Pages


Sunday, 25 November 2012

Bodies and images

Due to an irritating glitch on the website, I am unable to reply to your comments the usual way so Marsha, my dear reader,in my defence I must state that I just moved back home after seven years and my mother makes the most amazing sweets :) But you are absolutely right and I agree. All we can do is enjoy life's little pleasures isn't it?

Except, Why did I feel guilty about eating sweets that have been a part of Indian cuisine for centuries and are also not that unhealthy. I have so many friends who count the calories in any food that they eat, some to an extant that they actually don't savour what they eat at all.We might do this without even realising and in some cases it is almost comical and a source of amusement to watch friends go to great lengths to avoid that one extra bite laden with calories.

However, there is a deeper issue that most of us overlook- low self esteem due to being unable to meet an image created and generated by media and current society norms about what our bodies should look like. 

It has been observed that most women, even those who meet the parameters of the "perfect" body type want to change themselves. This is in my opinion a disturbing trend. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20252921  - This is a link to a BBC article about the current debate on Body images.

In an era when the dress size zero has become an obsession amongst women, we can go on and on about the objectification of the female body by male dominated society. However, as a journalist, I am also aware of the pressure on men to look good through striving to achieve a body type that seems fantastic for eg: Gerard Butler's buffed up body and 'perfect abs'in 300- This apparently had men from all walks of life pushing themselves in the gym and according to some reports this led to a hike in back injuries, hamstring injuries etc. 

The question that I want to ask here is - Is there any relation between the shape of a person's body and their level of fitness? I will take my own example in this case and would like to point out my tale of woe about my figure in a previous post 'weighty issues'. At that time all I wanted as a writer was to write a witty post about issues like weight gain etc. I am also well aware that my previous post was also about the topic of eating fattening food.

All I want to say is that it is all about our own perception of things in general. The tilted view of my own posts suggest a writer and qualified journalist who also happens to be a woman in her 20's, slightly self obsessed and prone to moan about weight. 

I am not trying to defend myself in any way. I am all of the above plus a feminist, but above all I am human and am despite all my protests, not above being influenced by my surroundings. In the society that we live in, the positive effects of rapid globalisation also brought about negative ones like certain global fashion trends and media images from around the world that cannot possible fit into a lot of social set-ups.
eg: an Haute couture dress off the Paris ramps would be totally out of place in a classroom full of 14 year olds.

I end this post but not this discussion with a question for you dear reader  which of the photo's here do you find appealing..







         













to be continued...







Friday, 23 November 2012

in which I am a good old glutton



Dear Reader, I did something bad.....in my defence, there are times when one can't help but binge on super fattening food. I am a vegetarian and am generally a healthy eater, I run regularly interspersed with bouts of yoga so you get the picture right?

All I can say is that in the past two weeks I have gained a stone!Ok, may be I am exaggerating a bit but really I feel like I have gained weight. I am not one of those females obsessed with their body. I am just a person who likes to be fit.

Now before you start to roll your eyes at your computer screen..oh yes! I know what you are thinking and let me bust that myth once and for all- vegetarians are not necessarily thin! I wish though! But seriously, we can get fat and eat fattening food too or overeat or just binge on one the incredibly yummy sweets  specially those our mothers make.


So you've guessed it, I have a sweet tooth and for the past two weeks have been indulging it.I have tried and tried to stop being greedy but ooh just when I commend my will of iron I am tempted by succulent delicacies that you get only on special occasions probably once a year.

So there you have it dear reader, I am only human and I will have to undergo the torture of extra 30 mins running, all for those 30 seconds of gluttony for what? The chance to savour delicious Indian sweets that are to die for!

To conclude, the festival/holiday season is probably the same for all of us and many indulge their taste buds only to regret later but hey, as I strongly believe- each of us has a will  of iron so the only thing to blame here is obvious isn't it-'The holiday season'.

Thursday, 22 November 2012

Boredom and Bad Tv



I have been in keen observer mode for the past couple of days, in many ways it could be a a new thing that I could adopt as a way to exist.. Or to be honest, I have been a couch potato.

All in all, I have spent the past couple of days watching TV and basically lying about the house. I have to tell you this dear reader, and I mean it with the utmost respect to all those who like them...TV shows now a days are incredibly silly, in fact they are in some cases borderline ridiculous. Sitcoms, although funny basically seem to be 'Friends' clones about a group of diverse people hanging out in bars/coffee shops etc etc. Dramas are not quite cutting edge, and don't ever get me started on all the shows about vampires, werewolves, witches and other supernatural beings ( these are the ones in which 16 year olds look 26 and behave like they are 36)

So am I really wrong in being irritated about good shows? I confess that I grew up watching Friends, Fraiser, Seinfeld, ( all re-runs but timeless eh? ) I even liked arrested development and yes! Felicity (the first season)

So, we come to the main point of my rant- when one wants to alleviate boredom by watching TV, except there in nothing on that is remotely exciting. There are times when I get this sense of Déjà vu ; like whilst watching a sitcom about the dynamic single blonde woman who has a guy look after her house and kids ('Who's the boss' anyone?).


It is frustrating...really, I mean why watch recycled shows when you can go online or get the DVD of the original, some of which had great actors and were really amazing. 

So on that note I would like to sign off and then go on YouTube to watch the really funny Tim Allen in "Home Improvement".



A golden Oldie

Monday, 12 November 2012

in which I write this post to avoid an unpleasant task


Dear Reader , I am writing this post in the middle of a marathon bout of autumn cleaning...yeah I am sort of taking a break and I fancied a quick post :)

'Me' 
So what goes through your mind when you clean? I can tell you what goes through my mind....I usually think of these amazing plots for books, the themes for which depend on my mood. For instance it is usually a comic memoir, a suspense/thriller/murder mystery in case I am annoyed or in those rare days that I feel content a romance.

Although, sometimes I am just to preoccupied with my task that I can barely think...today is one of those days when all I can think about is cleaning as quickly as I can in the next couple of hours. I must confess to feeling oddly lethargic about cleaning my bookshelves. You see, I always tend to get distracted by the books...I confess that I have a habit of opening books in the process of rearranging them and the next thing I know; I am halfway through reading it surrounded by stacks of books which should have been on the shelves long ago.

The same thing happens when I clean my wardrobe! Except, I start trying on certain articles of clothing that have been languishing in the dark recesses of the wardrobe.

However today as I sit typing this post I have discovered another source of distraction....the computer. I first spent an inordinate amount of time browsing through facebook and then when I could lolly-gag no more; I began writing this post :P

Thus to conclude I think I have successfully avoided cleaning the mess around me for over an hour and now I must gird myself for the daunting task of cleaning, hoovering, rearranging, polishing etc. :)