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[aromalsula]

It’s really strange, how sustainability started as a cheaper way of life.

But in modern Fashion it turned out to be more expensive. 

And Indians who loved gold and luxury, still led a life of sustainability till 2000. 

The idea of owning / buying less and paying more , is not really a great pitch. 

It’s good maybe not practical, not everybody have the luxury of buying sustainable fashion. 

Also, If we promote owning less. The production will be less and since it’s a big industry. A less production can affect those people whose livelihood depends on the more production. And I really don’t think the higher price tag in sustainable fashion can benefit those who are at the bottom of the pyramid.

If you really need to make a change, the target should be the common man. Not the man in the suit. We need to focus on the 90 percentage not the 10.

So how do you do that. 

Firstly, why there is a need of sustainable fashion. Maybe there is a lot of flaws in the current fashion ways. 

So I say we fix them. Properly

Find what are the pain points in the so called fast fashion industry. And find solutions. 

A design thinker can do that, A technologist can do that. 

Lets say if water is your issue

Look at Saudi Arabia, they are making drinking water from sea, 

So there is always a solution. Its a 3000billion $ industry, surely we can change the way we make clothes. Without the need of paying more for owning less.

We can find cheaper ways to do that, we have send man to moon , brought back rocket in one piece. Invented smartphones, Ai .

So weird Question why there is already a segment of Sustainable fashion or slow fashion.

Pure marketing ,literally nothing else. Pure marketing.

It is something different, so you get attention.

letting the potential buyer know that he is contributing to something,  so he buys it , 

Gen Z or the millennials blame the past generation for not caring about environment. And these guys wanna make it right.  So they are happy to pay for a cause. Even though it’s expensive. 

[aromalsula]

“A black mole over the lips usually means, you gonna be getting laid plenty “ - yes, That is what my teacher said , when I said I will be  joining NIFT. 

I said, “No way “ - may be in mind I was also excited about Mumbai, and NIFT.

I remember my first day in Mumbai, that was my first flight too. After a good brunch My aunt dropped me in the college. A lot of people, Students, seniors, teachers, parents and a lot more for the first day.  I didn’t knew any Hindi neither my English was  so good, But anyway, I told my aunt, I will be ok, she doesn’t have to wait for me.. but I was really not ok. 

I didn’t made any friends that day. One thing I knew , I was so scared to talk to any. They all looked so damn pretty. And filthy rich. 

I did talked to one person. It was Akanksha who also happened to be in fashion tech. maybe it was that, she sat near me and asked me something.- which I clearly replied “ Yeah I don’t know what you are speaking.”

A nail to my self esteem, was from a speaker, who addressed the orientation. Where he asked, “ how many of you think, you are dressed up for a fashion college. ?“

I truly think he meant me when he said that  . I was looking so similar to Nawazuddin siddiqui in the Raman-raghav 2.0. while all my peers were looking so ready to be in a lead role in the next Karan Johar movie. 

The very next day my brother came from Delhi. And I told him “chettah I don’t belong here. I can’t be here. “

He told me. “Yeah you fucking do , you don’t even know these people.  let’s go for shopping. 

I don’t know what he really meant by that. That day, he made me walk a lot , try a lot of clothes. He made me cut my hair. And bought me a sneaker. Also a gym membership card. “ well all I could say , that he  always knows better. 

To  be honest  next day was different.

Gym Was pretty good, I met a fine young lady there, Kanika, Kanika didi. Well she was older than me. Married once , divorced. No children.

Every evening she will wait for me. So we both fat ass can workout together. morning she comes to my hostel for a walk, which I skipped mostly everyday.

She makes the best French toast, she even taught me the same. She really knew the town. 

Back then I never had a drink , beer or even a cigarette. She does everything, she had a lot of friends, who always said I was cute, well that’s all they all says. 

One day deedi was so drunk, and called me to a nearby bar(I forget the name). I took an auto from hostel to the bar And I saw she was in a corner table , with lot of food and more than 4 beer bottles, and I am sure she had something hot too. She was looking in her phone, she didn’t even lift her head up to look at me .

Later she said , She didn’t want any of the men in the room to know that she was that drunk, and her way to do that was leering to her lock screen on the phone. 

Some how I managed to get her out of the bar. But fun fact,  I can’t drive a car.   Which she or me didn’t realised, after I tucked her in the front seat. 

Yeah we took a Uber.

And when the Uber came , I had to run back to the half closed bar to get her purse, which she left. When I got back , she was already in the rear seat.  I sat with her, telling , this is the last time. I coming to pick you up……..She grabbed me and kissed me on my lips.

Yeah that was my first time. And it felt good

I didnt said anything , we made out all the way back to Kharghar in the cab

And in her lift. and In her living room, later the bed room.

The day I had my first kiss, I had my first sex. I was excited , still I am

In the morninng I waked up near to her, she was already woke , and was combing my hair.

Then It was something we did everyday.  

