MALE FASHION

As regards fashion in attire, we males are definitely at a disadvantage.We have a very limited choice in respect of the fabric, the colors that may suit us and the cuts and designs. As school students we had no choice but to wear school uniform -white shirt, blue or khaki or grey pants at various stages . Other than the uniform, the other dresses that we wore out of the School were of different colours.The fabric for shirt was invariably cotton and rarely the synthetic  Tere Lyn.The pants came in tusser as a superior variant to the jean cloth that we wore for uniform.Terrycot and Terrywool we wore in College, where there was no prescribed uniform.During the entire school life, the pants were cuffed at the bottom . Uncuffed, straight ,plain pants we wore in College and in later life.
A conservative in matters of dress, I never had any Levi's , Denims or Blue Lagoons and stuck to the creased pants and trousers.Carduroy fabric was also in vogue and was available in various colors.The gaudy, bright colors were a big no no ,and looked elegant on silver screen only,with heroes like Dev Anand and Rajesh Khanna sporting them.One could take some liberty with shirt colors but for pants, only black, grey, cherry, navy blue, cream or some other light shade would do. For males , anything outlandish worn would invite the epithet 'dandy' which was welcome only from close friends.These days there is a better market for casuals than formals, the latter being only for ceremonial occasions and formal official meetings.

Iqbal Bano

Today is the death anniversary of Iqbal Bano, a renowned female ghazal singer of the subcontinent.She was born on 27th August , 1935 at Delhi.Her singing talent spotted early in life , she was trained in Classical music by Ustaad Chand Khan of Delhi Gharana and she became his Ganda- bandh disciple.At Chand Khan's persuasion, she started singing at Delhi station of All India Radio.
Married in 1952, aged 17 to a person in Multan, she shifted there and continued singing. In ' 50s she had become an established singer and  received wide acclaim as singer of Dadra, Thumri and Ghazals.She also sang for Pakistani films.After the death of  her husband in 1980, she shifted to Lahore. She sang Faiz Ahmed Faiz 's ghazals which in her voice became very popular.
In open defiance of Ziaul Haque's military regime that had banned Faiz's ghazals ,she once performed on stage Faiz's  Hum Dekhenge.........to a packed audience. She was an outstanding singer  and rendered ghazals in semi Classical style, with scrupulous adherence to Ragas.
Her famous ghazals include Ulfat Ki Nayi Manzil Ko Chala....., Daag-e- Dil  Humko Yaad Aane Lagay....,Hum Dekhenge......
, Muhabbat Karane Wale Kam Na Honge, Dashte Tanhayi Mein......., and a Classical rendition- Payal mein Geet hain chham chham ke.
She died this day in Lahore in 2009.
Our humble tributes to the great singer !

Height does (not) matter !

I remember I was  3'-10" as nine year old and in fifth class.At that time it felt good to be so diminutive and in fifth class. This misplaced 'feel- good' continued till class Nine, when I had  reached 4'-7" . Surprisingly, I gained seven inches during the Winter vacation that followed my entry into  class Ten, and I measured 5'-2". The natural process of gaining height stopped when I reached 5'- 7.1/2".
A middle height by all yards but surprisingly I wished that it were 5'-10" at least so that I did not have to look upto those of this height.
I wonder if others sailing in the same boat have felt like wise, though history is replete with examples of short people gaining heights through remarkable achievements in various fields.

Divya Bharti

Today is the death anniversary of  Divya Bharti, a popular, promising, talented Bollywood actress. In her short but action packed career, she acted in about 30 films- 14 of these in the years 1992 & 1993- and had her talent recognized. Married  to Sajid Nadiadwala, her illustrious career came to an abrupt end when she had an accidental fatal fall from her flat  on the fifth storey of a Juhi apartment. She was only nineteen then.
Our humble tributes !

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