Summers in Jharia

Summers in Mumbai start with ample time to read the newspapers. The newspapers these days stress me out. Earlier only the fashion magazines managed to make me feel ugly, now even a entertainment paper is telling me how bad I am. It starts with clothes, branding, advertising, covering every single fashion show and hairstyle. Bombay Times tells you which actor is taking a flight and wearing what clothes. The actually write captions like  XYZ is wearing shades to block the sun or carrying a jacket for a comfortable flight. It goes on to Winter make up skills, Summer coolers, Beauty tips for the heat, which sun block to use and what SPF, How to plan your vacation, pack your bags, shop during a holiday and for a holiday. In between all this, I am supposed to try out the new Sale at Marks and Spencer as it is my cat's anniversary, I have to buy gold for Akshay Tritiya and a house in the hills, I can book a flat at Lodha and provide LSF which is Life Style Factor for my child. No one bothers to tell me when is Akshay Tritiya but I am told to book a car on the auspicious day and take my Mother for a special discounted Mother's Day lunch. Little do they know that for my Mother, birthdays and anniversaries do not matter. If I want to see her, she is actually worried about me travelling in the hot sun or wasting money on a restaurant meal or she has her own plan with her friends. 

Bombay Stores is constantly telling me that it has been a year or two since I last visited them and I can get Rs.250 off in their Fort store, should I choose to go. I get to know about all dermatologists I need to visit, How my spine needs support and my hair needs an ammonia free color or straightening. I can even get a tummy tuck during lunch time if I skip my lunch. Gosh!!!! What is this crap? Who does these things? How many in India have time for these insane things? One percent of our population? The illusion the newspapers are projecting, just does not reflect India in anyway. We already have our solutions based in what nature provides us in India. Who needs Soya, Quinoa and Olives to be healthy? Because US produces a lot of Soya, they have research to prove how it is the best thing to eat. Because only Olive oil is available in Europe, the research insists groundnut oil, coconut oil and Sarso tel is not good enough. Some Yummy Mummies are fools to fall for this marketing jargon. But seriously, how many in India will use these things? In the urban scenario, it has become aspirational for us to loose our strengths. We feel good only when we ignore our goodness and ape someone else, irrespective whether it works for us or not. I am not talking about oils or foods. 

I have taken on wearing Sarees again thinking about our weavers. I love this beautiful six yard unstitched fabric and the way it drapes around me. I am learning to find my lost love for the Saree. An Uncle Aunty in the building were surprised to see me wearing one. Uncle immediately recognized that I was wearing a Mysore cotton. I was awed the way he figured this. He said that earlier we recognised women belonged to which state by the Saree they wore. The Bandhej of Rajathan was different from the Bandhni of Gujarat to the discerning eye. Similarly, every Saree from South India was not 'South Cotton' or 'Kanjeevaram'. People knew cloth and weaves. The needle came from Persia is what a friend mentioned and Uncle had said the embroidery came from the Mughals. The Muslims did not wear certain patterns of embroidery which had birds, animals or human forms. This is true for a lot of Islamic women even now. Our hotels and airlines which were the first contact of the travellers wore local or regional fabrics and uniforms. Now we are getting dwarfed like penguins in white shirts and black blazers. I wonder how welcoming is this white and black pant suits worn by all service staff, to a weary traveller? 

I remember 'Bel ka sharbat' in the summer afternoons in Jharia. It tasted divine. Had bel ka sharbat in Mumbai after years. The'bel' came from Chandigarh. What a thoughtful gift. We had loads of 'Chaas' and Nimbu waala Barley Paani. Food was not fried during summers. Dhanbad had seasonal vegetables. In Summers, there were no cauliflowers, tomatoes, Spinach, carrots or cabbage. A few vegetables were repeated all the time. Dad did not have sisters, no cousins came down to stay with us for summer vacations. all our relatives were in Jharia and Dhanbad, we just visited them or stayed with them for a few days. It was enough, no one wanted fancy holidays. 

We never wore slippers at home. Footwear was for outside. We ran through the 'aangan' or courtyard from one room to another. Enjoyed that little burn feeling on the soles of the feet. No one told us to go down to play wearing slippers. Now all foreign natural health websites tell us to walk on earth, let your feet feel the mud, grass, water and connect with the earth's energy. We went down to play in the evenings. Summer showers were always welcome.