Later I got myself a closet in her apartment. So that I can go to college from there.

It was the amazing  3-4 months I ever had. She taught me a lot of things.

We smoked weed , we went on night drives, went to shoppings together.  Even she tried to teach me how to drive a car, well that didn’t went well.

3 months later she told me she is going back to Australia to live with her fam.and asked me, : do I have anything to say to her.

I said no, nothing.

On the day , when I dropped her at the airport, she gave me a hug. Asked me again, Do I have anything to say. 

 I said, “ No I don’t , I don’t know. Maybe bye didi??”

“ Really didi ?  “             She just smiled and gave me a kiss. And said , “you know you have black mole on your chest too” . 

“Yeah I know….. Call me. “

I never called her after that, neither she.

[aromalsula]

On behalf of corona, I had to go back to Kerala, to my own *Thirontharam. and after the first few months of my parole, like everyone I too wanted to get back to Mumbai. Soon as I found a reason, that “ I need to vacate my hostel rooms, or else I need to pay them to rent for nothing, My father was delighted to buy me a ticket.

It took 3 days after my quarantine to get myself vacated. And after one whole night of a Send-off party from my mallu gang at YMCA. I was ready to get back.

At Panvel, I was packed with a trolley, a big backpack, a laptop bag, and a paper roll, and a canvas from one of my juries. just say I was covered with a lot of bags. The reason that I didn’t recruit a kooli, was not that “I am a gym-going, beefy guy, but simply I didn’t know how to do that. In my defense, they don’t teach you these things at School.

I was standing near the entrance, with my load and taking some weird selfies…. Just as every time, half of the people at the platform were malayalees going back to Kerala and malayalees came to send off their families.

I noticed a guy who just walked in slowly, as I was standing near the entrance. At first glance, it was clear he was from Kerala. He was sweating so hard that the towel he carried was trying a hard job and even failed dourly.

He was in his 50’s, with only a few more hairs left near his ear, which he managed to cover his whole bald head.

He only had one old overused suitcase and a plastic cover that you get from any textile shops back in Kerala.

We were at least at a stretch of 10 to 15 steps. I pulled my eyes off him when he. Kind of noticed me, or he might have really seen me looking.

After a few scrolls down through my Instagram, I consider looking at him.

He was checking me out too. He was just staring at me. I started to feel so weird with the leering. If someone wondering what is there to feel weird that, a guy looking at a guy, well I had my experience.

It is not just girls, who get touched in-crowd a. There was once an auto driver, who tried to grab my ass and a guy from the bus when I was in doing my 10th. Those things came to my mind all at once.

He took a few steps and came near to my fortress of bags. And told me ( in Malayalam ) that please look at my bags, I will be right back.

I just wiggled my head, I didn’t know whether it was a Yes or No from my end. Well, he didn’t wait for the answer but rushed to the nearby toilet.

Station announced that the train was coming on the same platform that I was standing, which I was praying for because if not, the thought of carrying all these bags to the next one is a bane.

I slowly walked with my load to the section where the 3rd AC compartments are usually ceased. As a matter of fact, I kind of ditched that man’s bags, at where he told me to look after.

A few steps forward, I saw him running from the toilet. To his bags and to me, Even though I ditched his bags at the platform, he offered me to help me with mine.

Since It seemed like a long walk, he tried to start a talk, while I was not in the mood for one,

“Nattilevideya?? - where in Kerala … “ a customary Question from every mallu to another one

“Thiruvananthapuram, Attingal .”

“Njan Wayanad , Padikkuvaano atho joliyo ?? - a student or working “

“Student . “ - I tried to keep my answers short.

He asked me If I was getting back home, due to covid, (Like something, is not common these days.)

“Yes, you too? “ The only question I asked him, which I surely knew the answer was just a Yess.

“ No, I was in Dubai, where my family stayed in Panvel,

My son Died, my wife went back to Kerala, 2 days ago, I had a few more things to be done here.

Now, this is the last day in Mumbai, Sold everything, just need to be back with my old parents and wife.”

I who was not expecting that, with a gulp of guilt in my mouth asked him if it was an accident.

“No accident, He was like you, built up, was running a gym with his friends, in Panvel, since covid, there was no gym or anything, just stayed home, it was a heart failure, can’t. Blame anyone, he was just like that only, “ Mother just blames herself, even though, how many times, I have been telling her not to……”

I didn’t have anything to say to that man, since the train was stopping, he just gave me a handshake and placed my bag on the floor gently. And said

“My compartment is a sleeper, it’s at the front, Take care son, “ - with that, he just walked away with his suitcase and the plastic cover.

I loaded my bags at the doorway, and stood there for a while searching for the man in the crowd, he didn’t look back, but I saw his Bald head with a little bit of hair.

[aromalsula]

After the whole 2 weeks of vadapav and thali

I decided to go for Thane to my Valyamma (mom's elder sister, who inherited all the firm hand from their military father), just to get myself some Kerala fish curry and if lucky some mutton.

