#being indian

[rhysaka]

Never a dull day in India, they are playing drums in my society rn and preparing for Ganesh Chaturthi lol.

[rosaj1890]

QUEEN !

This is dedicated to a person who worked as a mirror for me .

A normal girl born and brought up in a simple and humble sub-urbs of Delhi , India . Just like any other girl of her age who grew up in the similar simulation. yes I said simulation and not situation because this entire atmosphere in which she and a lot of other girls grew up was a carefully curated environment developed over centuries which was designed to be a death-well for any women who dares to dream.

Her name is Rani , meaning Queen . But ironically she does not even have the courage to take any decisions for herself and was raised to believe that that's how things should be . God bless her !

So she grew up being the perfect girl , sweeter than the sweets that her dad sells in his bakery . Oblivious of her beauty and talent . One day she meets her dad's best friend's family and their son , who is enticed by her beauty and grace and immediately falls in love with her . He tries his best to get her to like him and eventually he succeeds . And they decide to get married . Two days before the marriage the dude calls her up and says that he doesn't want her anymore . She is heartbroken . Tries to convince him but fails . I don't know if anyone knows this but in an Indian household , if a marriage is cancelled 2 days prior to the set date .. you are FUCKED!! That is the best and the most effective way to flip off an entire family and the shame will linger on in the form of rumors through out generations .

So with teary eyes , shattered soul and a non-existent sense of self, our dear Rani hid herself inside her room which was her cocoon , Oh ! if those walls could talk they would have sung about the dreams and aspirations that she sacrificed to bring "honor" to her family .

After taking her time to process the massive trauma that she had to go through , she decides to go on her dream Honeymoon trip all alone . She had planned for this , saved up for this since her teenage years . She decided to go on her own . Mind you, she had never crossed a road on her own . So she was in for an adventure of her life-time .

She goes to Paris , the most romantic city in the world. She dreamt of going to this place with her husband . But she was there all alone , looking at the Eiffel Tower all alone , couples kissing and snuggling all around her . She was tormented by memories of her ex but still she stormed through . She made unconventional friends with big hearts . A strikingly gorgeous and charming vijaylekshmi who helped her get out of her break-up blues . Vijayalekshmi has casual sex , is a mother to a lovely son and has no husband . Basically , an alien creature for Rani . But she saves her from a cop and later on helps her navigate her raw emotions .Now comes one of my most favorite scene in the entire movie . Rani goes to a disco club and she gets drunk accidentally and she starts ranting and she rants to everyone and anyone about India , how beautiful it is , Her battameez boyfriend who ditched her 2 days before marriage ,she was a very obedient child but still this happened to me ,she is always alone , had to even fight bullies alone, her uncle who died because of cancer even though he was a tea-totaler , vijayalakshmi's unholy ways , how she has finally succumbed to alcohol. The 5 stages of grief all in a relatable montage . And Vijayalakshmi consoling her.

There is a scene in the club where she dances with rage as she remembers a day when her boyfriend scolds her for "dancing with other girls" in a public event . She lets her hair loose and literally does the dramatic version of shake-it-off which was so beautifully captured that it was just evident in her eyes that she was questioning and stating "Look at the things I did for you but why did you still leave me ..well fuck you I'll dance like a true Queen" . Then she re-discovers her fashion sense as she transforms from the naive Indian girl to a self-aware one. Simple but powerful message .

Now the second part of her honeymoon, Amsterdam , She bids farewell to Vijayalekshmi who now wears Rani's signature blue kurthi and has a rediscovered the bond to her roots in India . A hug and a Thumkha later she enters the train to amsterdam .

She enters Amsterdam and goes to the hostel that Vijayalekshmi booked for her and discovers that she has to share the room with 3 men. Well...Shook to her core she rushes downstairs and demands for another room but in vain. She returns to her roommates and tries to sleep in the room but can't do it so eventually sleeps outside and dreams about the ex that broke her heart and her family .She was gentky woken up by her room-mate who told her to sleep inside and then the rest of the guys slept outside even though they clearly didn't want to.

