Time Out
For the umpteenth time today, I was told that I dont have an Indian accent. And for the umpteenth time, I tried educating someone with the same old logic... most young people in India dont have an accent, I was educated in english, yadda yadda yadda. This stereotype has really lost its shelf life, me thinks. Wake up, dearies, wake up!
Someone told me some time back, you play the Indian card too often on your blog. Not only was I mildly irritated by the stupidity of this thought, I was irked enough to say I dont care.
Strange, isnt it? I am someone, who wont step out of the house looking like a slob, even if I am alone and in a new city. Simply because I care what people think about me. I care about what strangers think about me. And here, I find it so easy to tell someone I know, that I dont care about his or her opinion. His or her judgements. I guess its my way of making a statement. I guess its attitude. I guess its foolish.
I surprise myself sometimes...
Talking about appearance, I have now spent a good 3 days looking for the right denim jacket. With no results. Its one of those essentials for the wardrobe, which I havent had for a long time. *begin flashback* I remember, my first and last denim jacket was purchased in class 6, because I had won a cash prize in some competition. The first earning. Euphoric it was. *end flashback* Yanyways, so the new jacket is being hunted, because I want to match it with the new pair of jeans I acquired (yes, I cant say 'bought' coz it came for free!) last week. I have the perfect red top, the perfect brown sandals and the perfect red earrings to match. All I need is the perfect denim jacket to complete an ensemble, which I will never wear! Umm... why you ask? Because whenever I am colour-coordinated and correctly accessorized to go out, some fool will always ask, why are you so dressed up? And trust me, it takes away the charm from dressing up. Damn them!
A good friend asked me yesterday what big expediture I had planned out of my bonus. Left me quite speechless, actually. No new gadgets worth craving for yet, I had instead set my eyes on a holiday in Cambodia or Thailand, which unfortunately wont materialise, because someone doesnt have enough money and someone doesnt have enough leave. Not that I have abundance of either, but enough to get along with life and enjoy it too. Sigh. Such is the sadness. Well, no fancy gadgets, no exotic holidays, no expensive dinners. I guess I can atleast indulge in lunch time shopping. So a pair of italian leather shoes, which have been admired at the Staccato shop-window for a good two months, decided to tempt me by going on 50% discount. Soft leather, cute embroidery, and an irresistible price. What more can I ask for? Ummm, I can ask for Jupiter to be sufficiently work-laden today to not find time to read this post. Because reading 'italian leather from Staccato' is going to make her want to kill me. So... *ahem* *ahem*
I could really go on and on... but those were the highlights of the day. God bless fridays, and have a great weekend, all of ya!
posted by Casablanca at
2:06 PM
41 Comments:
what is an indian accent? (before i read further)
happy shopping!
hey u!
guess what ive started working finally!
lol...yes let me fill u in on ur comment page!
khair...the dilamma is that i now dont have time to read my favorite blogs that often!
woe is me!
wats up!
lol!
and dont u dare stop dressing up...i cant walk out of the house with looking decent...for that matter i refuse to let anyone see my face without kajal on!
You should hv told them that having an indian accent is no longer fashionable.
RBT,
Indian accent, apparently, is when people talking very fast, and eating up half the words. Apparently.
Khizzy,
Ah, finally we get to see you! Hope work is treating you well... and you are enjoying it.
Glad to have company in the I-need-to-look-proper-outside-home league :)
Kaps,
Hehe... I like that. Will give them that next time :)
aah girls.. thy frailty is thy insecurity..
Essss... watt yees ann yindian yaccent, I say? Me is wanting to here yit! U-vaar ware-shun off watt ann yindian yaccent yees, yees naught satisfaktowree! :p
God bless fridays?
Hmmm... I've wanted to write something about Fridays myself... I'd totally forgotten! Will do so sometime. Danke, Frau! :)
ARGH!
ITALIAN LEATHER!!!!!
ARGH!!!
Okay breathe.
Firstly, I saw it. I saw the perfect denim jacket. And believe you me I am dying to buy it. 240$.. reduced to 130... designer.. black denim with candycane striped underside.
TO DIE FOR!
Jack,
Wise words.
Moose,
I can see you are doing a good job of illustrating 'the indian accent'. And yes, friday definitely deserves a post :)
Jupiter,
I will send you pictures of the shoes... hehehehehehe =)
$130 for a denim jacket is a lil pricey, no? Anyways, I am looking for true-blue-denim colour... keep an eye for that for me.
