Clothing: A woman's prerogative? A statement? A social commentary?

               Have you ever noticed the variety of clothes that a single individual can indulge in? The worst thing is that I always used to think that I have no clothes, and then I moved to Mumbai, where closet space is as precious as gold. And then it struck me, I have no place to keep my non-existent clothes!! For a woman, her clothes defines not only who she is, where she comes from, what she believes in, but it is a part of the face that she puts on before she faces the world. 

                When travelling in the locals, if one just takes say 10 minutes out, one would notice a whole plethora of dressing style. She may seem like a rock star, a punk kid, an elegant dream, a dreamer, a safe bet, and so forth. Everyday one assumes that a girl in shorts is a open confident and at times easy. How many of us would have guessed that some girl who is wearing a saree has a big thing with her hair slicked back, her eyes with deep kohl has 9 tattoos, goes clubbing every weekend and dreams of being a fighter pilot?
                                Yes clothes do make us but to what extent? In a society which is transforming, where one is able to get the latest music, yet where the caste system is a reality, where one may be a Nobel prize winner while one's neighbor will kill their only child because they dared to marry outside of their caste; can one really break down an individual in such simple terms? This question holds especially true when one talks of women as She is not only an individual, she is a daughter, a symbol of her household, a representative of the parent's upbringing, the nurturing essence. 
                                  The social boundaries, the role play is a reality for all of us, we see our mothers, our friends, our wives, our neighbors, our own self go through the drill everyday, where we find ways to express ourselves while keeping within a certain set "standard". How much of it is right? Who is to say, who is to ask if a girl in shorts was "asking for it", if she spends the night she wants to be with you....we need to evaluate who we are, how much of it is real, and realize who we really want to be.    




An Indian girl