good old days?

I was reminiscing (seriously, what is the matter with me???) about my school days today.

The reason?
hmmm got to know from a common friend about a friends marriage..
You see it is about 28 degrees now and usually about 8-12mm ranfall since a couple os days..I am forced to open an umbrella while out on the streets.
In our school it was considered highly uncool to be caught anywhere within a five mile radius of an umbrella.
Until and unless the city was drowning downpour.
Even then we used to give the umbrella away at the school gate.
Also in the summers, we'd any day choose an early death from a sunstroke rather than open an umbrella (shudder).

The reason you ask? Well I am no racist, but it was all thanks to the Bengalis and Gujaratis and their obsession with
carrying an umbrella everywhere. In all times of the year.
So much so that they made it uncool and geeky to be seen with one!

So this year for the first time in my life(yes old habits die hard), I have used an umbrella.
A shiny black one with a silver coating. It matches my shiny brown bag!

& no Et, I have not ironed my umbrella. Its fashionably crinkled! jelir

This had me thinking. What other things did we consider uncool in those days?

A fringe and a shoulder length hair cut was in vogue in the nineties.
But alas! My paternal old styled grandmom took great pride in her hip length braided hair.and wanted us to be like her too though i have always had boy cuts after adolescence she would get all jittery if i cut my hair.
"Aiyoooooo" they screamed. "After all those years of oiling and combing, she wants to let our efforts go to waste
and cut off her hair! Cut off her hair!!! Have you ever heard of anything like that!?!Do girls from decent families get their hair cut?have you ever seen something like that all the oooo aaa ooohhhs..huh

"What about a fringe across the forehead?" I ventured.
"No no, end of discussion".
Very well then. I proceeded to do what any self respecting early teen would do.
I gave myself a fringe, put a hair pin across my head and hoped my grandmom wouldn't notice.

Well, notice she did and screamed and shouted to her hearts content too.
I put on a straight face and smirked inwardly. She could not hope to rectify it anytime soon and in the mean time
I had what I wanted! I was partially cool!

Trip to Raichur, Raichur that summer and my aunties(far off relatives hmmm neighhbours....) screamed.

"Aiyoooooo Ene dippi!!!!! You did that to yourself!?! What were you thinking!?!
All that lovely hair. benglore ge idakke hodya??? Tsk Tsk.
Do you realize that your pony is thinner by that much hair now?"

"Jeeez. Like I care!" smirk smirk.

It was also uncool to be seen in weird attire.
This I am guilty off. No not in school but on the streets of Bangalore.
I was probably 10. Someone from Raichur had gifted me this typical shirt blouse in bottle green with golden zari border and motifs.
A one time pay back for the very fashionable, awe inspiring dresses that my parents gifted her kids every year.

Picture this one in bottle green and you will have my poison.

That was all very well. But once we were back in Bangalore, they asked me to wear it.

"Why? Where are we going?"

"Oh. Only to the house of this sweet old couple".

"I will look strange out on the streets wearing this".

"But they are traditional Brahmins and will be so happy to see you in this.
Who else is going to see you today? Common now. We will be back soon."

I don't know why I conceded. But that was one of the worst days of my life.
Turns out my parents decided to visit the relatives of the sweet old couple first.
There were so many people there. All of whom had to go all "Aiyoooooo" over my attire.

Also turns out my dad didn't know the sweet old couple's house.
This fella said it was walking distance and they decided to walk over!

Oh the pointing and the staring. I was scarred for life!!!
Please bear in mind that those were the days when there was no cable television.
The days when people in North thought South India consisted of Madras only. (my husband still thinks we all are madrasis :P)
And no one had seen a live specimen parading that fancy dress costume!

"Oh common now. They are looking because you look so nice" said mom.

Yeah! Right!!!

Need I mention that the fringe self haircut came some time after this incident?

My teacher at school used to oil my hair and pin up the fringe eeeyo yucks ! I hated her .........