Purani Jeans

For all those who have been blessed to have undergone the divine ritual “College Hostel Ragging” would swear upon the sagas and legends of a different world in the confines of the college boundary. A difference of as little over a year in your age created those academic demons called “seniors” or “Super seniors” if consistently not performing academically! In our Indian technical institutes the whole process for baptism of the FACHHAS happens very technically. Barring few incidences which provoked an uncontrollable laugh from the guts everything seemed tough on mind, body and some body parts. And now even after so many donkey years one can jauntily topple any memory stone to relive the past out from that shared small room with separate beddings and trunks (with a lock!) .

In the whole sequence there was one piece of attire which created a feeling of envy amongst such fear was a “pair of jeans”. Seniors flaunted it and fresher kept craving till the debut tenure was over. Going forward this jean became a pivotal part of the hostel life under the perennial infrastructure lapse of laundry and iron. Movies, canteen, gumti, dhaba dinners, booze trips, Goa trips and off course sometimes classrooms too! All became instrumental in keeping us busy without business thru the year with a common companion “your sturdy pair of jeans”. It ultimately became the second skin allowing us the luxury of getting washed at pure will or vacation.

After shedding my denim dermis at work since so many years now, the only word which can best describe the feeling of wearing a pair of jeans is “Liberated”. It is for sure a RESET button for all salary slaves as it spins you into casual, relax and still a very confident frame. Designed actually for American miners at work the denim trouser has found its rivet hooked into everybody’s wardrobe in more count than one. Look around, on your office floor on a Friday and you will be hit by a mammoth denim wave, widespread and BLUE” Like school days are reminiscent of discipline and uniform JEANS over the years have always stood by to reclaim your FREEDOM!

Actually speaking , this is one attire which sometimes lasts more than friends or people in our lives…..you discard it only when you outgrow it’s length in youth or waist in adopted youth. Enduring all weather conditions, cutting across the social barrier, this water and detergent phobic garment is a true adhesive for international bonding, water and energy conservation. The seduction grows with the older ones in your collection, the faded the worn out and torn outs all become fad as they continue hugging you gently telling a lie until you find your self over sized in the new pair of same brand and same size.

Adam, Newton and Steve Jobs may owe due credits to their apple but human genes stand debt-ed to Jeans, with almost every brand claiming as original since 18XX it is an awful sin to miss such a legacy. The effort of finding exact W/L combo is only foreplay to a loyal affair where you may not even care whether you should have a figure like TOMMY or money like ARMANI. Lesser mortals like me feel all empowered to stand with a good fitting blue pair of legs against any TAG or HUER…..

We Indians are already therein the Tsunami of a fabric, after Arvind mills became the largest manufacturer of denim in the world our bigger bhai Ambani is all set to drape you in Rs 199 only! But you cannot run to swipe the card without finding a silent yet eloquent or expressive answer to your wife’s question outside the green room “Do I look fat in this Jeans??”