Friday, September 19, 2008

Bengalaru Beckons

Guys, I'm leaving for Bengalaru tomorrow. The trip sounds promising. I shall be chief guesting at a College where they have displayed imagination and a sense of adventure by interpreting literature through performances - music, dance, theatre, followed by a discussion. All good. As always, it is likely to be yet another frenetic trip. But I would rather risk that than stay home looking at the utterly depressing images of the so-called Couture Week. And I definitely won't subject myself to adumb foot massage at the Mumbai airport. Rs 450 for an inept 15 minute job of tickling my toes? Call that reflexology?? What a rip off!
Couture Week was an unmitigated disaster according to those foolish enough to make the trek and stand in a long line to use 3 improvised, temporary loos! Wonder where SRK and Gouri 'went'? Then comes the revelation that the organisers PAID designers to participate! Ooops! No wonder the shows were what they were. Karan Johar put it in perfect perspective: He claimed it took him the entire morning to figure out how to pronounce 'couture'. It may take our designers an entire lifetime to figure out what it means!
Now that fashion has been officially hijacked by Bollywood, perhaps it can be rechristened Bollywood Couture Week next year. Poor Priyanka Chopra looked like a ghost, a bhootni auditioning for Phoonk-2, or a cross dresser from Reay road - a tragic combo of Devdas and a Devdasi. Hideous. Ditto for my favourite ramp gal, Madhu Sapre. What's with turning lovely ladies into drag artists? And why do fashion mags insist on making movie stars resemble drab maids, minus make up and clad in muddy colours?? We need many bonfires for all those vanities on display.
I shall be back on this spot come sunday. Kanchipuram idlis, here I come!

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

welcome Shobhaa :-)
have a nice time while you are here :-)

Vee said...

Have been silent reader of your writings for some time now. Did comment once if I am not wrong.

We still refer it as Bangalore. Like few Mumbaikars prefer saying Bombay still. Once long back I did a small survey amongst friends and colleagues on what they prefer. Mumbai or Bombay and Chennai or Madras. Majority went with Mumbai and Chennai respectively. And now when it dawned on us we prefer Bangalore.. Haha. Such is the irony.

Anyways, Welcome To B'lore. Climate is awesome at present. Have a good stay

Anonymous said...

"FASHION" ???

Ugich Konitari said...

Delurking.
I have often wondered who this Couture stuff is for. And now you write about the designers being paid to participate. Folks sitting all squished in the first row, wearing minimal fabric of the thoracic type, with an expression as if they were seeing something of earthshattering importance. I once got so fed up that I wrote Undemocratic fashion.

Kanchipuram idlis and Mavalli Tiffin Rooms is so much better.....

Arjun said...

Yikes De
Looks like you had a real blast!!!

Anil P said...

When art, any art, is driven less by instinct and more by imagination it becomes an experimentation to satisfy a line of thinking.

Often this does not work. Can art, in a visual sense, survive on an intellectual framework? I doubt if it can. Until then welcome the 'drag artisans'.

Kris Bass said...

@ Appreciation of Literature by performances - seems interesting!

What kinda twit did that massage on you, De? I'm sort of good at massages. And I love doing feet.

Hope you trip goes well!

Anonymous said...

You've hit the nail on its head, Showbha and drilled it some more till it came out the other side of the Grand Hyatt fashion do!
I find it hideous that Bollywood or for that matter Hollywood celebs should have to walk that ramp (unless it's at a charity show). Somehow it dilutes the sense of haute couture for fashionistas
everywhere.

കിഷോർ‍:Kishor said...

Ayyoji Shobhaji, the correct Kannada word is "Bengaluru" not "Bengalaru". They say it came from "Benda kalu ooru" meaning "Town of boiled beens"!

I recently started reading ur blog and is hooked to it now. Keep writing and keep on deflating those male-chaunistic egos :-) Dap Dap Dap !!

Prats said...

Couture can be be really grating on nerves and esp for those who wait for the 3 loos....
welcome to this city...

Anonymous said...

SHOBHA PLEASE HELP ME..I NEED YOUR HELP..HOW DO U GET PAST THE DOWNFALLS OF LIFE?WHEN LIFE PASSES U LEMONS,UNEXPECTED ONES THAT HURT, WHAT DO U DO?
I REALLY NEED UR HELP I KNOW U DON'T REPLY TO COMMENTS BUT..please

Parv Kaushik said...

frm ahmbd to bangalore... another BJP domain!!!

and priyanka lookd like bhooti to u????? hw can a pretty girl lyk her ever luk ugly??? lol...

Maddy said...

Hope you had a nice trip

kaleidoscope said...

Karan Johar took an entire morning to figure out how to pronounce 'couture'!!!!!!

Naaah! KJo is at his pretentious worst this time. How is anyone to believe this when he also claims to have received a Masters degree in French?

"Come-out" (err.. with truth) KJo.

Noopur Vasuraj said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Noopur Vasuraj said...

Hi Shobha.
I don't know if you remember me but my name is Noopur. I was at the college yesterday and came up to you for an autograph before the press conference. I told you about my blog and how the first post has been inspired by your book Second Thoughts.
I just wanted to say that the speech you gave was brilliant. It was like having my thoughts and principles being voiced without having to open my mouth. It is what my parents (esp. my mother) have taught me as well.
And in regards to your dislike for the word "conform," it makes a lot of sense to me.
It's the same reason why my parents have home-educated me and my siblings for the past 6 years. We're homeschoolers.
I'll probably face a lot of flack for this, but my mother has no faith in the Indian education system.
And we're not afraid to say it.
I hope you have the time to read my blog and I definitely hope you enjoyed your stay here!
It felt great to meet you!

Shobhaa De said...

noopur, i so enjoyed being at your college and meetingyou, along with all the other wonderful students.
guys, even though i am mentally drained and in a dark mood, i'm going to post my BANGALORE experience as soon as my racing heart beat comes back to normal.