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Beyond Labels and Standards of Beauty | A Reflection of Choice



Have you ever looked at the intricate carvings on the ancient temples or the mathematical harmony of the renaissance structures? What draws our attention towards them? Is it the complexity of the design or the skill of the man behind? Is it the grandiosity or the simplicity of architecture?


Have you ever noticed the charming landscapes of blooming trees in the spring or the fading trees in the autumn? What makes us pause to admire them? Is it the diversity of colour or the uniformity of colour?


If we dive in further and glance around our everyday bits and pieces of nature - roots, flowers, fruits, leaves, soil; objects of craftsmanship like furniture, chandeliers, cutlery; the gradience of colours - the fading in and fading out from one colour to another; gradient of forms - from one form to another; gradation in the variation of textures – coarse, smooth, patterned, random.

All these that seem to blend so effortlessly with such an ease, yet at times being remarkably complex, brings out the beauty that make our hearts flutter and minds wonder. Don’t they?

In trying to answer these questions, we find that there are no definite answers - we like one element or all of them too, or each feature individually or maybe the combination of several, ‘cause each one of us views and perceives differently and we don’t conform to other’s definition of what is beautiful, skilful, and what is pleasing. We just look and appreciate them for what they are, unbound.


However, when we move closer and examine ourselves, we can’t deny the fact that our clothes have become an integral part of us; we can say that they are an extension of ourselves.


But why is something so essential to us is yet chosen based on influences, the known and the unknown, subjected to standards - visible and invisible, to an extent that we let the comfort of others suffocate us.


And then there are labels, pink - ' girly ', flowery - ' gay ', deny the colour - ' sophisticated '. Why can’t a sophisticated straight man wear a pink flowery shirt? Why the prejudice? And why can’t we choose something just ‘cause it looks beautiful to us, or feels comfortable to us?

Western - ' refined ', traditional - ' crude ', plain - ' ordinary...' Or are they? If so, who defined these?

Why not experience the elegance and the flow of freshness from Kora Cotton or embrace the ease of life in Muga Silk? Why not wrap ourselves in the grandeur of simple Dhaka Muslin or give a rejoicing hug to the Cashmere warmth? Why not appreciate the beauty in the uneven order of Ikat or examine the complexity of Zardozi?


For this boundless exploration has no end, I conclude by saying, let us break apart our chains of conformity and “recognise as it is, appreciate for what it is and choose as we’re..."




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