BOHEMIA – To Flow Against The Wind

Long curly hair, black sunglasses, a headband, loose, flared trousers, wide boat neck shirt, high-heeled leather boots and a slouchy hat with a wide brim – Texas??? It sounds pretty much like American countryside attire. But definitely, it is not. You might recall Zeenat Aman grooving lethargically to R.D. Burman’s classic, ‘Dum Maaro Dum’. Hash been smoked off, nomadic life, staying rooted to the nature, a complete reject from regular fashion, standing out in the crowd, shocking the world – all these traits owe their allegiance to the hippie style that came to the fore in late 1960s.

Before getting into the Bohemian groove, let’s find out the meaning and significance of the name. With respect to the history of our human civilization, a Bohemian is a resident of Kingdom of Bohemia, better known as Czech Republic in the present geographical etymology. When it comes to ‘Bohemia’, it was derived from Boii, a Celtic tribe. Social unconventionality is a general reference that is often tagged with this particular term. The hippie movement during the mid-1960s in USA reinforced this idea of social rejection.

When it struck a chord in the world of fashion, fashion pundits all over the world considered Bohemian or Boho as a state of mind. This timeless and ageless psychological revolution induced a completely new definition of looking unique from the rest of the crowd. Bohemian clothing derives its parentage from ethnic wear. Colourful folk art or psychedelic, floral, geometrical, Moroccan kitsch, ancient Sanskrit or Devanagari scripture prints define Bohemian fashion. A Bohemian fashionista prefers to be outrageous rather than getting lost in the usual fashion labyrinths.

Being Bohemian does not necessarily demand embracing of a certain kind of clothing only. One who refuses to flow with the crowd establishes himself/herself as a Bohemian. Take a look at Audrey Hepburn and her fashion statements. Or for that matter, Lady Gaga, Kate Moss, Chloe Sevigny, Mischa Barton, Sienna Miller, The Olsens or any other well-known figure in the entertainment diaspora who have made headlines in newspapers and television worldwide, Bohemianism is always what they try and convey. Detailing is another important aspect of boho-chic style. Accessories like layered necklaces, berets and head scarves, belts, moccasins, cowboy boots, leggings, ballerina flats, platform shoes, and sequined vests complete your Bohemian style quotient.

Bohemian style quotient is all about individuality, anti-establishment, critical thinking and a core interest in art, literature, music and visual arts. 

 

 

SEX…….Ummmmm…Ahemmmm…Ahemmmm….

While I was staring at the bruised wall patches in my room yesterday night, I wondered how desperate we humans have become to survive in this planet. Desperate enough to kill each other! Reckless ways of puking out frustration has become human nature these days. It is not at all an ‘India Shining’ moment when we come to know that the capital city of this country helps flourish human animals. I know it’s too much of the same thing again….to go through the same old stuff that has kept bothering you recently. I sit here and type these words not to complete just another task assigned to me, but it is for the dire need of self-realisation in our society.

‘The girl should have surrendered to the men at that moment. At least it could have saved her intestines’ – said by an educated women in a press conference. If that was not enough, some bloody saintly figure barked this – ‘She should have made them her brothers. You cannot accuse them being responsible for what has happened to her. She herself is guilty for this.’ Most of you would definitely love to kick both of their…. (ahemmm…ahemmm). However, I don’t blame them. What happened to these people after they said all this nonsense? Oh, I forgot…freedom of expression. So, that means anybody can say anything about any issue; no matter how sensitive the issue is? At a time when the entire nation was mourning the death of the girl, these two (I really want to use the word but you all know I can’t…just utter it for me when you read this) vomited out their irrational and insensitive statements.

A tree grows well when we care for it from its roots or seeds. Our paralysed patriarchal psychology seems have attained an incurable state. Whenever it’s about sex, we either switch channels or move away from the situation. What on earth is so ugly in this? I am absolutely sure that none of you have come out straight from the asteroid falling on earth or have just popped out of nowhere?! Admit it, each one of us is a sexual by-product of copulation. It only becomes ugly when males start taking females as sexually satisfying organisms. For all those who think so, ask your mother about where did you come from? Keep asking them until they call you a pervert, kick you out of your house and then to complete your urge, you catch a girl walking down the road along with her friend in the night, put your toy inside her forcefully, and then satisfy your quest!!