I texted my ex-girlfriend to book me a uber since I had debt on ola and uber, from previous ones, and she did, after 20 minutes of her usual cloak and dagger, she got me a cab. And texted me a screenshot of the same. I sat near a tree at the star market with a bottle of Pepsi, while trying not to seek eye contact with a dog sat near me, (no offense, I am afraid of dogs).

After a few minutes, 0541 a grey Datson Go came for me. I kept my backpack at the rear seat and sat in front like I usually do in Mumbai.

Back home I don't get to sit at the front, Dad keeps the front row for him and mom.

I wanted to take a seat a little bit back, the young driver was happy to help me.

The person who booked the cab for me, was on phone with him reading out the OTP, while he was about to cut the call I kind of added a thank you to her, he just laughed to that,

To show my two-year Hindi, I asked him, " ye payment kitna dha ".

Patha nahee m sir, madam ji ne ye online se pay kia dha sir,  he replied with a cheer

While I was thinking that whether I should pay her back, or respect her gratitude, he reminded me about the seatbelt.

Since I didn't have any battery left on my phone after the usual updates and stories on Instagram and Snapchat, I wished to test my Hindi on the young skinny man next to me.

"Aapka Naam kya he bhai ? "

"Kumar sir "

"Acha"

"Ye aapki gaadi he kya "

" Nayi sir , me keval driver hum "

Since I don't exactly knew or understand his Hindi

I am gonna keep this in English.his Paapa’s special Ranchi Chicken.

His name is Kumar, A Ranchi boy, but according to him, he is from MS Dhoni ki Ranchi. Since I was not good geography of India, he explained to me where Ranchi is, Jharkhand, and how Bihar is different, and why Jamshedpur is better.

He is part of a kisani family, Mainly chaval, where only his father is doing farming, while he, his brother, and his sister's husband work in Mumbai,Calcutta, and Jharkhand. His brother stays with his aunt at Calcutta as a helper in their family business, which was something related to the masala. And the sister's husband (Aliyan in Malayalam) was working as a tile mesthiri back in Jharkhand.

He came to Mumbai searching for a job after completing 12th in the science stream, with good marks. He started his earning as a panipuri salesman in some hotel, which he was not so good at, Later so asked one of his friend, a delivery driver to the same hotel, to teach him driving. Kumar was able to learn to drive so fast. After he got his license, the hotel manager himself helped him to get a driving job with a *Setah from Gujarat who owned more than 45 cars.

He loved his new job, where the *Setah only care about the 9000 Rs that Kumar is paying every month. Setah is also kind enough to carry out all the maintenance works.

Kumar is able to help his Paapa to find the money for his elder sister to continue her college education. The only person who went to college after the 12th in his family. He, his brother, his other elder sister( who got married after her 10th standard ) ,Maama, and Paapa is always proud of the college-going sister.

Kumar is the youngest, when I asked him “ tho thu chotta he ? “ he replied “Ha Sir me he Chottu” with a laugh.

On our journey there were a lot of laughs, we shared our criticism against the Mumbai Police, and the traffic, How panipuri tastes better in any place rather than Mumbai, and the fact that you can get a fish curry meal for 30 rs in Calcutta.

He had a lot to talk about when he was talking about his Paapa, that how he loved having a dog around him, and his love for his five cows at home, his sorrow that none of his sons are at home to help him with his farming. And the love story which ended in marrying from one of the prominent families in his village.

Talking about love, Kumar has a love in Calcutta, whom he met whenever he visited his brother there. A Bengali girl, that Kumar’s sisters only know. When I asked him, if he spends his free time on the phone with his, Bengali girl, he replied me “No. And that he needs to be successful in his career, first.

Kumar being in his 20’s already had a plan to set out his career, that he had a passion for business, and that he wants to start a business in his village, again something related to the masala, I didn’t get his business, but I wished him all the best.

He was happy to share with me his love for Kerala, which included stories about Nariyal Pani, a mallu passenger he dropped off at Andheri, and a front who works in a tire company in Kerala. Also, he was so grateful when I offered him a stay if he ever wants to visit Kerala.

The Ranchi Guy had his passion for cricket and Dhoni. When asked about Dhoni, he went the same as when he was talking about his paapa, He was so obsessed with Dhoni that he wants Dhoni to be the Chief Minister of Jharkhand.

I kind of loved his innocence. Well we both agreed on one thing that both of us who knew every playing eleven of

India, till there was Dhoni and Yuvaraj playing. And the fact that now we don’t.

When the ride ended, he told me with a laugh that “ Sir Madam ji ne ye cash me add Kiya dhaa, apko pay Karne chahiye. I couldn’t resist my laugh too, I paid him online, and he asked me for a photo. I was happy to take it, I took his number and told him that I will pay a visit to his marriage, and will surely come for his Paapa's special Ranchi chicken.