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Beauty And Brains - Shaili Chopra Shaili is currently a senior graduate student in Economics Honours at Delhi University, India. She is the features editor of a print magazine called "Campus dot com" for the university itself. She is a fond cook and a intrepid traveller. She is fond of writing and poetry. Her poetry and writings are published in many magazines, Newspapers and on websites.

This morning my newspaper carried the story on some youngsters and their changing perceptions of role models. A very interesting article indeed and in many ways. One, it was a senseless concept and two, it was about 'role models '. Yes, it was able to surface the undertone of the word 'models'. Today's Generation X and Y (I am not quite sure whether I am really a part of, I must confess) has their role models very well in place and their fixtures of life perfectly set (bear with my sarcasm..).

With a chain-reaction occurring in the Miss Universe bomb, Indians have actually shown their true colours. Actually to come to think of it, the verbose common to the 'stage (the brains part of the contest)' of the event quite relates to our tiranga. You know, white for peace, green for warmth and goodness and orange for whatever. But as long as you can get the crown to glory, why not? Nevertheless, when Shah Jahan couldn't retain the Kohinoor, we may as well bag as many American diamonds of those number-of-times won crowns.

Almost everyone around me seems to look up to them as stars down from heaven, as an epitome of dignity and confidence, as pinnacles of achievements, as compassion unbound and poor suddenly fed and bred. I have been left bewildered by such souls in awe but are these people really deserving of such skin shallow --'compassion for the underprivileged'--ambassadors of compassion (through Longines, Omega and Rado? of course!!) type of privileges and decorations. I am afraid I beg to differ.

Lets not dig graves first. Begin with the still in news Lara Dutta, who needless to say has brought much credit to the Air Force women but peeking into her back yard, when do you recall them being in slums helping the leprosy patients or those with AIDS and other emotionally and physically painful diseases? Seriously, any sort of social work, the 'underprivileged' kind? These 'angelic' dream women born in perfection (in body and soul supposedly) are just about everywhere. Are these our role models? Don't you think there is a fundamental error in such notion. Yes, they reached the crowns but well is that like an ambition or goal one would think of. While they were busy polishing their linguistic skills, and filing the sandal heels, padding their bras, I am sure time for the underprivileged would have been a little too much for their schedule. Doesn't it sound obscure if you tell your ambition is to become Ms.Universe? You mean you start growing up preparing for something when you don't even know you will manage a 5'4"! But today I hear this new fad 'goal' a little too often and unfortunately with pride of a National Award winner.

Take Yukta Mookhey, who has been happily yakking her way through parties socialising with politicians and discussing the latest problems on the Women's Bill (I wonder whether the one for clothes or what?) and doing hollow talk on whether Ruchi Malhotra's outfit is more expensive or Jackie Shroff must support a pony tail or not? This is what your rolemodels do! Manpreet Brar is the city's busiest ribbon cutter, says the HT. Well, guys, here is another career option or may be you could take it up as a side hobby while you pursue your role as a model.

The youth today celebrate this glamour prostitution culture, a social system that celebrates grooming, presentation, appearance, accented tongues, clothing and style way higher than education, ethics, etiquette or social values. The more feminine magazines on the rack churn out pancaked faces by the hour and for months in a row entice young girls and sometimes their families to believe in this fashionably desired goal. Today we have Ashes, Sushes and Laras who have worked hard to look beautiful (the phrase makes me sick!). Going by the success of these Laras, they will now on have a couple of years of high profile work endorsing sanitary napkins, underarm secrets and shampoos. This will be the pinnacle of their careers. And sadly our up coming tomorrow dreams of this dream merchandise that may get them sitting in one corner of a showroom like a mannequin. These are the role models of today and the future.

Models doing their jobs apart are leaving behind a prospectus of 'literally' works that must act as a sneak preview for aspiring models. It goes something like this:
" There is a lot of parade involved. If you are good, you will make it (by hook or by crook?). There is no concept of an IQ here. BQ (breast quotient) or PQ (passion quotient) and all that matters here. Flaunt your Statistics instead of Math. Wiggle your buttocks instead of mental muscles. Inspire those around you. You are sure to succeed and live lives of over hyped, over-paid and utterly trivial exploitation."

These role models are a fine balance of beauty and brains. Only the inner beauty and worldly wise brains that they talk of so often and so much, I must say, what a waste of talent and intelligence!

Until we connect again....

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