I decided
that 2019 will be the year of the white pants on the first day of January while
talking to my husband and a friend I met after a very long time. The conversation
that we were having was animated and entertaining to say the least. A good way
to start the year, I’d say. They both had ganged up against me and were making
fun of my ‘tight, white pants’ when I declared to them that ‘This was the year
of the white pants’. And as if to prove my point, for the next 23 minutes, a
number of women crossed our path wearing, you are right, white pants. If left
to my own devices, I wouldn’t have noticed it, but the better half decided to
keep a count and an eye on every passing body (men and women) who was adorning white
pants.
Though said
in jest, like most things that I utter, this was also a profound statement. I came
to the realisation while manoeuvring through the traffic that laced the roads
of central Delhi the same evening. In the many years that I have been wearing
pants and over two decades that I have been choosing my own clothes, never have
I ever owned or worn white pants. In the last week of December 2018, the time
when I usually do a thorough revision of the year gone by, something came over
me and I ordered a pair of white skinny fit jeans for myself. The usual
arguments of white garments, especially the trouser variety, getting dirty
easily and a magnet for stains of all kinds did not stick long enough for me to
empty the cart. In fact, an inexplicable force ensured that I made one of the
fastest online purchases of all times.
While braving
the traffic on Tuesday evening, the statement ‘This is the year of white pants.’
kept circling the crevices of my brain. One of the many residing voices asked, ‘why?’
and I decided to write this blog post as a reply to that question.
This is the
year of white pants because…
I plan to
focus on me in ways I haven’t before to the best of my knowledge. During a
fight (not an argument, but an out and out fight), the man of the house told me
that earlier I always had found reasons/excuses to avoid exercising and taking
care of myself but now I was running out of arguments that would elicit
sympathy. That statement hit a nerve. It did not stop me from continuing the
fight but I took that observation as a souvenir and let it ferment for almost a
week. And now it’s all coming out through this post.
So, apps
have been downloaded, meal plans have been made, I have already consulted a
doctor and got my thyroid levels under control. Health is going to be a major
point of focus this year. Thankfully, I have a personal cheerleader at home and
one who sits in the US and lectures me on FaceTime and WhatsApp.
Over the
last 6 months all my energies were being channelled towards buying the new
house, overseeing the last leg of construction and setting up the home. It’s
more or less done and now I can go back to my passions of photography, reading
and baking and hobbies of gardening, art and craft and home décor.
I will take
more risks in terms of the food I taste, explore new forms of music and movies,
try out new creams and cosmetics and indulge in different kinds of footwear. Things,
I ignored to a large extent even when nobody asked me to nor did I need to.
Much to the charging of my husband, I plan to grow my hair out a bit as well and
will experiment with various plats and ponytails. My Instagram timeline is
going to be an interesting one for sure!
The first
draft of the book, which is only one-fourth done, will be completed this year. I
will ensure that it is. Also, I have been promising to blog more for the past
couple of years and failing miserably. But as corny as it sounds, the New Year
is a new chance to do it right!
If the
decision to own and wear white pants hasn’t fazed me I don’t think anything
else can.
Also, if
you were wondering, the inspiration to buy tight white pants came from Jimmy
Fallon and now this is my theme song!
