middle-class Archives

Minimalism Ki Maa Ki ***! Why It’s Impossible for Middle-Class Indians to Declutter

My mother believes that we are way ahead on the minimalism curve because unlike her friends she does not preserve restaurant bills from two years ago. But when I ask her to throw away the torn T-shirts and Absolut Vodka bottles, she insists that they deserve a second life as dusters and money plant holders.

Anuradha Ganapathy July 19, 2016

POV

Those ’90s Things: When the Seat Under the Fan Was Reserved for the Family’s Most Important Member

Back in the ’90s, the 10x10 room in the chawl was our kingdom, the place right near the fan, was the throne. Naturally the family’s most important member, usually the patriarch, had the luxury of placing himself right under the fan. Exceptions were made only when we children had our exams.

Damian D'souza July 15, 2016

Earth

Indian Mom: The OG Enthusiast of Recycling and Sustainable Living

When I was growing up, milk packets would be washed and stuck on kitchen tiles for drying – for rotis to be packed in for lunch. After a little wear and tear, mom would fold the plastic packets and use them as a trivet. Long before recycling became hip, every middle-class household practiced it.

Ramjaane July 14, 2016

Bollywood

How the Meenakshi Seshadri-Starrer Damini Taught Me My First Lesson in Feminism

In Damini, which released 28 years ago, Meenakshi Seshadri plays a housewife who beats impossible odds in her quest for justice for a rape survivor, the family’s domestic help. In some ways, the movie is the origin story of a conviction that has defined my life and given it purpose — that women are not second-class citizens of the world.

Sonali Kokra July 10, 2016

Gender

Not a Dress, Not a Maxi: How the Indian Woman Finds Liberation in a Nightie

Women fall in love with the nightie so madly, they never want to part ways. And why not? Its tent-like shape doesn’t discriminate – you might have Kareena-like abs or you might be well-rounded, the nightie gives everyone the sex appeal of a potato.

Purba Ray July 1, 2016

Love and Sex

Sex Diaries from Chawl Life: Belan, Chappal, & Other Kinks

Bondage using nylon sarees, some light spanking using a chappal, and a bit of butt play using the belan might sound like kinky sex acts to some. But in the confines of chawl living, it’s life as usual.

Damian D'souza June 29, 2016

Sports

Happy Birthday Virat Kohli, the Man Who Makes Greatness Look Routine

Virat Kohli has made greatness look so routine, so ordinary, that his stature has deliberately eschewed the romance of divinity. He is a human pushing for perfection rather than a deity dabbling in imperfections.

Rahul Desai June 11, 2016

Bollywood

Madhuri Dixit, the Woman of Middle-Class Dreams, and My Papa’s First Crush

I have grown up on stories about my father’s not-so-secret childhood crush on Madhuri Dixit from the time when they were neighbours in Mumbai. As a child with a congenital heart condition, Papa had spent a large part of his childhood as the one-boy audience for her daily kathak practices. She didn’t know it, but Madhuri Dixit was making life a little bit bearable for an angry teenager.

Sonali Kokra June 10, 2016

Love and Sex

Terminally Love-Struck: Does Romance Actually Bloom at Airports?

Growing up I was enamoured by the romance-at-the-tarmac trope – Love Actually and Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na. But the chance of someone dodging security guards for that one passionate kiss are as slim as your Jet Airways flight taking off these days. Yet each time I’m at a terminal, the dormant romantic in me wakes up.

Devrupa Rakshit June 3, 2016

Bollywood

20 Years on, the Hypnotic Charms of Nayak Continue to Endure

Nayak tugs at middle-class righteousness which explains its cult following on Indian television. Like any good hypnotic trick it lets you believe that come the time of opportunity, it’s only the good in us that will surface. It’s a far-fetched dream, but one worth seeing over and over again.

Manik Sharma May 15, 2016