Photographs are one of the sweetest, swiftest and
spontaneous instrumentality for kindling nostalgic memories and
euphoria. They avail us with the utility
of reliving those moments from the past and bring an instant sparkle on our
mind about the related events. Recently I got to glance at the very limited
photographs which I have had shot during my college days, and the momentary
response inside me is not dissuading.
With all good
memories those photographs brought back to me, it did also pull out some sort
of lowly mood bombarded with self disdain for a few people I had shared them
with. A comment said, “Oh my badness!!!! How could I be roaming around
unashamed wearing LUNGI those days? ” Another sarcastic comment claimed, “I
wish I did not wear a shirt this loooong. I am surprised to see my parents’s
confidence in the prospects of my fast bodily growth.” The irony here is that these people had a
displeased image for their own past based on their current life style and
exposure.
This impulse drives
me to initiate a debate-which I put as a set of questions below- on the relevance
and prominence of, and need for cultural sensitivity and tolerance in an era of
globalization and attendant connected living. Because in today’s world, we do
encounter people from different regions,States,race, economic status espousing
their consequent cultural identity.
I am an ardent believer of the
Constitutionally guaranteed values like liberty of thought, expression etc as
enshrined in the Indian Constitution. So expressing one’s opinion on cultural
preferences like his/others dressing doesn’t hurt me but the underlying bias
behind such an expression does so.
So what does appropriate and good dressing
mean to you?
How do you qualify what is good?
Whats your take on your own dressing style now and a few years back? Do you see any change? If so where did this change come from?
What’s your opinion
on the dressing pattern of Cinema actors attending local/global cine-events? Do
you see any economic class-difference between you and them?
Do you judge people
based on their dressing? Does this judgment have a spill-over effect on your
interactions with the concerned person?
If somebody is seen
with “poor and inappropriate” dressing sense, do you tend to tell them about
that? Or will you be carrying a bad impression about them without letting them
know?
Do your family
members- Parents & Siblings- subscribe to your notion of good dressing?
What’s your take on their dressing?
Why do you think we
have a crowded RangaNathan Street in T-Nagar, and luxurious global brands
studded Phoenix market City both in Chennai?
Do you know the
economic identity associated with global retail market giant Wal-Mart?How would you evaluate a person who is a regular patronizer of Saravana Stores in T.Nagar,Chennai?
Do you look out for
the brands of the outfits people wear? How connected are you to person wearing
the same brand as yours?
How irritated are you
with the people wearing duplicate version of outfits of the same brand you
flaunt?
Have you observed the
differences in the dressing style of politicians from the southern and the
northern part of India? Why are they markedly different? Does it represent
anything symbolically?
Do you see any casual
relationship between dressing style and the caste group of a person? If so how did
you grow such attitude, and how true/unbiased is your evaluation?
How does religiously determined dressing
pattern influence you?
