You’ve come a long way, baby!
In the early part of the 18th century, a Tamil official Tryambakayajvan compiled a formal treatise on the role of women in Indian society called Stridharmapaddhati, based on strictures dating back to the 4th century BCE. The opening verse was:
“The primary duty of women is enjoined to be of service to one's husband.”
Statistically speaking, this is probably still true of a number of Indian women, especially in rural India. But that’s to disregard not only the enormous progress She has made in all walks of life, but also disrespect the foundation of egalitarianism visible in our nation’s rich tapestry of history and heritage. The RigVeda, among other ancient texts, accords that respect to women, mentioning in many places the positions of authority and acclaim women held in politics, arts, literature and philosophy.
Fast forward to the 21st century. And whether you peel away all of its materialistic trappings or see life in its spiritual + bodily entirety, this is what you’ll hear:
“I’m woman. Hear me roar.”
Mother India may never have roared. Nor was she anything but demure, self-effacing, self-sacrificing and all about family and community. But today’s Indian woman is definitely making her voice heard, her presence felt, and her influence magnified across the country, and the world.
Indian history glitters with the names of many a great woman: Ashoka’s daughter Sanghamitra, one of the foremost evangelists of Buddhism; Razia Sultan, the only woman monarch of Delhi; Jijabai, the mother of Chatrapati Shivaji, and the foremost influence in his life; Mirabai, the greatest ever poet-saint of the Bhakti movement; the Rani of Kittur; Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi; and more recently, such greats as Bhikaji Cama, Dr. Annie Besant, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Aruna Asaf Ali, Sucheta Kriplani, Kasturba Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu and Durgabai Deshmukh.
What’s so special then, you ask, about today’s Indian woman? Her specialness lies not so much in the storied and the famous as it does in EveryWoman. Progress is usually measured by accomplishments. But when cultural change is rapid as it is today, achievements are mere pit stops along this journey. Pit stops that today’s woman doesn’t even feel the need to take some times.
The other big distinction of today’s woman is that, unlike man through the ages, her driving need is not an overt establishment of either equality or superiority over the opposite gender. Feminism is neither rabid nor martial. It’s a quiet but exponential progression through time, through culture, across barriers and ceilings imaginary and real.
She does not celebrate with a whoop that times have changed so much from when men used to wear skirts where now women wear the pants in the family (literally and figuratively).
She does not point a laughing finger at the men who now hunker after the fairness creams while they themselves revel in their inner beauty.
She doesn’t bask in the smugness that she literally calls the shots in the nation—in its Panchayats, in the nation’s largest state, in the nation’s capital, and at the helm of the nation’s ruling political party itself.
She doesn’t smirk with self-righteousness that men adopt her fashion sensibilities in the name of metrosexuality and other such euphemisms.
But whether she’s gently liberating her man’s straight-jacketed worldview, enabling her children’s expanded worldview, charting India Inc.’s rocketing growth path for the world to view, or just balancing it all effortlessly, there’s one other thing in her mind she’s keeping front and centre
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Today's Indian Women Consumer
Straddling Samajhdari and style: Today’s Indian women consumers
To paraphrase David Ogilvy, the moron isn’t the consumer. It’s her husband, usually. At least, when you stop and think about today’s Indian consumer landscape, that’s what you’d see. While men are counted in the Census and other studies of note as Heads of Households, the truth is that households would be like headless chicken without the women being in charge. The man surely wins the bread and brings it home. It’s the woman who decides how to slice it, how to toast it, what jam and butter to spread on it, and just how and how much to serve, and when.
But this facet of the Indian woman consumer only reflects her “dutiful” side. And the fact of the matter is that she is, in equal parts, Lalitaji and Lolita. Samajhdari she has in spades, alright. Add to that a suave and discerning eye for style. And you easily realize that as hard as Lalitaji is to fool, Lolita is that much harder to please.
And that’s the evolutionary truth that marketers have to grasp very quickly. Where Lalitaji is all about respecting traditions and discharging duty, Lolita isn’t afraid to indulge her individual self, without cost or damage to others around her. And in doing so, she’s fine-tuning her balancing act into an art that few of her contemporaries around the world can match.
Lolita takes the traditional and contemporizes it. Lalitaji takes the new into the pallu of her sari easily. And she’s able to do this because of a few unique things about her generation. She’s the first to grow up without the baggage of the Raj era. She’s grown up grooming the internet generation, and has seen all the advances first hand along the way. And she’s grown up without bottling up her own aspirations.
Most importantly, whether she’s elite class in South Delhi or by-and-large mass class in Bhatinda, there’s a mindset that unifies them all. Call her the Affluential Indian woman. She will not settle for anything less than the best that her money and time can get her. And she populate her home and her life with not just one or two but multiple things along the spectrum from traditional to contemporary. After all, she plays out multiple roles daily. Why shouldn’t her choices reflect all these roles?
