Yesterday i had gone with a friend to this Cafe Coffee Day outlet ..or CCD.. as it is popularly known at Connaught place (or CP)..that is the heart of the heart of India. We were sitting n doing exactly what everyone else was…sheer time pass!! There was this couple sitting right in front of us n had ordered a grilled sandwich, which was brought…n then finally the first bite was taken after some 15 mins..n i always thought ‘grilled’ sandwich was to be had at least warm if not hot…sheer time pass as i said!!
Anyhow, this post is not to criticize coffee houses..as i completely love this coffee house culture…i like the concept of air Conditioned Chatting Destinations( CCDs as i said earlier)…but this is just to share this thought…While we were sitting there, this “firang” couple entered…”Firang” traditionally refers to the “whites”…The firang guy was wearing a “baniyan”..i.e. a vest…(i cant even call it a ‘ganji’)..n this too dull white in colour…n complementing this was a dull orange colored “lungi”..its difficult to describe a lungi to the ones not aware…so please cooperate!! This lungi had “om” n other religious symbols printed on it..n to add to the spark, he was wearing rubber slippers..those typical ones with blue thongs..The female with him was pretty moderately dressed when compared to this!! Also a little later another ‘firang’ couple entered..who seemed to be following the dress code….We did pass alot of time at CCD….!!
The idea is not to criticize anyone’s dressing style also…its a democratic country n everyone has the right to wear whatever suits them..i myself sometimes do wear things, which are not very appropriate for the occasion..blunders i guess we all do..
What i want to say is that these firangs don’t take the pain of dressing up because they feel that they are so superior to us that whatever they wear or “do not wear” will be acceptable to us…n so it is!! We have been molded in such a way, that when we are guests somewhere, we show the best of our behavior…as a sign of respect to the host…I wonder why we are approving this disrespect shown to us… Whatever the outsiders do is acceptable to us..n if the same is done by our fellowmen..it is no where within our tolerance limits…He or she is degraded to say the least…
My question is what if an indian would have worn something like that…m sure he wouldn’t have been granted entry..n god forbid if he had been on the darker side (complexion wise)..he would have got “Maaf karo bhai…aage chalo” (a typical answer for the beggars who are after your life).
So the conclusion i draw is that..in our very own country we have an unwritten dress code for ourselves only, after all “mehmaan to bhagvan ka roop hota hai“(the guest is equivalent to god)….but remember..we have already suffered alot for this ideology…so beware guys…!!
i completely agree. . . in our country we do ‘ve an unwritten code of conduct which is expected to be followed by us everytym, and if v are not then apart from being termed as immoral one also feels lyk an alien due to others behaviour…
But, I don’t. I have a habit of dis-agreeing, and I think this is essence of zhagdoo.
If you are going to a party, you dress like a queen or king. When you are going to market, you also dress well, but when you go to toilet, do you…???
To me dressing well is to show others. If all others are strangers, who cares?
here i m not advocating dressing up well..as i said, we are living in a free country n we all should have d write to dress up ny way we want to…but what m putting forth is the kind of reactions we get when we arnt dressed aptly…even i m sayin the same thing..that having a dress code fr ourselves in our very own country isnt justified…after all toilet or living room..u r entitled to wear anything in ur own house…At the same time, i m sure that when u go to someone s elses place, u do dress up reasonably…then why to let the firangs roam about in practically nothings??