Veere di Wisdom

Angry Indian Goddesses. Veere Di Wedding. Gorgeous women in picture postcard settings talking about sex, love and marriage. And the gorgeous women in picture-perfect dresses and impossibly pretty hair, talking about sex, un-love and, and getting un-married. 

The faces change. The settings change. The dresses change. But the premise remains the same — when girlfriends get together, they talk more sex than they actually seem to get in their real lives. Exchange notes on their partners. They usually fake happiness. And they can swear the hell out of the most colourful Dilliwalla. Most importantly — they can drink. And how! Are urban Indian women of affluence actually living out the Sex and City life? 

Well yes, and no.

A dear friend and her sister-in-law recently took off to Bangkok on their own. Their sons and daughters were entrusted to the care of their husbands and extended families. The ladies, both in their early 40s, lived it up in style. I am tempted to believe the pictures on Instagram were mostly censored because most of the evidence of the ‘wild times’ were secretly buried. What did they talk about? “Talk? What talk?” They giggled hysterically. “We were too busy having a great time.” So much so, they missed their flight back home. 

A bunch of school friends reunited after decades. They booked a villa in south Goa and got wasted over four days. Families were worried. They were not. They stayed up till 5 am chatting over wine. They laughed. They shed an occasional tear. And cheating was mostly limited to their diets. 

There are some things that the women in Goa would have in common with the ones in New York. But life for us can never be anything like Carrie Bradshaw and her gal pals. To begin with, we do not have their kind of bodies. Or the confidence to wear what they do. 

Life, for us, is not one endless shopping and spa ritual. For every pitcher of sangria shared with girlfriends on a windy terrace, we pay a price with our wrinkles, our grey hair, a runaway BP and more. Leisure and luxury are still hard won. At the same time, we do not go mental at the sight of the first silver hair you know where. And at 40, we do not think it is great idea to serve sushi on our bellies — a la Samantha Jones. And honestly, how many of us actually have the heart to run away from a fairy-tale wedding minutes before walking down the aisle in Vera Wang gown and Jimmy Choo heels? Are you serious? 

So Veere, I will watch you. Maybe even raise a cola toast to you, if I like you. In a multiplex somewhere over a bag of popcorn, in my regulation workwear and mommy bun. Chances are, the husband will not be a party to this indulgence.

SPEAK UP

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