Brand value...

I saw an ad in the newspaper for a herbal slimming product. A girl dressed in bridal finery with a big smile plastered on her face, while her parents look on lovingly. The groom looks like he will pounce on the bride any minute. The ad goes on with the father's narration : I was worried about my daughter being rejected by so many grooms because she was overweight. Someone then told me about "Blah" Herbal Slimming Product and I asked my daughter to try it. We could see the results in a few months! Within 4 months my daughter became beautiful and within 6 months of using the product she found a groom! We are very thankful for this product blah blah blah....

Now there are several things about this advert which had me worried.
First things was the whole shallow approach to marriage. Cliched as it may sound, physical appearance is not the only thing that matters!
Secondly how can anyone turn beautiful in a matter of months! You are how you are born and no one can change the way you look.
Next was the promise of weight loss using just some herbal concoction. What about eating right and getting adequate exercise? That matters more for a healthy lifestyle than consuming any amount of slimming products! So many things wrong about this ad!
When will Indian ad makers stop using age old cliches. Tonnes of ads out there depict women doing all the cooking, cleaning etc. The fairest and the most beauitful girl getting a groom after using a beauty product. Scoring highest marks making one the smartest in the class etc etc. I could go on!

I hope average Indian consumer is smarter that that to fall for such tacky shortcuts to fame, wealth or whatever it is that the ads want to convey.

RANT!!

I will probably laugh at this later...but right now I am very very mad.

The conversations with people in my family(?) revolves around the same topic all the time.Yes I married someone of my choice, WITH my parent's approval .So what????
You, yes the lady who is my mom's close pal and a relative, that doesn't give you the right to remind my parent's about it every time. They have accepted it and moved on. But what is your problem? Why do you deliberately bring up that topic every time and indirectly tell them that they failed to get me suitably married off to someone of the same caste! And stop gloating that your daughter is getting an arranged marriage. Its not like a trophy that you won in a race against my mother. That doesn't make you or your daughter saintly. And if you really have a problem, talk to me about it. It is me you have a problem with, don't bother my parents or hurt them. I am responsible for my life and not them.

And you, the cousin stop being miss-two-goody-shoes. There is no halo around your head simply because you chose to marry someone your parents picked for you. I am leading a happy life ,thank you very much. And please move on with your life. I can only wish you the very best ahead! :)

And you, the cousin No.2 . Dont give me a once over and tell me "you have lost weight after marriage". Are you trying to say they dont give me enough food? Stop trying to beat about the bush. I know you want to say it out loud :P I almost laugh at your stupidity.

And you, the aunt in the first circle of relatives, i dont care you if refuse to touch the food at my house. You and your holiness i care a damn about. We dont feed crap to our guests. I am almost tempted to not even offer you a drop of water the next time!

And all you people giving me condescending looks, how many more years before you stop that? How different am I form you except for a bunch of rituals that you cant explain about. I have never been mean to you guys, so why dont you treat me the same?
And why do you bother my parents about it. They are perfectly happy, why dont you just let them be!!

Thank god for this blog that i can speak my mind out. I would never say this to your faces , because i can never act mean like you guys. I am better mannered and cultured and i thank my parents for that. I have enough sense not to point fingers at others and mind my own business.

phew!!!

Up close and personal?

Conversation over the lunch table at office steered to job interviews. One of my colleagues wife attended an interview recently.In the HR round, after asking the usual set of questions, the HR asked her if she was married. When she answered in the affirmative, the HR wanted to know how long she had been married for. Later the interviewer wants to know if they plan to have kids any time soon. Thats none of his/her damn business if you ask me. My colleague's reasoning was they wouldnt want to hire someone who is likely to go away on maternity leave as soon as she joins the job.
But how far can one go when asking such personal questions? Are they even allowed to ask such questions?

Rant!

Here i go...my first rant post! Actually the second one because i never posted the first rant. Sigh...never mind.
People I know, especially the women who have a lot of time on their hands for evil thoughts, go by physical appearance to decide the happiness quotient in a person's life.
A few days after an arduous 2-week trek in the Himalayas, when i came back happy,tanned and lighter by a few kilos, i met a relative who lives down the lane. Oblivious of my recent vacation and going by my weight loss, she wants to know, if i had some problems in my married life and whether i was being treated well!

Such busy bodies!!