I am just explaining a situation. This is exactly the nature of a greater fraction of men in the Indian society. It’s an earnest request to all the people involved in the education ministry, make sex education imperative in every school. I know it is already, but not in some of the most ‘so called’ developed states in this country. Grassroot level change can only act as the harbinger of a larger change!!!!

WHY SO ALAG CHHE?!

After the culmination of another insane season of BIGG BOSS, I can recall just one thing – entertainment amalgamated with chaos. After a tiring day in office, you sit and see people bitching about all kinds of nonsense. Betrayal, double crossing, shocks and surprises have become the staple ingredients of entertainment. We just can’t deny the fact so easily that we do enjoy watching all these human traits dancing in front of our eyes. No way can you do away with the fact that you enjoy watching Imam doing absolutely notorious things for other members in the house….o yes, GOTCHA!!!

The topsy turvy situations designed by BIGG BOSS for the poor contestants in the house can make you do two things – curse yourself to switch on to such a bogus riot or forget everything to watch ugly human emotions. My perception for such a show might not be that encouraging. However, I do agree with you on this fact that it is after all entertainment. Isme action hai, drama hai, romance hai aur bahut saara bakwaas bhi hai…bruhahahahaha!!!! None of us like people screaming on our ears, but we do enjoy Urvashi screaming on Imam, Sapna screaming on Imam or for that matter, anybody screaming on anyone in the BIGG BOSS house.

The big relief out of all this – Salman Khan! His presence and his interaction with the contestants is just so relieving, phewwwww! As the show reached its culmination, most of us conveniently drew the character map that each of the contestants fell into. However, few of our predictions were proved wrong, some were damn right. We knew Imam would stay till the end, but never knew that Urvashi Dholakia would be the BIGG BOSS Season 6 winner. Quite a night for the lady! Finally, I would say it was again entertainment at its best, no matter how bad or ugly it was.

Can Creativity Be Commissioned?

While you marinate your delicious chicken, adding in the right ingredients makes for a perfectly cooked delicacy. However, your tryst for creating a signature taste lies in your secret ingredient. And yes, there has to be a secret ingredient! It might get a little philosophical, but we have to understand that every human mind has its own way of perceiving things in and around it. A chiffon saree with sensuous embroidery work might just not appeal to me the way it appeals you. Why? The list of reasons may be either endless or too small. Feminine sensuality may have different connotations for all of us. It might just define a woman or just unleash an undiscovered feminine aspect. You see, most of you have actually started nodding your heads!

Commissioning creativity is never a welcoming thought for creative minds. Lending a space for creativity has always been an issue with human minds. Unleashing that latent creative heat needs a lot of work. However, some of us are blessed with it. Some of us do boast about this, while others believe in silently working upon their varied creative facets. While you choose a write-up to go through, it is always your taste which makes or breaks your curiosity. Some of us may succeed in engaging the eyes and the cerebral faculty for a longer time. But even if we fail to do so, we should not take it as a negation of our creative ability. Sometimes, our thoughts and ideas do not go parallel with rest of the mortal minds!

That you need to channelize your thought for a certain purpose is not really an inspiring thought at all. I won’t deny that I am empathising with those who actually harbour an inimitable creative hub in their psychology. However, I won’t step back in stating this - unique minds have unique rejections! Moulding your creative treasure according to the market trends may bring you money, but it will never make you happy. It is just because you are not allowed to be ‘you’. Yes, we are adaptable to all kinds of change, but we are not so welcoming when it comes to compromise our inner voice. You might smell a rebellious thought here, but that’s how creative minds churn out their pain. No one’s stopping you in bombarding your critical comments, but remember – unique ideas needs to understood uniquely!

JUST QUIT PLAYING WITH HER..WILL YOU??

If I say that I prefer women, most of you would definitely consider me as a normal human being. Some of you might consider me as a qualified flirt, others might just love to hate me! Whatever it is, let me confess this – I have always been an ardent admirer of womanhood and will continue to be so. Why? Well, it’s just the kind of society that I live in and the amazing rationality that prevails here which has been responsible in shaping my supportive psychology towards women. Talking about women is just so engaging for guys. Yeah, that wicked smile says it all! Using the word ‘typical’ might sound derogatory here, but that’s how we can actually define the entire patriarchal architecture of our society.

