Old Age Blues !

This last week saw me grappling with sore throat, some cough, 'cold' in the unusually hot weather and mild temperature -i.e. below100- though not so mild as per my too anxious wife  who knows my normal temperature to be 97 at the maximum.Much to my discomfort, she wakes me up a number of times , putting the thermometer in my mouth and making grimaces when the mercury  refuses to drop.
Not a big deal but past sixty, all weird feelings come to mind, when even a little can mean too much as far as the list of negatives is concerned. With a jerk, I try to collect myself and look up to the persons much older than me, with the devil- may- care attitude, leading robust, active creative lives.

Loksabha Elections 2019

I too participated in the quinquennial ritual of Loksabha Elections and contributed my bit being a citizen and voter of the largest democracy of the world .No  canvassing was visible on ground in my part of the Constituency . Perhaps the parties relied more on social , mainstream visual & print media to do the job.The candidates and the Star pracharaks, quite understandably chose to address the voters in selected pockets , as the area of a Loksabha  Constituency is pretty large and it is not physically possible to visit every nook and corner. What is worrisome is the continuously dwindling standard of the public discourse. It appeared as if a competition of sorts was there in mudslinging, casting aspersions , personal attacks on one another by the rivals which by no means is a sign of mature and healthy democracy.

Meanwhile, the fate of the contesting candidates is lying in the EVMs, while today the voting process is still continuing. Media must be ready with the Exit poll, which they may come out with,after  voting concludes.

WOMEN ATTIRE

My respected women friends will kindly excuse me if I happen to be entering a forbidden territory of discussing Female attires.
I grew up among the female members of my family wearing only full sleeve  Kameez-salwar, cut into a standard shape or design , with a dupatta or chunni. The only variation by way of a fashion statement was the  loose or tight mohri or 'pahuncha'  of salwar. As with collar and cuff in gents' shirts , the nicely and tastefully made pahuncha  with sewing design made on it was the hall mark of salwar. Only that tailor was worth something who could make pahuncha to one's liking. Chooridars were another dress item in vogue. I remember my mother had to persuade my father to allow my sisters to wear chooridars. Such were the times.
Much has changed over the years. Society at large and parents have become more liberal with regard to what girls wear. Even the school uniforms have no standard cut or design . Uniformity is only with regard to color of the dress and design may vary person to person.The School girls may sport semi patiyali in uniform. The jeans and trousers are too common a sight as young women donot want to give that ' behen ji' look. The present generation is smarter looking too.
The aesthete in me looks for elegance and  grace  and I miss the old style, though semi- patiyali is surely an improvement over the older version .

OF COLLARS AND CUFFS

The basic and common attire  with the most conspicuous presence for the males is the shirt  and for the men with taste, the crisp and well shaped  collars and the cuffs run the show. Hard ready-made collars came on the scene much later. Earlier  collars used to come with a thin fold or filling of the same cloth, the extra layer providing the required thickness. The collars were not crisp or stiff. Starch was applied to White shirts at the time of washing which would make the collars look crisp, especially if one was to sport a tie. Even as a school student, I used to soak the shirt collar in 'peechh' kept aside after boiling rice and afterwards, the shirt was ironed. That was my way of improvisation.
These days, there is no need for such improvisation, as even the cheapest shirts come with ready-made collars and even the shirts got stitched by tailor has readymade collar with buckram and plastic strips tucked inside. The cuffs are also made with care which adds value to the shirt. The collars come in different shapes, like the usual tie collar with drooping corners and the cut away collar with the corners drifting away.The market has the variety to pander to every taste and liking.

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.