This part of the movie deeply touches a silent truth that is known to all in India . Men and women are grown in a such a way that a single touch or contact with the other gender is seen as a "bad signal" . Hugging a man ... eww... if its not my husband then no.. The label of being a man /women is given so much power that they forgot to teach us that You are Human first ..Gender comes second.

Rani eventually comes to understand this . She sees beyond the carefully knitted veil of misogynistic inhumane lies and she starts to value the friendship and company of these 3 men . Empathises with them and makes memories with them . They in turn helps her fight her past trauma and helps her to instill a sense of self . Slowly , she finds confidence . That is marked by another one of my favorite scene from the movie . The one where she drives a car on her own .

Rani realizes that she lacks purpose in her life . She stumbles across an oppurtunity for being a chef and she makes a big decision to participate in it on her own . This is an important decision because she made thus decision on her own . And her friends helped her . She succeeds obviously . Then comes the next favorite part of the entire movie, her first kiss. It was with a very handsome foreigner . He was ranting about how he thought that she was pretty and stuff but she was just thinking about how to do a "lip to lip " kiss. And then we have the first extremely awkward kiss. Why did I like this part? Well cause my first kiss was shitty as fuck . I would've done anything for a perfect first kiss with the love of my life.. But this part showed me that it doesn't always happen that way and THAT'S OKEY. In my case it was a forced and fucked up one but yea whatever ..everything doesn't happen the way we want that's the basic lesson.

Her ex starts to chase after her during this time and she ignores him . Even though sometimes the world around her becomes colorless , her friends and the kindness in their hearts become her light through which she is able to slowly realize her worth and taste the sweet freedom of being independent . She understands that she was actually out of his league and decides to choose her happiness over others. This is marked by the scene where she meets her ex but decides to leave him and go meet with her friends instead. She spends time with them , hugs them and bids them farewell.

In that room she and her friends left certain pieces of their past selves . She left her marriage invitation card and her old self. And came back to India as a true independent Queen , who knew her self worth , power and potential .

"Within my heart , Within my soul

I'll find a space , calm and whole ."

[dilli-vali-girlfriend]

imagine the teacher asks you to draw the pic of an aadhaar card (don't ask why she did) and everyone's obviously like we don't remember what an aadhaar card looks like exactly and this guy just pulls out his aadhaar card from his bag and starts drawing.

LIKE WHO KEEPS AN AADHAAR CARD CASUALLY IN THEIR SCHOOL BAG

[indian-aesthetics]

झिलमिल सितारों का आँगन होगा

रिमझिम बरसता सावन होगा

[bookish-white-ant]

Things that should be included in the academia aesthetic (an Indian perspective) :-

• getting up super early to study and feel like a scholar from the ancient times

• incense

• learning Sanskrit & Persian

• reciting Ghazals to your lover

• Kurti supremacy

• reading the Mahabharata

• Rani of Jhansi

• reading about advances in the Islamic kingdom

• walking to your nearest tea/coffee shop from campus

• quoting Gandhi in your conversation

• reading books in your mother tongue

• Denim with Kolhapuri chappals

• having an enviable collection of jhumkas

• rose rings and kaali bindi

• literature before colonization

• reading about diverse yet same cultures of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh

• hanging out in old buildings in a rural setting

• saving money to buy hardbacks

• dreaming of Dariyagunj

Please feel free to add more.

[shadychocolate]

The gorgeous Indian aesthetic is so underrated, like just LOOK!

We take being desi so for granted.

[ujjwal4ev3r]

Lipe is When you Realize The silver coating of Kajju Katli doesn't mean shit and The Original Swaad comes when you eat that interior..

[ibelonginthepast]

should I make maggie at 1 AM

no

will i risk waking my parents up and getting a good scolding

yes

will I worry about if i left the gas on all night even after checking 26 times

yes

will all this too me from making it

no