Monday, November 29, 2010

Ass if!

A couple of weeks ago the contribution to my cousins blog was posted. It was so much fun reading all the comments and getting the feedback from our friends and family. Naina, my cousin, thought it would be fun to have me write a bit for her blog (as I will get her to contribute to mine) and seeing that I was very free at the time (baby had not yet been born) I agreed. I totally enjoyed it and seeing my stuff up on her blog was super cool!

Anyway, last week the press called me in regards to the same blog. I was asked about the 'butt enhancers', or as I like to call them, ass pads. Here is what I had to say about them. The article called for me to write about my top 5 wardrobe essentials, I listed shoes, shades, dark blue jeans, lounge wear and butt enhancers. "Don’t laugh. For a first meeting I am probably sharing too much information, but I was not gifted with a Kim Kardashian ass. Don’t get me wrong, I have tried to get one by putting the hours in the gym, but it has never worked for me. Even during my pregnancy I was assured by all my gal pals that the posterior would grow, unfortunately I got nothing down there. So I invested in a nice pair of underwear with padding. Trust me it got the heads turning. In my line of business people look at the way you look all the time, so I said to myself that instead of getting the butt surgically enhanced, here is a more simple, yet stylish way to do it, without going under the knife"

The lady who called me was surprised that I would admit to something like this. To be honest, I find it no big deal. I have been in the media for a while now and I have heard the whispers when I walk by that I am posterior deprived and there really is nothing I can do about it. My mother tells me I inherited from my dad, seeing as he passed away when I was 6 years old, I am darned proud of the flatness of it. Still, it never stopped her, or any other members of my family of making fun of how flat it is. I never took it personally and till date love the fact that its not a round bum. Like I said, I have tried the squats, the lunges, the uphill trek on the treadmill, all these have toned the ass, but never given it any real shape.

I always used to put it down to the fact that most muhindis (Kiswahili for Indian) are flat on the backside. Of course I stood corrected last week when I saw a pretty petite girl with a well rounded behind. I could have rested my mug of chai (Kiswahili for tea) on it. I have to admit, I was staring for a while and perhaps enviously so. I hope no one caught me looking, that would start a whole new set of rumours!

I rememeber when I was on radio with Italia Masiero, she would always make fun of my bum, even on the air. My husband, Raj, knows that he can mock the behind and not get a reaction out of me, if anything, I laugh with him. The fact is, I am not in denial, I work in a field where the body matters, I look at my good points and my bad points and just accept my body for what it is. When I was preggers and did my photo session with Barbra Minishi, I tried to do the Demi Moore style poses - what she did for vanity fair when she posed naked for the cover. I loved the photos, until I saw the one where I had turned to the side...oh dear, if only I could have worn the 'butt enhancers' there too!!>



Truth be told, we live in the day and age where beauty can be bought; fake nails, fake hair, fake eyelashes, spanx, padded bras, fake tans, contact lenses, etc. Come to think of it, you can even airbrush on a six pack! So why make such a big deal about butt enhancers! Like I said, much better than going under the knife (although, Brazil is on my list of countries to visit, who knows what may happen there!) and they work, the jeans look amazing when the cheeks are enhanced.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

C for Celebration





So here I am, 8 weeks post delivery (of my very beautiful baby girl - Ariyana) and I am looking at my scar from the C-section wondering when it will disappear. I never wanted to have a C, but it just ended up like that - and I think my bubba was super impatient to meet the world! It is amazing how 8 weeks have just flown by, I remember her birth date like it was yesterday. I have to say, until you become a mother, no one telling you what a great feeling it is can make you feel the way it feels. She has now reached this stage where she is recognising faces and responding to noises and her smile, bless her, melts our hearts. Of course, all moms would say that about their own bundles of joy, but it's true, there is nothing like a smile from this little being who looks at you, recognises you, and flashes you her gums (sans the pearly whites).




Back to this 'scar' - I have keloid skin, which means that when I scar, the skin hardens and raises above the rest of the skin. Basically, it is a scar that never goes. Before I went in for my C I had explained to the doctor and he prescribed something called contractubex. I have been applying that religiously since I came home from the hospital, combined with bio oil. Let's see how, if and when this scar goes. Mind you, bio oil kept those stretch marks at bay - totally, not seen one since delivery, phew!




I have spoken to many people about delivery, some say that they would rather go the natural way, although it was my first option, in retrospect, I would not have done it any other way! Yes, there is pain, yes there is discomfort, but everything is managed. For my next baby I am going to have an elective C. I have a gal pal, Rakhee, she is so straight about these things. She says, an I quote "I am no mother naturelle", she chooses how she will deliver and when. Makes sense, especially in this day an age where us women like to plan everything and their schedules, it beats waiting for labor or even trying to induce labor - I tried castor oil, walking and bouncing on a medicine ball! If anything is painful, it is waiting for labor, that is if you are impatient like I am. Each to their own, though, every woman is different, everyone has a different pain threshold and patience.




When I first found out I was pregnant, I wanted to do the celeb thing and have a C. Then I read up on it and opted to push. The healing is faster, the uterus contracts faster, there are no scars or in my case keliods, there is not much medication (depending on if you opt for a pain killer) and I honestly thought I could push! I never had the nightmares about being in labor, but from every woman who has delivered naturally I have heard that the pain is like nothing else in the world. But they say man proposes, God disposes. Also the doctors in this country seem to like it when you choose to go the C way.. I wonder why? Nudge nudge, wink wink!




Nonetheless, C or no C, I now see that it all worked out for the best. We have a beautiful baby girl and we have so much to be grateful for!