Am in the middle of backstage madness at my cousin's wedding, splitting hair over the non-stop movement through the door and keeping an eye on some jewellery camouflaged in messy old travel bags.
Guests, mostly women, are moving in non-stop to change into sarees, while some need to use the bathroom. Still others need to dress up their children.
The sight of two pretty little girls waiting to get dressed for the wedding is not just soothing in the middle of all the rush, but a welcome respite. They are my nieces who I am not in touch with.
I offer to dress up the seven year old niece, yearning to know the seven year old I have not met since she was a few months. Between a polka dotted orange salwar kameez and a simpler looking pair of clothes, I suggest the former for her. She listens to every word I say to her mother, about the dresses. And insists on wearing ornate orange over a duller red!
``Wear this later, the other dress will look good on you too,'' her mother tries reasoning.
My venerable little niece puts her foot down.
``The other dress is not tight enough! I need a tight one!''
I am stumped. Whoever said figure consciousness is for 16 and 18 year olds!
I offer to give a touch of kohl to her eyes, and hear those all familiar words `I too want kajal!'
It's not her, but her kid sister, all of four years!
Just like her elder sister dresses up well, the doe eyed kid sister wants to look her best too, and will do anything to compete with her sibling!
After every dash of kohl in their eyes, each of these sisters rush to the dressing table, take a close look at their eyes and clothes. Their attention to detail could give models a run for their money.
For the younger sister, I suggest she can continue wearing her existing traditional paavada or the South Indian skirt paired with a red choli for a while, and switch to her pale copper sulphate blue chiffon ghagra choli later. Am relieved that she does not protest. Her mother and I hope she forgets about the dress bit in the excitement of group games outside the Green Room.
An hour later, am still monitoring the movement of people, clothes, beetel leaves, turmeric and kumkum that need to get distributed, savouries that need to be packed, gift-clothes, and the likes.
The younger niece and her mother return.
``She hasn't forgotten the other dress in all her running around! Made it a point to come and remind me about her blue dress..," her mother sighs.
Kids these days did you say?
If four year olds can become so conscious about their looks and beauty, imagine the kind of damning impact that our popular media imagery has done to them! Print, electronic or online, ads, films or serials, they are such powerful weapons to discreetly thrust stereotypes and shape popular notion about beauty!
Would the two kids have been so particular about the clothes they wore if they were born about 20 years back?
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