Living in a place like Bangalore has its plus points for sure-good weather,easy access to all the amenities, a cosmopolitan environment just to name a few.And then there are the so obvious downsides-Excruciatingly slow traffic,high rent,cost of food items just to name a few again.And then there is something I have missed out on purpose. Something that has struck a chord with me in the past few months -the fact that ….. “how brand conscious we have become”.I am not saying it’s a bad thing- After all we have the right to spend our hard earned money in what ever possible way we want to,no matter how ridiculous it might seem to others and to us also.
I blatantly confess that I am a “Brand freak” and in some strange intangible way it gives me a holier than thou attitude over the simpletons who carelessly walk past me… and I in my normal nonchalant demeanor give them a patronizing look ..as if I have graced them by my presence… not because of what I am …but only because of what attire I have adorned !!!!!
A simple four letter word NIKE can do wonders, can’t it.We have all read about enchantresses- Femme fatales who cast a magic spell on their unfortunate victims.. (God .. how I wish I saw one of them J) .And now PRESENTING the enchantresses of the modern era- coming up first NIKE.. followed closely by REEBOK…and then by LEE.. WRANGLER.. the list goes on and on…its like an entourage that is working for a common cause ..that being robbing us off our hard earned money.Some including myself might argue that they look good and are more durable (how many times I have used that word in my defense!!) than the normal tacky stuff that we get.But deep inside we know that no matter how sporty or trendy we think they are or more importantly how others think they are,it still digs a sizable hole in our pockets…
I personally am someone who has a huge fetish for “football jerseys”. All through school and college I could have killed for an England or a Liverpool home jersey and I made it a point to get my self one from my first salary….how much did it cost?? 3000 that’s it .Believe me I could have got 10 decent T shirts for that sum that would have lasted me an eternity. I am sure all of us agree with this universal truth – a higher bank balance makes us more happy than any amount of amount we have splurged upon the branded merchandise.I wasn’t always like this.. Through school and college I never owned a Nike or a Wrangler etc…. which one or two of my friends used to flaunt….but I fitted it just fine… no issues…..Its only now that I have started fending for myself that I have decided to upgrade my wardrobe and believe me its addictive.Coming back to the durability part.I never wear anything for more than a year and my current style of living(pssst…not washing clothes often) takes out every last iota of durability out of them…..even then …just because a Christiano Ronaldo or in more ethnic terms a SRK wears them, I also have to….
Another argument I put in my defense to a friend who isn’t a huge fan of my fetish is that “there are sales going on”, you get nike , adidas etc dirt cheap…TOUCHE – a valid point…but what these sales do is that they make me spend more than I can afford and I end up buying more than I need.
Like it or not the Brand bug has bit me…along with millions of fellow countrymen….and unlike the Steam engine…DOS…and Recession (I dare say) it is here to stay………….
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