Festival And Lifestyle Special Editions
Edits | October, 2024
Woman’s Era introduced the lifestyle editions to the magazine world in India way back in 1999–2000. Thick issues, often referred to as “350-pagers” in the market, especially in October and January, were specials capturing lifestyle from various genres of living. These very glossy, well-printed editions were hugely popular with advertisers and readers alike. Those were the days of print when all lifestyle information and pictures were curated, and social media did not exist.
Organisations depicting and glorifying living and lifestyles, which are now fuelled by social media and a universally travelling population, are globally well-established today. Such brands and narratives seem to have erased and rewritten how we look at living and branding.
Large brands like LV and its derivatives can now be found in almost every wardrobe of young, urbane households—sometimes in vast numbers. What was once a niche has now become mass, and mass-market brands and products have become irrelevant over time. Women and men alike now recognize these luxury brands as an essential part of their lives, rather than just a lifestyle statement. It’s a lot to reflect on in this editorial, with hints of gloating over a glorious past that mass-market brands once enjoyed.
Lifestyles are opulent now. Gone are the days when savings were the mainstay of a person’s personality, and there is nothing wrong with this as long as people spend on lifestyles within their means. Peer pressure has always been high and will remain so as the economy and the global population progresses. Again, there is nothing wrong with this, provided it is done within one’s limits. Lifestyle companies have perfected the art of enticing and creating an abundance of aspiration from a young age. Earlier, we thought it was a function of the West. Then we thought it was a function of the wealthy. Now we know it’s a function of every human—perhaps more so for the young—living in urban spaces. Imbalance is the new balance.
We hope you enjoy reading the plethora of articles this magazine has put together. They have been especially curated for the discerning reader and may not be so easily available on the internet.
With stocks at an all-time high, it seems fitting for those who made their quick bucks to splurge, further aiding the ever-growing lifestyle industry in India.
The gruesome crimes against women have not yet been addressed by Mamata Banerjee and her police entourage. The crime scene and the arguments seem to have been lost in translation. In any case, it appears that the number of heads to roll for the corrupt practices at R. G. Kar hospital, coupled with the TMC’s rampant corruption in the state, had its root in settling the matter and preventing it from getting out of hand. Surely, only a bit of the internal story has been revealed, but the political advantage BJP could gain over the TMC in such an exposé must be considerable. Yet, the entire rhetoric seems to have died down.
The same goes for the Pune accident and the case of rapist MP Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of ex-PM Deva Gowda, who fled the country to jump bail. All these examples show how politics and the law may clash, but compromises continue at the expense of the aam janta.
In the last month, a lot of political grime has played out on the Indian canvas. CM Arvind Kejriwal is finally out of Tihar Jail, only to be ousted due to internal party disputes and the need to reaffirm whether the Janata (public) still wants him in power. Both the CM and Deputy CM of the party have withdrawn from their posts. Why?
Meanwhile, PM Modi’s popularity is at an all-time low. There are rumours of a tussle for leadership after his retirement, with Nitin Gadkari being offered the PM position by the opposition, which is making headlines. Rahul Gandhi seems clueless about what he means to the discerning voter. He doesn’t understand why Congress continues to win, despite not running a stellar campaign, and with Congress’s top leadership remaining largely unavailable still. Despite this, the Haryana state elections appear to favour Congress, much due to anti-incumbency.
It is, however, hilariously ironic that criminals still dominate Indian politics, both from the inside and the outside. The Delhi state election is in six months, and the guard for the political bouncers has been taken.
Here’s wishing all our readers a happy forthcoming festive season!
CA Divesh Nath
Editor
Woman’s Era
LinkedIn: Divesh Nath
