LEAVE ASH AND HER DOUBLE CHIN ALONE!

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, former Miss World is supposed to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Which is why everybody loves to hate her. She has been criticized for coasting along on the strength of her looks alone as her acting skills can hardly be called that. Despite her limitations in the histrionics department, juries have not hesitated to bestow awards by the dozen upon her just to be at the receiving end of that glacial smile of hers carefully plastered across that annoyingly perfect face. Another criticism is that she is plastic and hardly human on account of the unruffled poise she wears unapologetically like an impenetrable armor even when she is standing within spitting distance of an erupting volcano (That has not happened but it could and she would be roundly derided for the same.)

The Ice Queen is a mother now and from all reports she is enjoying her new avatar and giving it her all. She hadn’t enjoyed showing off the baby bump and had infamously sought refuge behind voluminous Salwar Kameezes that clearly doubled as circus tents when not employed to hide unsightly bulges. Ash was compared unfavorably to fellow celeb mum, Lara Dutta who was in great shape, despite the baby in – house and had no qualms about squeezing her heavily pregnant bod into couture creations.

Stubborn as ever, Ash persisted in her attempts to make circus tents a sartorial statement and succeeded partially in distracting the fashion police as attention shifted overnight to her double chin which was snapped in a particularly unflattering light by a bunch of photographers whose mothers had clearly failed to teach them chivalry. And now the topic du jour is her post pregnancy weight gain with folks slamming her for daring to indulge herself a little and others jumping to her defense while the Ice Queen remains untouchable as ever behind a wall of icy silence.

The all important question is not why we as a nation are interested in nothing but useless trifles pertaining to unsightly facial features which the media is glad to supply in spades for our savoring pleasure, after all we remain the nation that ignored a war happening on our doorstep because the Cricket World Cup was happening at the same time. What begs attention is this one – why is it suddenly criminal for a new mother to eat whatever she pleases? And if she gains a little weight why is it anyone’s problem?

There is so much pressure for a woman to look good and that translates as being at least five kilos underweight. The unfortunate creatures who have saddle bags, wobbly arms, thunder thighs, or real curves with a bosom and a behind to go with it become objects of derision even if they are accomplished individuals and are ridiculed into joining the skinny brigade and eating right. Eating right of course means that you swear off all things real and sustain yourself by eating bite – sized portions of rabbit food every two hours to trick your body into burning calories even as you put it on starvation rations to besiege the notorious fat demons who are guilty of nothing but providing insulation for the body and making an enemy of the weighing machine. Alternatives are available of course and anorexia or bulimia are conditions that could be befriended in order to get a pass out of fat country into the paradise that belongs solely to skinny people.

So what if feeding mothers cannot afford to do this sort of thing if they want to nurse their child for the minimal period of one year recommended by WHO? So what if breast feeding gives you a hearty appetite and you crave carbs and not the lousy protein that is the God of dieters everywhere? There are no excuses for fatties it seems. And they ought to be attacked by mindless morons who ask them if they are expecting another baby or plastering fugly pics all over the internet to make them feel bad about themselves.

Well Ash clearly does not feel bad about herself. She turned up in Cannes and this time she did not bring along any tents to hide the junk in her trunk. The most beautiful woman in the world wriggled her ample frame into a clingy Elie Saab and flaunted her fabulous self in it and sent fashion aficionados into an absolute tizzy. She said that she has never strived to be a size zero and was going to take her own sweet time to get back into shape. Now even her worst detractors have to admit that she sent out the right message to women with body image issues across the world.

Mothers and women who are struggling with their weight are especially heartened. Most would prefer to make their own plodding way into fitness and would love for the pressure to be turned off. And Ash has done just that. So all those self – appointeg guardians of superficial beauty out there, please leave plus – sized women alone! And stop obsessing about Ash and her double chin!!