Typical men always consider themselves superior in all respects to a woman. Sorry sir, your mother crushed 206 bones in her body to push you out of her vaginal cavity. If you still consider yourself to be a ‘man’, try and respect this fact. I might sound a little vindictive here, but considering the amount of respect that a woman receives in our multicultural society, this is how the menfolk should get addressed. You might recall the heated letter to a Delhi boy written by a South Indian girl and the reply posted by  a Delhi guy to the South Indian girl while you are going through this nonsense trivia. However, I considered it important to surface the nude truth that resides behind all the physical and psychological turmoil that a woman is subjected to in our country.

Leaving all other aspects of learning about women, I would love to dart down on her psychology. Physiological discussion might establish me to be an extremely horny living being, but I have never considered it to be a spicy add-on to a guy talk. Erotic and sensuous – these two traits of a woman are considered to be a taboo in many sections of our society. Again, here I would like to remind all my male counterparts, the human civilization just can’t be imagined without a woman’s cooperation. You know what I mean! Now, having said that, women are far more than just good copulation companions. Please try to consider a woman as the pillar of this society, it’s not at all a difficult task.

Alright, I was again flowing away from my point of consideration. Talking about her psychology, maano ya na maano, she is far more intelligent, smarter and capable than men. How is that possible? If you are married, just let your wife rest for one day and slip in to her shoes (you don’t have to tamper her exclusive footwear collection) for just one day. Oh yes, right from getting up early and going to bed late at night. Every single activity that she does to make your day a normal one. Well, if you are not married, try and have more female friends and you will know why they are the most complicated creatures on this earth. Of course that’s not the only prerogative for you to dive deep inside a woman’s psychology.

Having asked to make more female friends might just make you question my sexual orientation. But let me clarify this beforehand, I have no such plans in my mind! After all that blabbering above, what I really want to convey is that respect is something which does not need much character toil. Our country worships a long list of goddesses – Durga, Mahakali, Lakhsmi, Saraswati…- the list is too long. Ours moms, grannies, sisters, girlfriends, sister-in-laws, friends belong to the same species. I really wonder, what kind of a difference does our testosterone driven class find in them?! A woman wearing lingerie or a bikini or posing nude is all that is a part of this legendary womanhood. A man just can’t look appealing wearing any of those outfits! Please understand that.

I know it’s not possible to transform our orthodox temperament overnight, but can we just try and not look at our women with that aphrodisiac attitude….!!!

Utterly Disappointing!!

When you dare to design a complicated social platter with respect to a multicultural society like India, you must have the balls to make it receptive enough for the audience. When you know that someone like Prakash Jha is daring to take on the most complicated and burning social issue of the country, you inevitably have the highest expectation of witnessing a memorable cinematic experience. It’s an obvious human psychological instinct that it always expects excessively from people doing invincibly well in their field.

Prakash Jha has been associated with some of the most controversial and yet successful films like Gangaajal, Rajneeti and Apaharan. All of them were a deep insight onto the complications of the Indian society ruled by some of the most complicated political, social and economic contours. I know that sounds highly boring, but believe me, if you have watched all his movies, you might have some sleepless nights. But not with his new venture ‘Chakravyuh’ because….I guess Mr. Jha has started watching too many Balaji horrors (by Balaji horrors I mean the ridiculous soaps and serials that have always been the sole reason for feminine dominance over the idiot box!).

Chakravyuh is the most disappointing cinematic experience that I have come across this year (of course I didn’t dare to watch Rowdy Rathore and its prototypes). With a highly sensitive issue like Naxalism, it is always necessary to have a crude understanding about the complicacy of the issue. While watching the movie, I was just wondering about the deliberate attempt to make it a typical Masala Bollywood movie. Adding to the misery was a predictable story. Far more worse were excessively melodramatic performances by Esha Gupta, Arjun Rampal and Abhay Deol. Manoj Bajpayee and Om Puri were the only saviour in this regard.  

