What we wear

A couple of days ago I watched the advertisement featuring Kriti Sanon for the brand Giva. The ad showed that the woman used Giva's silver rakhi for Rakshabandhan. She also ties the rakhi to her pet dog. I watched it and I felt that the outfit in the ad was inappropriate. Somehow my instincts were telling me that this ad is going to create an uproar.

My instincts were right. The ad did create controversy. The ad was criticized for using inappropriate outfits and missing the festive symbolism. In my opinion the criticism was fair. I felt that the backlash was well deserved.

Then came the so called 'befitting' reply from the actresses herself who decided to stand up for herself. She called out the critics by saying who are they to tell a woman what to wear. I used to think that well educated Kriti knew better to respond smartly but she took the same route which most artist take who consider themselves to be the torchbearer of human rights.

The backlash continued leading to the brand issuing a public apology and pulling down the ad. The brand apologized to the public on all their social media platforms suggesting that they did not intend to hurt the religious sentiments of the masses. But the damage was already done. The trend of cancelling the brand had already started. Giva had joined the league of other brands who had lost their glory because of trying to push their 'modern' ideas towards long standing traditional festivals and rituals.

This entire episode has once again started discussions on various topics.

Are women being told to cover up or are women still being told what to wear? In my opinion this was not the issue. For me, yhe issue was the outfit being inappropriate for the occasion. Every part of the world has the concept of dressing for an occasion. If the outfit is not appropriate, the passengers are not allowed to board the plane. If the outfit is not appropriate, the person will be asked to leave a sacred place. For office, parties, events, weddings, there are strict dress codes. The same applies to the religious ceremonies and festivals. The rule is 'dressing appropriately for the occasion'.

When I saw the ad I was not enraged but I was disappointed to see how the sacred festival of Rakshabandhan has been shown casually as if it is just a random Friday. To me and many other people it is not a casual day. I consider this day to be a day which celebrates the bond of siblings. According to me the bond of siblings is one of the strongest and selfless bonds and it deserves to be celebrated. To celebrate this bond, I will dress up because it is important for me.

Lastly, I am tired of seeing the way the traditions and rituals of my country are mocked by celebrities. If they think they have the right to laugh at traditions, then I believe I have the right to be angry and band their products. I am glad to see that I am not the only one thinking this way.