Tell me where is fancy bred,
Or in the heart, or in the head?
How begot, how nourished? Reply, reply.
It is engender'd in the eyes,
With gazing fed; and fancy dies
In the cradle where it lies.
Let us all ring fancy's knell I'll begin it,--Ding, dong, bell
(courtesy: Merchant of Venice)
I have always been a ardent admirer of the "Bard of Avon" and I have always felt that he writes about the most common incidents happening in our lives in an unparalleled manner. The lines that introduce my blog are ingrained in my mind. I must have read them more than a decade back and yet they have been the yardstick to judge many intentions. Is it not true that whenever there has been a difference of opinion with regards to a lady's looks we have heard the oft quoted saying "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder"? The inimitable Shakespeare in his celebrated work Love's Labour Lost writes, "Beauty is bought by the judgement of the eye".
So who sets the criteria for judging beauty which a completely relative concept? While some prefer creamy white complexion there are a majority who find healthy tanned golden brown skin a complete turn on. For those who would prefer to gather exhaustive knowledge on the various shades of skin colours one can read on more at our friendly wikipedia site (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_skin_color). But I am sure that most of us (except a few) would agree that complexion is not the only thing.
I mean a person can have an an oval or a round or a heart shaped or square or even a triangular face. And then then are a majority of people for whom eyes are a major attraction well they have a gamut of choices. The shapes can be large (doe-eyed can be a variation), small, almond shapes, long drawn (person having these are called "meenakshi" in India), slanted (may be up or down), and there are a few who love it if the eyes are a bit squinty. Well that was a little bit about shape of eyes. If we proceed on differentiating on the basis of eye-colour the list would be endless.
Sometimes the eyes have a typical expression which ranges across various emotions viz piercing, mesmerizing, sad, sorrowful, tear-filled, gentle, sympathetic, warm, compassionate, expressive, twinkling, lively, dancing, laughing. We feel something is terribly wrong if somebody who possessed lively, laughing eyes gives us a sad, pensive look. We also feel greatly relieved and ecstatic to find a happy sparkle in those eyes that had always been disconsolate and brooding for a long time. Isn't it rightly said that eyes are the windows to the soul?Similarly one can enlist an endless list of the shape of the nose, lips, ears, colour and texture and type of hair, the build of the body (there are just too many types to describe). In short the list can get just too long.
I find that there is a stark similarity between Apartheid, a form of racial discrimination practised in South Africa, was said to have ended with Nelson Mandela's African National Congress coming to power and yet its vestiges still shape South African politics and society and then general prejudice that runs in our society. Even after attaining cherished degrees from institutions of repute they still become the reason why "fairness" cream companies still operate. It is their share of wallet and a piece of their opinionated minds that these companies look out for. For them "Beauty is only skin-deep".
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. And in this context I must say that the persecuted lot has to endure a long wait for the so called knowledgeable's evolution into wise. In the meanwhile, their happy eyes may have turned into sad ones, their very existence gnawed by bitter thoughts. Nevertheless, the only consolation for that section of people is to understand that happiness, after-all is only a state of mind and that, it is completely foolhardy to set on an expedition to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow because it is only the original which is valuable and in some cases "priceless" indeed.
Or in the heart, or in the head?
How begot, how nourished? Reply, reply.
It is engender'd in the eyes,
With gazing fed; and fancy dies
In the cradle where it lies.
Let us all ring fancy's knell I'll begin it,--Ding, dong, bell
(courtesy: Merchant of Venice)
I have always been a ardent admirer of the "Bard of Avon" and I have always felt that he writes about the most common incidents happening in our lives in an unparalleled manner. The lines that introduce my blog are ingrained in my mind. I must have read them more than a decade back and yet they have been the yardstick to judge many intentions. Is it not true that whenever there has been a difference of opinion with regards to a lady's looks we have heard the oft quoted saying "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder"? The inimitable Shakespeare in his celebrated work Love's Labour Lost writes, "Beauty is bought by the judgement of the eye".
So who sets the criteria for judging beauty which a completely relative concept? While some prefer creamy white complexion there are a majority who find healthy tanned golden brown skin a complete turn on. For those who would prefer to gather exhaustive knowledge on the various shades of skin colours one can read on more at our friendly wikipedia site (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_skin_color). But I am sure that most of us (except a few) would agree that complexion is not the only thing.
I mean a person can have an an oval or a round or a heart shaped or square or even a triangular face. And then then are a majority of people for whom eyes are a major attraction well they have a gamut of choices. The shapes can be large (doe-eyed can be a variation), small, almond shapes, long drawn (person having these are called "meenakshi" in India), slanted (may be up or down), and there are a few who love it if the eyes are a bit squinty. Well that was a little bit about shape of eyes. If we proceed on differentiating on the basis of eye-colour the list would be endless.
Sometimes the eyes have a typical expression which ranges across various emotions viz piercing, mesmerizing, sad, sorrowful, tear-filled, gentle, sympathetic, warm, compassionate, expressive, twinkling, lively, dancing, laughing. We feel something is terribly wrong if somebody who possessed lively, laughing eyes gives us a sad, pensive look. We also feel greatly relieved and ecstatic to find a happy sparkle in those eyes that had always been disconsolate and brooding for a long time. Isn't it rightly said that eyes are the windows to the soul?Similarly one can enlist an endless list of the shape of the nose, lips, ears, colour and texture and type of hair, the build of the body (there are just too many types to describe). In short the list can get just too long.
I find that there is a stark similarity between Apartheid, a form of racial discrimination practised in South Africa, was said to have ended with Nelson Mandela's African National Congress coming to power and yet its vestiges still shape South African politics and society and then general prejudice that runs in our society. Even after attaining cherished degrees from institutions of repute they still become the reason why "fairness" cream companies still operate. It is their share of wallet and a piece of their opinionated minds that these companies look out for. For them "Beauty is only skin-deep".
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. And in this context I must say that the persecuted lot has to endure a long wait for the so called knowledgeable's evolution into wise. In the meanwhile, their happy eyes may have turned into sad ones, their very existence gnawed by bitter thoughts. Nevertheless, the only consolation for that section of people is to understand that happiness, after-all is only a state of mind and that, it is completely foolhardy to set on an expedition to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow because it is only the original which is valuable and in some cases "priceless" indeed.