The only silver lining that one may find in the movie is the cinematography. Action by Abbas Ali Moghul is also appreciable, but not just good enough to give you the jitters that one had while watching Gangaajal. Prakash Jha’s attempt to make the film look more real succeeded to a little extent with the locations. Excluding Kailash Kher’s ‘Mehengaai’, all other songs were just forced injections in the story. Concluding such a huge issue just by saying that the war will continue until we find some immediate solution reminded me of my moral science class during my school days. I would really want Mr. Prakash Jha to watch ‘Hazaar Chaurasi ki Maa’ once. Well, if he has already watched it a dozen times, he should watch it again. Because it’s not that simple as he has tried to make it through his unquestionable directorial abilities.

I know I sound really pissed. Well, I am. Why? You don’t spend your precious 250 bucks from your pocket on such a disappointing attempt on such a burning issue.

Eyes of a Bachelor

Frustration and loneliness – that’s what you might refer to when you hear this dreaded term called ‘bachelor’. You step into a new city, look for a new shelter, and then being defined as someone who can just adapt to worst situations (in terms of having a decent survival, of course!). And then, when you enter your new haven of existence, you realise the woes of staying alone. ‘Oh boy, that’s not what I wanted’ – but then you know that you have to live with it!

The above commentary on a ‘typical’ bachelor’s life might be quite delusory, but what makes this experience unique is the extremely fluctuating index of experiences that one goes through. ‘Empty vessels sound much’ is what we always have believed in (until someone believes in emptying it). Some of those sounds may be highly appealing, but not at all safe for a perfect human mind build-up. You might be wandering where am I actually heading to and why the hell are you supposed to read such a nonsense write-up?! Well, sometimes you need to go through stuff of a different kind!

I just wanted to puke out my satiric experiences that I have been through during the last two years of my stay in the capital city. Well, talking about fashion somehow takes a little time to shadow my thoughts. So, that’s the best thing that I could think about while I was asked to churn out another (I do not like calling it write-up all the time, there’s a better name to it, but that’s unfortunately objectionable). 28^th August, 2010, 11:15 am, New Delhi Railway Station, Platform No. 16 – the first thing that popped in my mind as soon as a I landed the capital city – ‘what on earth has brought me down to a city which known more for its lesser known characteristics rather than its historical and geographical importance?!’

Cruel, merciless and extreme – that’s how I defined this city initially. People rushing, gushing, fighting, screaming and with all their frustration at the tip of their tongue, this overpopulated city just didn’t seem like the kind of place a person like me would end up! The word ‘hate’ was just not enough to associate with this weird metropolis. Why are the people here so rude? Why do they speak that way? Why are they always in a hurry? Do they really know what being humble means? Do they have any slang other than the family-wala ‘gaali’? Why are they so obsessed with show-off? How do these people have so much money to spend? Well, the list of such uncomfortable questions is too long, so better not to reiterate them again right here!

‘Delhi is a city of opportunities, you know’….’Arrey Dilli to Dilwalon ki hai’….’Dude, Delhi girls…I tell you…’ ‘Being a non-veg lover, you should not miss Chandni Chowk’…’Son, beware of the traffic, it’s just so killing…’ – the more you recall, the more you get confused. For guys like me who have grown up under a mix of a little urban and more rural environment, suddenly diving in to a world of too fast and complicated life was just not done. To discover that you are worth a resource investing in is such a wonderful feeling. To know that you are actually capable of performing few tasks is what makes you feel really proud of yourself. But when you realise that you are such a desperate, job-hungry individual who is ready to do all kinds of job under the sun, you really wonder ‘what an ugly and confused soul am I?’

After wandering over all the possible lanes of employability, you finally settle down your mind saying “Enough of this monotonously ridiculous nomadic life, let’s settle down with at least something”. That’s what I did when I discovered that I can write! After 2 years and 12 days in this city, today I realise that staying jobless was a better option for me than actually spoiling my sleep hours. Oh no, don’t get it the wrong way. My dad would definitely feed me if I would have stayed jobless at the age of 26, but adventure and non-reliability would have been something which I could have told my kids and my juniors about! Nevertheless, I don’t mind the job I am in now. At least, something is always better than nothing. Two things which have always bothered me and continue to do so – comparison and expectation. I know this is stupid, but I don’t have anything else to say. I always end up puking out my views just like that. By now, you must have realised about  how uncertain I am about myself. So, before you shower me with all your discontent about reading this nonsense, let me confess – I know what I wrote..!