Monday, April 19, 2010

Looks and Lessons

Ma and me ;-)

Mitu the model :-)



Me :-)


My friend Sohini's back in town. And this time with an unexpected gift : a little baby boy, Soham :-)

Juieen and I are still debating whether the little fellow looks like his mother or whether that is something we shouldn't be losing sleep over so early in the day; after all children's faces change so much as they grow. Me for instance. When I was young, most people would observe me carefully and then almost unanimously declare that I had inherited Baba's looks. Let me tell you, that seriously dampened my spirits. My father, I was aware of even at that tender age, was not good-looking, even by the wildest stretch of imagination. I reacted to the former observations with prolonged fits of sulking. My looks kept on changing over the years but big awkward glasses, domestic haircuts and a severe inferiority complex in terms of physiognomy contributed much in retarding any possible progress in the confidence sector. It was only when I went for a radical revamping of my image in college with contact lenses, a real haircut and a wardrobe subdued in colour but smart in cuts that I felt I was finally at par with my peers. And yes, when I went to my mamar baadi (mother's parents' place) during my summer holidays sometime around that period, everyone finally decided that I was a xerox copy of Ma. That was one helluva compliment since my mother is the most beautiful woman in the world, well at least in my eyes (see photo above). I still recall Pooja asking me why Ma had not joined the Bengali film industry when she was young ; it seemed a big shame that her looks had never drawn public attention in the way it deserved to. I didn't have a reply of course. Ma just smiled when I repeated Pooja's words to her. Anyway, Mitu, my younger sibling, is modelling big-time nowadays (photo above) and I think Ma derives some sort of satisfaction, however vicarious, from that.

As for me, I'm just happy the way I am nowadays. I 've learned not to overdo it. One celebrity in the family is enough ;-) No make up for me, no loud colours or flashy cuts. No brands, no coloured hair, no fairness creams...nothing that makes me look into the mirror and stare silently at a stranger. I prefer to keep myself low-maintenance and recognisable.

Returning to where it all started out from : I just hope little Soham grows up to be as good as he can be in his own eyes. The rest doesn't matter. Really.
But you have to grow up a lot to believe in the truth about brains scoring over beauty. That's the sad part.

5 comments:

Scribbler :) said...

Well, I cannot agree more with the last sentence :) You have hit the nail on the head with that.

And I can also relate to the "looking into the mirror at a stranger" bit...in my case, it is a strange elephant with a weirdo 70's rockstar haircut!
But still no make up for me :)

And let me end by saying that all three of you...mother and 2 daughters are absolutely beautiful, and so is this post :)

little boxes said...

BUT you are sooo pretty!i'm glad you sister's modelling...who all has she worked with?
and your mum's really lucky-one daughter balancing out another.complimentary daughters.what else can a mum desire?
:)

Anonymous said...

Wow. I love all the three pictures you have posted.

You have a mature head over your shoulders. And a pure spirit I am sure. :)
Amazing post!

The Ketchup Girl said...

phata-phati phamily, darling. And i really dunno about beauty or brains. I wish I could just be. Both give me a complex.

pRasad said...

This is the first time I am visiting your blog..& I found variety of topics here.. Good thing is most of them are related to "real things"..(don't know how to explain this..neways)

Read your posts about dilemma before mothering..Liked your perspective.. It's funny though :)
Following this blog..
And yeah..your mother is indeed a beautiful woman..

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