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India's Vision of Beauty
"For urban youth, it seems appearances are everything."
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to this Commentary!
By Nishat Kurwa
Youth culture in India has been going through some drastic changes in the
past few years, partly driven by economics, and the country’s acceptance of
international loans. When urban teens look at themselves in the mirror, they
can see globalization, literally, in their faces. Youth Radio's Nishat Kurwa
explores how a changing standard of beauty among teenagers has become the mark
of a new economy.
NISHAT
India agreed to open the door to foreign products when it liberalized its economy
more than a decade ago. The fast food chains and shiny new department stores
brought a major cultural shift.
It's ten o'clock on a Sunday night at Club Mikanos and a group of teenage girls
is getting a jump on the party. The explosion of nightclubs in Bombay in the
last few years is a big reason why teenagers like 19 year old Pinky go out and
get fitted in the latest fashions.
PINKY (on tape)
I'm wearing faded jeans, with high heeled shoes, about four inches...Lots of
makeup, I've put lipstick, gloss, eyeshadow, that's it, some shimmer, that's
it.
NISHAT
Pinky goes to college but she also works so she can earn enough to keep up the
glitzy wardrobe. There are many after school jobs in the burgeoning retail market.
Now, on nearly every block you’ll find one of a chain of coffee shops called
Barrista. They’re the latest teen hangouts and a source of part time jobs for
young people.
Loveena and her friends like to hang out at one of the newer Barristas in a
Bombay suburb after their overnight shift at a nearby call center.
LOVEENA (on tape)
It’s really tough…last week I had an evening shift. You come to work and you
start dozing.
NISHAT
Loveena spends a good chunk of her paycheck on her fashion addiction. For urban
youth, it seems appearances are everything - at nighttime hangouts, I was both
shocked and amused, seeing all the butt hugging stretch denim and T-shirts with
tassels hanging from the breasts. With Western images piped in through MTV and
episodes of Friends, it's no wonder beauty is a three billion dollar business
in India, hooking in teenagers like Loveena.
LOVEENA (on tape)
Now what has happened is because of the media, because of different radio stations
or some things, people actually know about different things going on in the
fashion world.
NISHAT
Although she's a clothes junkie herself, Loveena uses the word 'aping' to scornfully
describe the way Indian teenagers chase after Western trends. My cousin Jaina
Doctor teaches Art of Living classes to teens who pour half their income into
their looks. She mentions another new buzzword...'aspiration'...
JAINA (on tape)
...there's a huge, huge aspirational middle class in India, which is emulating
the trends of the upper class and even what they see through the media. I think
for them if their parents can't afford to give it to them then they will work
to get it, you know because they all want it. They all want to look good and
spend their money on cosmetics.
GLADRAGS PAGEANT (on tape)
Namaste. And a very warm welcome to all my friends sitting in the audience…watching
the Gladrags Bombay Dyeing Mrs. India contest 2004.
NISHAT
Beauty pageants like this one are happening all over. Cosmetics, money, and
aspiration all come together at these events.
TANIA (on tape)
So this page is like a certificate that they had given me...'Tania Soni, Mrs.
India, has successfully completed the interview portion of the Mrs. World pageant,
June9 to the 23rd, 2003, at the Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, Nevada' and it's
been signed by all the judges...
NISHAT
Tania Soni is only 25, but she's already been in four pageants. She first walked
the ramp in 1994...the same year Indian beauties took the Miss World and Miss
Universe pageants by storm. Many went on to become fair-skinned, doe-eyed darlings
of Bollywood. And now they're walking billboards for cosmetics companies, too.
India is one of the best test markets in the world analysts say if you can
sell across the range of demographics here, your product can make it anywhere.
Johanna Breman with Proctor and Gamble India says her company is working to
target 13-25 year olds.
JOHANNA (on tape)
The minute you start having power over your own purchase decisions, and being
actually the one to select, then...you have such a role in shifting the economy
and economic trends.
NISHAT
Proctor and Gamble is seeing the greatest consumer growth in rural areas, where
70 percent of the population lives. That means the culture shift that's sweeping
Indian cities is touching countryside, too.
And as the economy changes, bringing with it new products, pageantry, and culture,
the result is a new vision - and standard - of beauty in India. Art of Living
instructor Jaina Doctor says it's hard to miss the transformation.
JAINA (on tape)
I think earlier it was a given for an Indian women to look...for her to be attractive,
was to be voluptuous, and to be curvaceous...And today it is changing in terms
of they all want to look like Western models, skinny, and tall and long legged.
NISHAT
But it’s not just about wanting to sport jeans with traditional kurti blouses,
or mimic MTV alongside a favorite Indian soap opera. It’s deeper than that
it’s about economics. There's no turning back for this new generation of global
consumers, as more young Indians splurge for the moment.
- “India's Vision of Beauty” was produced by Youth Radio's International
Desk, in association with National
Geographic.
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