditional as well as formal wear.

Hair Extensions And Accessories :

extensions in many shades!

This cannot be complete without the mention of hair extensions.  Traditionally also, these were used by Punjabi women to make a long plait, with a further colourful and shiny glittery extension called paranda. 

The style in extensions also changed with very fine quality of hair extensions in various shades came to make the buns like chignon etc. Various hair accessories, pins, clips, highlighters etc also catch the fancy of many women. 

Washing And Care :

Even, washing hair was a ritual in those days(!). My mom would soak, amla, ritha, sikakai in a black iron vessel (kadai) overnight, boil them in the morning, and the cooled down matter was strained and hair were washed with this water (Jet black in colour). 

Then came the age of packed shikakai power, and the need to soak and boil was done away with.  Shampoos and soaps were also there, but were used sparingly. 

And now, nothing except a shampoo, with or without conditioner does anything to our hair. Although, excessive or concentrated use of shampoo damages hair.  Proper care should be taken while selecting a shampoo, keeping in mind the hair type.

Have a good hair day!

RESTLESS (Mane!)

PS: images courtesy- PINKVILLA.COM

PPS: The author has given her personal view and is no way should be taken as a professional approach

(This post in second in the series of three posts on womenfolk's hairy tales! this is the first one)