OLDIES, THE GOODIES !

If there's another reincarnation destined for me , I would beg God to send me back to 1950s  to live in the era of Presley, Monroe, Grace Kelly,Audrey Hepburn,Jacqueline Kennedy, Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Chuck Berry, gramophones, LPs, wiggle dresses, saucer hats, lacey gloves, polka dots, cupcakes..phew ! I can go on and on...

50s was truly an ultimate era of sophisticated elegance in terms of fashion. Style icons of this decade like Marilyn Monroe, Jacqeline Kennedy, Madhubala, Gayatri Devi, Grace Kelly ,Audrey Hepburn remain  timeless beauties with their innate charm and  their subtle sensuality. They were what you would call them glamorous and the real stars in a true way- heavenly and  untouched ...something very mystique about them unlike today's bare-it-all  sexuality and obtrusive media exposure of celebrities. Maybe that's prominently why the fanfare and the adulation the celebs enjoyed in  those days doesn't exist today. The musicians  of  yore to name a few  Elvis Presley,Little Richard, The Temptations, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Beatles, The Drifters,Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis ,Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong  remain frozen in time The music they created is irreplacable and  listening to them on  LPs playing on gramophone is definitely an enthralling experience. I'm not dissing the newbies ; some of them are exceptionally good but most of  thr artists seem chugging out  the music that sound like everyone else.



Most of today's celebs - style icons and  musicians are transient entities.Like for example-think of white jumpsuit and pompadour hairstyle you'll remember Elvis , think of chiffon and pearls and a demure image of Gayatri Devi comes to your mind, androgynous and still sexy that's Audrey Hepburn for you  and who would forget Monroe's raw sex appeal ? They are even mimicked today and their style being recreated again. There are many out there like me who recognise and are influenced with  the style and music that defined this decade. So be it the Monroe inspired wiggle dress in my wardrobe or the 70s ruffle blouse that I got specially designed from a couturier (which cost me a bomb) , my hand painted  polka dotted storage trunk and the music collection I continue to add to my oldies collection.. ..the obsession will go on ...

Good old days and vintage is here to stay ! :)

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The most painful day of my life...

3.30 AM , 9th September,2012

As I write to pen  this down, I fume with anger  and  disappointment strikes me once again ......

 It's been two weeks my cousin, Dr. Chetan Patil , a 26 year old  aspiring MD student studying in Bagalkot, was brutally murdered and stabbed to death  by nine men on the deserted streets of Belgaum.   REASON :he was a HINDU ! Chetan had become another victim of religious conflicts in the nation; his bloodshed body just lay there on the street in the wee hours of morning. What a draconian act  to kill a innocent passerby in the wee hours of night who's oblivious and is returning home.All in the name of Religion! Its no more a new phenomenon in the country since  thousands of innocents  have so far fell to the senseless killings.and will continue to... Wonder how people can be so radical and inhumane!

The entire incident is infuriating--- the cops trying to hide the incident by dumping my brother's dead body in a Civil Hospital  not to instigate further riots, only informing the unaware parents the morning later When contacted by these helpless parents, no hospital takes responsibility about the whereabouts of the dumped body.The  bandaged body is then handed over to the parents the next day in the noon after post mortem and the tedious investigations.....I just couldn't hold back my tears when my weeping aunt narrated the incident to me.

It's the aftermath the families of these victims  go through. Those ba****will never know my Uncle's silent cries nor my aunt's sleepless nights and what it is to lose the only child on whom they had their hopes on and their entire dream built upon.Some words of sympathy and some condolences in the press is all the power pundits could do .And that has been for years. Such incidents are a  routine affair for them.

And I'm so very sure those accused in my brother's murder will be out of  jail on bail  in search of another Chetan.I realise that this mere piece of blog is not going to humanize the laws out there nor stop those dogs to hunt down for another Chetan...And I do not know if ever there will be an end to it.

Cheti, you are truly missed...And I just can't get over the fact that you aren't there anymore.Its a sheer unjustice that we had to part with you.

God bless you for such a wonderful soul that you have always been....