Guest guest Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 [January 29, 2006] THE QUESTION: Indian women are recognised as among the most good- looking in the world, Indian men as the crudest. Why? THE REPLIES: 1. How can Indian men be the crudest, when we have in our midst since time immemorial myriad thinkers, philosophers, social reformers of world repute down to the present times, for which we can boast of having espoused the need to appreciate beauty hidden in human nature? Despite having been indoctrinated with aesthetic principles, we to a great extent see the world through an occidental prism. That is why we judge men and women as sexual objects, not objects of pristine beauties. Although the West is not devoid of artistic values, these have been diluted by crudities. Also, our climate and the struggle for survival are factors that make our men seem rough and tough. Those who have been endowed with opportunity blossom into complete men. [PANKAJ KUMAR BURMAN, 23 January, Kolkata.] 2. Equally appealing Indian women in general are simple, sober and shy. These qualities are entrenched in the Indian culture. They are graceful and charming, specially in the eyes of foreigners who are accustomed to a mechanical way of life. Indian women are by and large good-looking. How can it be said that Indian men are the crudest? There is no dearth of good-looking men in India, from politicians to railway porters. Good-looking Indian women are offsprings of Indian parents. The images of Sita, Radha, Lakshmi and Parbati, conceived after Indian women, are all attractive. Are their Indian male counterparts, Rama, Krishna, Narayana and Shiva ugly? The answer is NO. [C S MUKHERJEE, 25 January, Howrah.] 3. Men have their crudities From time immemorial, Indian women have been recognised for their charm and beauty. This has prompted kings and emperors to invade India either to marry or take hostage many Indian women. Even today, many foreigners show their eagerness to marry Indian women. Aishwarya Rai has been called on assignments to Hollywood for her enchanting beauty and glamour and so many Indian women have become Miss Worlds and Miss Universes in beauty contests abroad. It may not be quite true that Indian men are the crudest in the world, but it certainly is evident that the women of India enjoy far greater popularity. Indian men have been accused of torturing their womenfolk, being dependent on them for domestic chores and for showing telltale signs of chauvinism. Then there are the big, bad villains of real life who exploit women for personal aggrandisement. Added to this is the lure of easy money in the form of dowry that has led to the killing of many married women and this has brought, in its wake, the draconian law under Section 498A of the IPC to prevent the crudest men from causing harm to the beauties, who are meant to be loved. [DIPAK BYSACK, 24 January, Kolkata.] 4. Women made [into] commodities! What are the parameters for judging who is beautiful and who is ugly? Beauty contests seem a bizarre idea, because it tends to promote women as a commodity. It is a conspiracy of large corporate houses, including fashion and cosmetic industries, the media and film industry. By organising beauty contests, multinational companies want to enter India to make more profit. This is the strongest way to mesmerise Indians by advertising foreign goods. Beauty is meant to stay in the realm of creativity and aesthetics. Beauty is born in an artists mind. We are reminded of Jean Cocteau who said: Art produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other hand, produces beautiful things which always become ugly with time. [uTTAM BHOWMIK, 24 January, East Midnapore.] 5. Pageants for men. Beauty pageants like Miss Asia, Miss World and Miss Universe give women a wider platform to flaunt their beauty and express their intelligence. But there is no such global platform for men who can be crude all over the world and cannot be singled out in India. In India, though, it is a greater struggle for men to stay afloat as there is competition from a burgeoning population where everybody is not exposed to the same kind of education and refinement. This is, unfortunately, an unequal world and sometimes a certain roughness does permeate into mens personality that make villains of them in India. [RANADIP GANGULY, 24 January, Kolkata.] SOURCE: TMC Net URL: http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-complete-man-the-issue-indian- women-recognised-as-/2006/01/29/1323174.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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