LIFESTYLE: Ageless Bonding
The mental image of grandmothers wearing wrinkled saris sleeping through the evening does not reflect our times. They are walking the ramp and are gainfully employed, writes Anju Munshi
By now you might be a bit blasé about fashion shows and ramp models, a regular in cities. But once in a while there are events that make you sit up and take notice, like the recent show ~ Grandglams ~ at Kolkata’s Tollygunge Club.
Instead of the usual skinny models, grandmothers walked the ramp. They didn’t reflect the clichéd picture of grandmothers in wrinkled saris, wearing spectacles, stooping over a walking stick or idling away their time in endless sessions of kirtan. Bollywood reiterated this typical image through the Lalita Pawars and Sulochanas, who played the grandmother’s role with great élan, their salt-and-pepper hair neatly tied in a bun, coughing and slouching.
The change has been drastic. Meet the new-age grandmoms, who wake up with a spring in their toes and continue to indulge in various activities till late into the night. Old age, indeed, is a matter of the mind.
Today grandmoms read bestsellers, is a BBC or CNN buff, play golf and tennis, are online and wind up conversations over a rum punch or mocktail. And some of them work.
Ad-person Mira Kakkar, the moving force behind the NGO Thoughtshop Foundation in Kolkata, is a grandmother herself. She also initiated in the country That Takes Ovaries, a US-based women-centric concept of therapeutic talk sessions. She says with a laugh that it is becoming difficult to find a grandmother with “ample body”, at least in urban areas. “Contemporary medication, fitness and diet awareness routines have helped them to be fitter, slimmer and healthier.”
Bollywood films have been quick to mirror this change. Hema Malini as a grandmom in Baghban, wearing designer clothes, svelte figure and a good head of hair could give competition to any 30-plus actress.
Most of them take beauty tips seriously ~ regular facials, importance of Omega 3 and weight training. They also understand that reading the Ramayana and practicing reiki can go hand in hand. The concept of grandmom’s travelling has also undergone a change. From Badrinath to Bangkok and from Tarakeshwar to Toronto, this indeed is a major shift. Some of them have become globetrotters using their own money. Interest in cricket or golf and the political turmoil is not lacking.
Social worker Sunita Kumar, who is closely associated with Missionaries of Charity, is not lost for words when asked about the modern daadi. She designs saris for Hermes, the renowned French couture house, and paints. Some years ago she presented Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles paintings of Mother Teresa. She also played the role of Rajmata in MF Hussain’s Gaj Gamini. “I couldn’t dream of seeing my grandmom in jeans or pursuing a professional career. It’s wonderful to see the change in attitude,” she says. Today some grandmothers are a part of the social circuit their grand children frequent.
Sixty-six-year-old Shamlu Dudeja is a well-known figure in Kolkata’s social circuit. A post-graduate degree holder in Mathematics, she designs kantha ensembles and looks after an empowerment project that helps economically vulnerable women to stand on their own feet by using their skill at kantha stitch. She is also the chairperson of the board of trustees and is founder-member of She (Self Help Enterprise) that helps underprivileged women. Dudeja’s ‘bedmate’ is a laptop. The day starts with receiving and answering e-mails. After completing the exercise, a bit of meditation, and she is ready to face yet another busy day. After the hectic schedule, she relaxes over a couple of drinks in the company of a few close friends.
It goes without saying they are well up on events taking place around the world. Dudeja says, “I don’t have to wait for others to tell me what’s happening around me. I have watched the Iraq war live on television and I am aware of conflicts taking place.”
In the past some grandmothers were considered to be biased towards boys, reminisces Dudeja. But times have changed, quite evident by the recent selection of a grandmother as beauty pageant. The time has come for them to take the challenge to their young counterparts.
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