Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard falls down heads over heels in public during her visit to India
“The crowd is clapping and hooting. Men are
whistling and waving their handkerchiefs. I, dressed black thigh-hugging skirt
and off white jacket displaying the red high neck t-shirt worn inside, am
happily waving over my fans, walking in my pointed heels over the stage. The
President standing with a fixed smile- face with a golden trophy in his hand,
waiting for me, while am busy locating my family and close friends in the
crowd. My trophy is just a half milli-second away from me and in that split of
the second, my stilettos betray me and I fell down, with my face hitting the
ground straight, silencing the crowd. The time between the vertical me and
horizontal me was unfathomable. I lift up my face questioning what to do now as
I see the world mocking…”
This has been my nightmare since the time I started
wearing high-heeled shoes. And, I still get such dreams often and I get up
panting in my pants.
Indeed, the biggest nightmare a woman can have in
her life time is ‘falling down in public”.
I was amused to read about the Australian Prime
Minister, Julia Gillard who had a public fall at the Gandhi Memorial. And
interestingly, this was not her first, but third fall in the same year. With no
offence, she is indeed a “giri hui aurat”. It
reminded me of so many events that make me still laugh.
Dont miss the fun:
One of the latest ones was during my date in Taj
Hotel on a rainy evening in Mumbai. While I managed to cross the street in a
puddle of water across the Gateway of India, I stumbled in my high heels only
to realize that I’ll have to limp for the rest of the evening. Yes, my heel
broke. And, before I could fathom what I could do, my beau had arrived with a
cheerful smile and handful of roses that deserved no bad-news.
I did enjoy the dinner with a lame leg and a
fake smile, without letting have a clue of my agony filled embarrassment. And, while
sending me off, he noticed, “Christ! your one heel is broken?” And, I, without
claiming the best actress award, pretending to be unaware of it exclaimed, “Oh,
is it?”
Since then, I haven’t been able to heal the scars of
my heels.
Another one was when my Aunt was a dressed like a
princess on her wedding day wearing a net saree with heavy pearls on its
borders, a golden necklace and shoulder touching shiny earrings while her hands
were full of red bangles. As she, walked on the stage, with a garland for her
groom, and all cameras focused her, while people throwing rose petals on her, suddenly
she disappeared from the camera screen. Yes, she fell down, when her heels got
struck in the carpet.
“It is not the pain of falling, but the pain of
being seen while falling that hurts”, said she sobbing.
Another scariest moment is women falling asleep in
the public transport, drooling and then finally falling. Someone even
commented- “I am yet to meet an awake Asian on public transport”.
Well, wearing high heels requires more
than just balance. Wearing high heels is a contract. You forego your comfort,
stability, speed, health and safety to gain height, beauty, elegance, and style.
Yes, they make you look good and confident.
Medical Research says that wearing high
heels is highly injurious to your knee, hip, feet, and spinal chord. In other words, beauty is pain.
Lady
Gaga's massive 10-inch tapered heels were a
hit and it did arouse fantasies, but while walking, the ‘ground realities’ are
indeed different.
Like luxury cars and solitaire, stilettos
are considered "jewelry for the feet".
Imagining men wearing high heels today sounds like a comic scene but
peeping the history, we learn that men also wore high heels including cowboy boots and Cuban heels. Egyptian
butchers also wore heels, to help them walk above the blood of dead beasts.
In ancient Greece and Rome, platform
sandals were popular particularly among actors who would wear shoes of
different heights to indicate varying social status or importance of
characters. Also, the sex trade was legal, and female prostitutes were readily
identified by their high heels.
Much as high heels signal beauty,
overuse of it became an insignia of prostitution, yet it remains a symbol of
power. Women not being able to manage in high heels suffer from low
self-esteem.
Shoe designer Terry DeHavilland says, "People
say they're bad for the feet, but they're good for the mind. What's more
important?"
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