Friday, September 7, 2007

Tall Thin and Slim !

IF SOUTH AFRICA WAS SUPER POWER…..
When ever a child is born in my family my mother would always comment that ‘the child is fair and beautiful’ or when ever she attends a wedding the bride was 'tall fair and beautiful.’ Ever wondered why the adjectives tall, fair, and slim are always linked to beauty?

When ever i tell a adult that racism exists in India, i am often told that these things exist only in the US and other foreign countries. And if you are somebody who thinks along these lines then go buy newspaper and look at the matrimonial section.
What does it say? WANTED tall, thin, fair, traditional bride with a B.E degree. yeah and also these requirements are classified caste wise! Well now try defending yourselves.

My theory, this is because America is the ‘super power’. They are a home to many multinational companies. Therefore constant stereotypical advertisements spoil people’s minds. But try pointing this fact out to anyone and they will deny that they are brainwashed by advertisements. Then again, truth is always bitter.

Ever wondered what our world would be like if history had been different? What will it be like if South Africa was the ‘super power’? People would link being dark to being beautiful. Curly hair would be in. Anything below 6 feet would be considered short and being plump would be considered beautiful. Makeup would be created to make people look dark.

Or what would our world be like if an Asian country, say China was ‘super power’. Being short would be in. Having small feet would be something worth bragging about.
Surgery will be done to have chinky eyes.

Why is it not possible, in today’s world, to imagine a short, dark skinned, bushy haired, buck teethed, pimple faced, fat, girl who wears spectacles winning the Miss Universe title? At least can she have the freedom of just being herself without others adding prefixes about her looks, be it good or bad!

In conclusion is it possible to not term someone as beautiful? The minute a person is termed beautiful, everyone who doesn’t meet the criteria of beauty is termed not beautiful- ugly. Is it possible to accept all morphological appearances with out separating them into pretty and terrible because, let me tell you, constantly comparing yourself to a model on a glossy magazine cover is no fun. One more thing all this starts very young...i'd say television, computers and movies have a great impact on children and adults but i'll save that topic for the next entry.

After all true beauty lies in the heart and not in the body…. What do u think?

By Revathi and Sangeetha

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Coming Of The Agricultural Era

The coming of the agricultural era signified a major change in the course of human existence on earth.
yeah wondering how the agricultural era signified a major change in course?
well... with the concept of agriculture came the concept owning nature. owning a piece of land... protecting it from other fellow humans... growing what they wanted. I'd say this is the fundamental idea which has lead to today's calamities.

During the hunter gatherers era they looked at nature as something beyond their control. They saw themselves as part of the environment, as one of the many beings on earth and coexisted. They ,were very sensitive towards nature, never hunted in the during the breeding season.

The first idea of owning something of nature comes from the pastorals. The came the settled agriculture where the blocked of land and claimed to own it. the agrarians looked at nature as something that could be tamed and brought under control.

The best way is to live sustainably....we are right now met with a diverged road are we going to choose the conventional capitalist way and the road back to nature? i'll tell you my choice definitely the road back to nature. where i can be part of the environment again, take as little as possible and give back what i take in someway or the other...

yours naturally,
sangeetha