Iconic India - Part 5

Vamp the show

Cr ossover fashion The first suggestion of Indian fashion, the jodhpurs, was probably just a pair of churidar pyjamas worn by horsemen, converted into high street apparel when a royal visitor from Jodhpur in London had to get himself some gear stitched for riding when his baggage was sunk at sea. The ballooning-at-the-thigh and tight-from-knee-toankle pants have since remained trendy among a certain set.

As Bollywood’s nautch girl, no one has — or will — come close to the position of Helen, the original item girl of the ’70s. Says Jerry Pinto, author of Helen: The Life and Times of an H-Bomb, “When I watch an item number now, I miss the old dances in which Helen performed… In the move that is the standard sexualized challenge on every female dancer’s face, I do not find the laughing invitation to naughtiness that I remember in Helen’s.”

“Ohmegod! I won!”

Romancing the rains... in r eel time This still, part of a song sequence from the 1950’s classic Shri 420, is among the most enduring and popular images of Indian cinema. Apart from the fact that it features the magical pairing of Nargis and Raj Kapoor, two iconic actors of Hindi cinema, the image also owes its tremendous appeal to the lyrics of the song, “Pyar hua...”, expressing love. Ever since, the Indian monsoon has been part of the imagery of Bollywood, connoting lyricism and romance.

The first kiss

Milky way

That’s Devika Rani and Himanshu Rai in Karma, 1933. Considering that even today leading actresses are reluctant to kiss onscreen, it is no surpriise that this still has attained such a cult status. Even in real life, Devika Rani was regarded as a woman ahead of her times; strong, liberal and iconoclastic, and her reel persona fitted right in. However, despite such a “bold” beginning, the portrayal of sex in Hindi mainstream remained limited to the flowers and bees imagery for a long time.

The Indian milk pail could almost be a totem for the middle classes, a symbol of aspiring prosperity for those in rural areas, suspended from railway carriages and two-wheelers by milkmen coming to urban centres to sell their milk, suggestive of Mother Dairy kiosks… And now, in the hands of Subodh Gupta, ironically a work of installation art priced way above middle-class prices.

Original blockbusters

Before IT, our most attractive export was Sushmita Sen. Millions of Indians watched her win the Miss Universe 1994 title, and saw her white-gloved hands rise to her face in immaculate ecstasy. It was a heady moment, never mind that beauty pageants may be exploitative and discriminatory. Since then she has hardly taken the universe by storm, unlike rival Aishwarya Rai, Miss World in 1994. But Sen's moment of victory remains uneclipsed.

iconic image of wielding If Mehboob Khan’s Mother India showed Nargis (in an the plough) as a protagonist in the village, K Asif’s lavish Mughal-e-Azam, made over nine years, held the position of being the highe st-grossing film in Indian cinema. The record was broken 15 years later by Sholay, a revenge drama of sorts. Before that was Raj Kapoor’s Bobby, with Dimple Kapadia’s

mini-skirts and Rishi Kapoor’s bell-bottoms, signalling the arrival of romance.

Mango for a motif Kidney, comma, teardrop, mango or Welsh pear: it’s the paisley, the Indo-Persian textile motif that's ubiquitous in Indian fashion and design. It’s instantly recognisable in the West as well, thanks to the East India Company, the Scottish town of Paisley, which produced vast quantities of paisley cloth in the 1800s, and 1967’s Summer of Love, when the paisley was one of the signs of the psychedelic times. You see it everywhere.

The big books A Ray of light Satyajit Ray (1921-1992). He made his films in Bengali yet they are of universal interest. For his subjects, Ray chose themes common to the entire human race — emotions, conflicts, joys and sorrows. In 1992, he received an honorary Academy Lifetime Achievement Award. He remains our most notable Oscar-winner till date.

Premchand’s last and greatest novel Godaan (1936) portrayed the harshness of village life, through the experiences of a poor farmer who gave his life to own a cow. Jawaharlal Nehru used his years in prison well: one outcome was The Discovery of India (1946), his most famous book, a sweeping survey of India’s history and culture from Harappa to the British. And Indian writers in English are grateful to Salman Rushdie opening up the Western world of letters to them, and for making Indian English cool. Rushdie’s breakout novel was the everawarded Midnight’s Children (1981).

Photo Credits: Reuters, Priyanka Parashar, Anand Sankar, Amit Ranjan Rai, Kama Sutra: Art of Making Love To A Woman (Roli & Janssen), Maqbool Fida Husain (Rahul Art), The Penguin India Desk Companion 2009, The Nehrus: Personal Histories (Lustre Press/Roli), Polo In India (Lustre Press/Roli), A Historical Mela – The ABC Of India: The Art, Book & Cinema (Osian’s), The Sari (Lustre Press/Roli), India: The Definitive Images – 1858 To The Present (Penguin/Viking), A Way Into India (Phaidon), Modern And Contemporary Indian Art (Christie’s), Satyajitray.org, Kunjamma: Ode To A Nightingale (Roli), The Watch Forum (UK), The Roo Vintage, Indian Air Force and Anonymous.