Ah yes, I don't quite understand the "Indian Accent" phenomenon. In my previous company, clients from US always asked how come we spoke so well!
And you don't care, girl, about what who has to say about your being dressed up. They ask you stupid questions like "why", smile sweetly and say (a la Ash in a really L'Oreal ad!!) "Because I'm worth it!"
And yes, don't care what you talk about on your blog either. Tis most certainly no-one else's call but your own. So there. On such a note, a lovely weekend, sweetness! :-)
oops typo! Really bad ad, I meant! *blush*
have a great weekend too.
i don't know about HK/Singapore, but in the US, the "indian accent" shows up pretty oddly amongst all americans. they observe how strangely the indians speak in an accent so alien, yet so fluent. i feel funny at times :D.
Extempore,
Oh well, it would be a little corny to say "Because I'm worth it!", wouldnt it? Considering Ash couldnt carry it out, I doubt I will be able to ;)
DD,
Oh well, maybe over the years I've got over my indian accent. No other explanation seems to suffice.
Jeans came for free?? I could do with one. See that's what I meant in my blog when i said that why can't something other than shirts be gifted for men? And you go talking abt waist sizes and all!
:-(
Anyway, hope you get the denim jacket in weekend shopping.
I just don't get it when people always assume that you have an ulterior motive whenever you dress up man! 'AE what ra!! Fully dressed to kill ra you are!! Who you expecting to bump into ra!!?? Sheeeeesh! And there's a shoe shop called Stacatto??? :D Super weekend to you too!
I feel your pain with the english... and more I have had people telling me in much worse english than mine that I don't speak english and I'm going yeah more than u!?!?!
Like have you never read (or even heard of) indian writing in english?? Salman Rushdie? Vikram Seth? Arundhati Roy for gods sake where do you think they came from?
Jingu,
Okay dont jump to conclusions... didnt get jeans as a gift :)
Its like those 'collect 8 stamps and get 1 free' schemes! So I could actually try them on before getting them... waist size and all were therefore right ;)
Wishfulthinker,
Yes yes yes! Why people are asking? I am not liking! I am dressing up and not caring now!
PS: Yes, and the leather is awesome at Staccato, I assure you.
Karuna,
Ah thanks for that! I'm gonna use the long list of distinguished Indian authors the next time I get that comment :)
so do u speak in a singapore....a manchurian accent?
But looking like a slob has its advantages, you know. (One has much experience in these matters.) It's liberating, somehow, and you get a wide berth everywhere you go .. buses, trains, even sidewalks. Very comfortable. Plus it helps considerably when you're bargaining.
Zii,
Haha... hope not!
The One,
I am sure it has some advantages, although I dont intend to partake of those ;)
One seems to be of the tech-league, who sometimes believe that geek and slob are synonymous. Tsk tsk ;)
"Color-coordinated?"
Twice I came to your blog and ended up listening to the song.
Substituting a vacation with shopping??? Dear me! You really need to go on a vacation.
When people say Indian accent I immediately think of Apu from the Simpsons. I guess that's what most people think an Indian accent is like.
You have a great weekend too!
Well see *philosophical cap on*..there is a slight difference.When you step out all dressed up, it is really how you want people to percieve you.Not one stranger may get the opportunity to see what a well dressed person passed by,but you wanna make sure,that when they do..you are looking your best.It is not for the benefit of their sensibilities,it is for your own.
When some one makes a direct remark on you..however close this person might be, its an attack on you and bah, why should you care.You are not not caring about their feelings, you are defending your own.*philosiphical cap down*
Did I make any sense????? *wondering*
Ah, but stupid questions deserve stupid and corny answers, I think! That's why the a la Ash, no? ;-)
LOl @ Indian Accent. Can totally relate to that.
why are indian so defensive abt their accent? i havent seen it anywhere else in the world! the indian accent sounds pretty much like the welsh. if u go to us or uk u'll find most people here speak with some kind of accent or the other ... and they r proud of it :)
most young people in india dont have an accent? really?
