Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Yo Basanti!

Welcome on board the young Indian girl from what we like to segment as "small town India".
Basanti. Kurti clad outside, nightie clad at home.
The sacrificial mindset. Always giving up that extra mithai for her sibling brother.
Not because she always wanted to. But because she was conditioned to.
Helping mother at home was important. She was the youngest amongst the womenfolk of aunts,married and unmarried, old grannies lying on cots in the sun, daughters in law stuffing masala in pickles. She was spirited. But clipped.

The clips are being discarded today.
Bit by bit.
She rides her scooty to college.
One of the lucky few to own one.
Goes to the "Parlour" not just for the usual threading and henna but for a regular trim.
yeah. She leaves her  waves unlocked.

Dines out with friends, even watches movies once in a while.
Her family demand less of her, so that she has more time for herself.

She is the emerging, new thinking young girl.

One we showcase in ads.
Wax eloquently about in articles.
Write about as our new target audience.

Ever wondered who has been equally participative in this change?
Surprise.

It is her parents.
Maybe her granny.
Or her aunt.
The elders of yesteryears.
Without whose blessings, life would have been one long curfew.

Dads who have realised that daughters are the new sons.
Moms who have vowed that their little girls will not lead the same closetted lives they had.
Brothers who drop her off to that audition. So that she gets to live her dream.

The generation of forty somethings who themselves led a life of Enforced Austerity and are now gradually unlocking their own minds.
Who want this generation to live the lives they compromised upon many a times.

It's time we said Yo! to that generation.
Who has made all the Yo Basantis come alive.

1 comment:

  1. lovely. Am glad that Indian girls are progressing. I firmly believe that India's future is intertwined with the progress of the Indian women. The more she is empowered the faster she will progress. Women are India's USP.
    Am happy to see the progress in all walks of life and so beautifully captured in this piece.

    ReplyDelete