Smells Like Teen Spirit

The post has nothing to do with Nirvana, so apologies to the Cobain fans… but yes, the title does have relevance in a totally different context.. Since the entire country and its media have decided not to skirt the issue, i thought it might make sense for me to raise the issue here.. yup, its all about ms.mirza’a skirts and all the above puns were intended..:)
While it is known that the guy who made the initial remark about her dressing on court had both supporters and detractors, it is also quite clear to those who have seen at least one game of contemporary tennis that its quite impossible to play the game with a long skirt on.. that would get us the kind of results we might get if we compete in swimming with a formal suit rather than a swimsuit.. of course, it would give us the necessary excuses for not winning competitions, and perhaps ask for a reservation for people competing in burkha/suits in international sporting events. But all thats not the point here.. the issue would have been sidelined if sania had merely stated the obvious – that the clothes she wears are a demand of the sport she plays, and anything else would leave her at a disadvantage.. but as this article would have us believe, she is not comfortable wearing such clothes…
i have a couple of points to note though – firstly, all the women in the sport wear similar attire, but most of them, if you exclude the williams and sharapova do not offer scope for eye candy like sania does.. the kind of images that ToI splashes are proof of that, and i am very sure a little adjustment can stop the really extreme exposure that she offers, that is, if sania wanted to stop it.. secondly, for a person who flaunts attitude tshirts on a regular basis, the discomfort seems to be slightly out of character…
So at the end of it, she seems to be taking her rapt audience for a ride, with remarks about discomfort and actions which seem to be totally out of sync. and thats the only reason for the post – unfair ridicule of mass intelligence, ours!!
But, i also do think she’s just another teen, who loves her game, is quite at ease with its requirements and also loves her religion and is quite at ease with its diktats, and is confused, like most of the people at her age, on how to balance the different things in her life.. so maybe we should just let her be and be mature enough to let her enjoy her game, cheer her for her exploits, let her handle the perks her performance gives her..
maybe we should stop splashing images that make her think that the number of navel gazes she serves are more important to her audience than the number of aces she serves.. we have enough tennis barbies, why try to make a sania barbie, and spoil a talent?
until next time, maybe she needs a break 🙂

18 thoughts on “Smells Like Teen Spirit

  1. And may I say – An excellent point! I know my teen bro will not be very pleased with me… but true – us females always have the power to show what we want and what we don’t!
    And so whatever the rest of the world see – is exactly what SM wants to be percived as. So there should be no surprises!

  2. Am such a dumbo- never thought much about dresscodes until this post! I suppose I have lived too long in liberal societies…

  3. candid as usual Manu Man. and very well said, with the usual balance laid out. sometimes it is like you are running on both sides to see, well, both sides 🙂

    and forgot to mention – had read vertigo a long time ago. specially remember how the protagonist’s mother serves him dal with roaches in them

  4. parna: ah, objectivity is something i am training myself not to lose, and i feel its a major help in everything one does in life.. and yeah, that incident in vertigo pretty much summed up his state of affairs…

    brood mode: it is about how we have been programmed.. but these days its more on how less a celebrity wears rather than what…

  5. Hmmm. No Comments on this issue, I think. Manu I just discovered … abt ur kinship with the Guru Ji! Cool man … 🙂

  6. jw: yup, just maybe..

    stone: the fuss is coz we are having some sportsperson performing
    well on the international circuit… 🙂

  7. As someone pointed out,the diktat is for both men and women ..so what do they say to good ole sallu i wonder

  8. Well put Manu…a teen is a teen is teen. It’s a pity they have to live a life so public….justifying everything they do!

  9. hey! first timer! ‘ssup?! 🙂
    sania has been playin tennis for a couple of years now, and in more or less the same attire, and this guy chooses to speak up NOW…when the poor ‘teen’ has managed to put indian women’s tennis on the map!!! goes to show how much this guy REALLY cares about the muslim scriptures!!

  10. putting to waste some good money that could have been used in other areas of development for the business involved.

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