@prerona:
Hmm,just adding my perspective here.The Indian accent that is referred to, is a very thick accent that probably used to be a thing of the past.A lot of Indians that have moved out to the cities, and moved out of the country donot speak like that anymore.What gets irritating is when someone tries to compare us to prehistoric times and wonders how we aren't like that any more.It is probably due to the projection of us in the world.
The issue isn't about our accent, but the the capability for other people to accept that we can speak just as fluently, with as much ease, and probably better, than a lot of native English speaking people.
I am proud of the way I speak, which is very Indian, not American or British.What annoys me is that when I speak well..they refuse to accept it as an Indian accent.
And how can one not have an accent..we all do.
it took me some time to realise the song was being played from ur blog as i had multiple windows open !
neway ..dil chata hai ...my favourite !!
SS,
Yup, what exactly is the question with colour-coordinated? You seem to be very interested in colours ;)
M,
Yes, but my friends arent available for a vacation, and I dont like holidaying alone.
EU,
Well put! Yup, we are defending our own emotions... which we sometimes need to do even with those close to us.
PS: Keep the philosophical cap on ;)
Extempore,
True that! Will try it next time and let you know how it went ;)
Me,
:)
Prerona,
No I dont have a problem with people who have a so-called Indian accent, but I dont, and I think its perfectly normal, because a lot of young indians dont have one. So I'm not trying to be condescending about those who do, all I'm saying is people shouldnt generalise and expect all Indians to speak the same way.
Dreamz,
Hehe... my blog always has some song playing. So now you know who to blame for sudden bursts of music while blog-surfing ;)
And just to add to that Indian accent thing..India is such a vast country that people from different regions have a different accent.So to categorise is really wrong, and extremely irritating.I get that all the time, so I know what it feels like.I have to constantly tell people no I am not south Indian hence I don't speak like, no I am not a Gujrati..so I don't speak like that..or whatever where ever....Arrrrggghhh..
Please to not...not attacking anyone here..just venting..it isn't cool to keep telling people constantly that what they hear is INDIAN..which may not be their perception of Indian..
Apologies..I think I am going mad...
Aiyla !!!
a lot seeemed to have happened around while I was away. Anyways the poetry was beyond my mental level. But then I can say that it was good :) :)
And the line "I'm learning not to care" is actually pretty cool and real. I'm in the "no care" mode for the past 3-4 months and believe me its working. Am at peace. No worrying about others.
NST: nice song. i have a folder in my machine thats called NST. And guess whts in that ????
I must say, I had a more elementary question:
What is color-coordination?
I thought I had asked enough questions to skip the "what is" part :-0
EU,
No apologies needed.. you arent going mad, not yet atleast ;)
And that's exactly my point... a lot of people in South East Asia assume that a tamilian accent = Indian accent. And I try to do my best to dispell this perception that all of India speaks english in a particular way.
Raul,
Cant say I can ever stop not worrying about others, but yes, atleast I can stop worrying about some of them.
And I think NST isnt very appropriate now, given that all the songs I play arent new :)
SS,
Color-coordination = matching things colourwise: either the same colour or complementary colours. Brown/red combo... blue/black combo... etc etc etc.
Now I will start charging consultancy fees, what say? ;)
Dang! I was hoping Casablanca will be generous to us mortal souls!
Brown/red... blue/black... sounds more like my shirts and sweaters...
If you are still not charging, what is Complementary Colors?
Of the blogs I read.. I cannot but say urs is Sex and the City blog without the bf reference and Sagnik's the Sienfeld blog.... nice show....
Hey Casa,
I had a thought... how can I be a blog-stalker without knowing the identity of the person whose blog I'm stalking? ;) :D
oyeee...then let the N in NST stand for "Nostalgic"....wht say?
SS,
Great, so you do have a colour sense, if atleast you match your sweaters and shirts in those combos :)
As for complementary colours, look up Wikipedia and what it says about Complementary colours in art and design :)
Anonymous,
Sex and the City... really?? But damn, I cant afford Manolo shoes, can I :(
Moose,
Anonymous stalkers should stalker anonymous bloggers ;)
Raul,
Will keep alternating between nostalgic and new. What say? :)
Aha!
Well, this aknowkneemoose fella's stalking your blog, not you, you know, so the blogger's identity shouldn't be camouflaged :p
But the blogger's identity has always remained camouflaged... I see no reason to change that ;)
Point I was trying to make is ...
nevermind
:)
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