How Nusrat and Mimi finally fit into Parliament: Sindoor. Bindi. Chooda. Sari. And salwar-suit
The fact that we, the citizens of free India, were brainwashed for over 70 years by khadi-clad netas says a lot about us.
It says that we place more importance on clothes than we need to. Like, for instance, the burden — and the credit — for a consolidated freedom movement against our colonisers. And Nusrat Jahan’s Parliamentary session now affirms that we haven’t changed at all.
No matter how short your attention span may be, you could not have forgotten about the severe trolling Nusrat and Mimi Chakraborty — both young MPs from Bengal — had to battle when they posted pictures in the Parliament premises to celebrate the moment.
They were dressed normally — Mimi in denim, a white shirt and sneakers, Nusrat in a dressy business suit. But then, ‘this is Parliament, not a movie set’ and ‘you’ve made a joke of Parliament’ Internet trolls reminded them. Because newly elected MPs, who are at Parliament premises in their own right — you know, because they’ve won elections for their party — obviously need to be reminded by nameless, faceless, achievement-less trolls who are not eligible to even enter the building!
But then, logic doesn’t matter.
And neither do party tickets, apparently.
Because Parliament — and Indian politics at large — has a dress code.
Kurta-pyjama or dhoti, preferably khadi, for the men. And plain Jane sarees for the women.
See how that humble ol’ charkha spun our heads into an infinite loop of irrationality!
This time, Nusrat and Mimi are back — but they’ve, sadly, toed the line. Mimi was seen wearing a salwar suit during her Parliamentary session, while Nusrat, the newlywed, donned a bindi, sindoor and a forearm full of choodas, looking every bit the quintessential Hindu, ooops, Indian bahu. The Internet now finds itself praising their beauty and simplicity — something that was seemingly lost in their erstwhile Western outfits.
And thus, they fit in.
It took two free-thinking, modern women a change of wardrobe to get accepted in the khadi-dominated circles of politics.
Who knew fashion had such wonderful superpowers!