Amidst the mass of flashbulbs that are magazines today, Body + Soul stands out as the organic spa getaway. The cover is soothingly matte, and the colors an eye pleasing mix of sky-blue and sea-green. No screaming pinks, no attention grabbing reds, and no airbrushed men or women. So far, so good.
Flipping through the pages, even before the table of contents, the magazine throws at its reader a one-page Action Plan -six simple ways to better your life and the planet. The plan includes observing October as Breat CancerAwareness and Fair Trade month and creating compost out of jack-o’-lanterns(you weren’t seriously considering throwing them away now…were you?)
Imagery used in a magazine is a dead giveaway to its aspirations. Ensconced in soothing palettes of blue and green, and sometimes warm maroons and browns, are recurring pictures of organic spices and fall pumpkins. One of the first images in the magazine, however, is a woman’s – her eyes closed, a serene look on her face, massaging her temples. Next to her is the picture of a laughing Buddha and then, yet another picture of a woman, eyes wide shut again, practicing a yoga aasan(posture). A Martha Stewart publication, Body + Soul, is a magazine aimed at about the same demographic as Stewart – well-to-do, middle aged women who know(or try to know) their chi from their aatma.
A section on beauty-basics highlights the similiarities and differences that this magazine shares with other women’s magazines. Yes, like all others, the magazine tells you how to look good, but in a way that can let the earth be her best too. This is all good. What is slightly discomforting, however, is that slight gloat of superiority, which also afflicts most organic food-eaters and hybrid car-drivers.
And then ofcourse, high as it is on sustainable organic living, B+S has loads of Asia. The magazine, however, goes beyond mentioning yoga, chai, or even samosas. Uncommon Hindi and Sanskrit words are used, sometimes unexplained, and the B+S reader expected to know them. The results will soon be visible with “ghee” and “pitta dosha” becoming the rage in yoga-classes and celebrity interviews. Having no clue what “pitta dosha” means (psst Hindi is my mother tongue), this is where it gets embarassing for me. Am I ignorant (highly probable) or is this a classic case of- the barely French speaking becoming more French than the French? More importantly, does Richard Gere already know what a ”pitta dosha” is?
The magazine also lends itself to some unintentional hilarity (they all do!). A list of yoga must-haves includes, among others, raw silk eye-pillows, yes, those would be pillows for the eyes created by a fellow called Dali Mama (no connection with the Dalai Lama, disappointingly).
And by the end, the initial “chaitanya” (thought) of my “antar-aatma” (inner voice) that this magazine was somehow different turns into a screech of “B+S you try a little too hard.” Before the reader knows it, B+S will start talking about wierd-sounding Cambodian martial arts and even wierder sounding Kyrghiz food. It is prefectly understandable, if the reader wants out. Out of the organic spa and back to normal living.
- Shefali Pandey
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