From classy Kanjeevarams and Benarasi silks and the ubiquitous salwar kameez to the casually chic jeans and t-shirt, her wardrobe straddles her myriad moods and roles.
From hair oils to conditioners, from henna to streaks, from chandan and haldi to moisturizers, she grooms and preens as the occasion demands.
From whipping up dosa batter to serving up steaming pancakes with maple syrup on the side; from navratan korma to fettucini alfredo; kitchen shelves where sambar powder and garam masala rub shoulders with oregano and vinegar; from crafting exotic dishes at home to being at home in new restaurants around town. Nowhere is reverse-McDonaldization more visible than the effect that Lalitaji / Lolita have on what we eat. There’s a reason why Haldiram is as popular as Pizza Hut. It’s the same reason global food giant Frito-Lay (a PepsiCo company) proudly proclaims rajma, dal and chawal as its ingredients, alongside flavors like sour cream, jalapenos and French onion.
From upholding traditions such as Karwa Chauth and Diwali to celebrating new ones like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, she has embraced diverse ways to indulge herself and the ones she loves.
And as much as non-urban women are taking to “Western” products like shampoos and fairness creams, urban women are discovering the joys of going back to the basics with organics.
The truth in all of this clearly underlines what was said at the beginning of this piece. The Indian woman consumer isn’t a moron. If anything, she’s an oxymoron. And one who is completely at peace with the many paradoxes that are her life. Lalitaji and Lolita both reside in the same person. Happily.
To paraphrase David Ogilvy, the moron isn’t the consumer. It’s her husband, usually. At least, when you stop and think about today’s Indian consumer landscape, that’s what you’d see. While men are counted in the Census and other studies of note as Heads of Households, the truth is that households would be like headless chicken without the women being in charge. The man surely wins the bread and brings it home. It’s the woman who decides how to slice it, how to toast it, what jam and butter to spread on it, and just how and how much to serve, and when.
But this facet of the Indian woman consumer only reflects her “dutiful” side. And the fact of the matter is that she is, in equal parts, Lalitaji and Lolita. Samajhdari she has in spades, alright. Add to that a suave and discerning eye for style. And you easily realize that as hard as Lalitaji is to fool, Lolita is that much harder to please.
And that’s the evolutionary truth that marketers have to grasp very quickly. Where Lalitaji is all about respecting traditions and discharging duty, Lolita isn’t afraid to indulge her individual self, without cost or damage to others around her. And in doing so, she’s fine-tuning her balancing act into an art that few of her contemporaries around the world can match.
Lolita takes the traditional and contemporizes it. Lalitaji takes the new into the pallu of her sari easily. And she’s able to do this because of a few unique things about her generation. She’s the first to grow up without the baggage of the Raj era. She’s grown up grooming the internet generation, and has seen all the advances first hand along the way. And she’s grown up without bottling up her own aspirations.
Most importantly, whether she’s elite class in South Delhi or by-and-large mass class in Bhatinda, there’s a mindset that unifies them all. Call her the Affluential Indian woman. She will not settle for anything less than the best that her money and time can get her. And she populate her home and her life with not just one or two but multiple things along the spectrum from traditional to contemporary. After all, she plays out multiple roles daily. Why shouldn’t her choices reflect all these roles?
From classy Kanjeevarams and Benarasi silks and the ubiquitous salwar kameez to the casually chic jeans and t-shirt, her wardrobe straddles her myriad moods and roles.
From hair oils to conditioners, from henna to streaks, from chandan and haldi to moisturizers, she grooms and preens as the occasion demands.
From whipping up dosa batter to serving up steaming pancakes with maple syrup on the side; from navratan korma to fettucini alfredo; kitchen shelves where sambar powder and garam masala rub shoulders with oregano and vinegar; from crafting exotic dishes at home to being at home in new restaurants around town. Nowhere is reverse-McDonaldization more visible than the effect that Lalitaji / Lolita have on what we eat. There’s a reason why Haldiram is as popular as Pizza Hut. It’s the same reason global food giant Frito-Lay (a PepsiCo company) proudly proclaims rajma, dal and chawal as its ingredients, alongside flavors like sour cream, jalapenos and French onion.
From upholding traditions such as Karwa Chauth and Diwali to celebrating new ones like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, she has embraced diverse ways to indulge herself and the ones she loves.
And as much as non-urban women are taking to “Western” products like shampoos and fairness creams, urban women are discovering the joys of going back to the basics with organics.
The truth in all of this clearly underlines what was said at the beginning of this piece. The Indian woman consumer isn’t a moron. If anything, she’s an oxymoron. And one who is completely at peace with the many paradoxes that are her life. Lalitaji and Lolita both reside in the same person. Happily.
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