Girls just wanna have fun, chill out & be kewl!

AHMEDABAD/VADODARA/SURAT: Hardika is all of 19. She comes from a typical Gujarati middle-class family in Ahmedabad, but no synthetic-sarisuit for her. Television might be her lifeline but no way is she going the Kyunki...'' way.
Hardika tunes into a music channel every morning to watch veejay Kim on ''Jumpstart''. Skimpy clothes, a copper-brown tint to her hair and hep friends are what she has.
There is one complaint though: "I wish there was a pub or a disco we could go to," she wails.Her attitude to life is DCH (for ''Dil chahta hai''), that is, do what you want — if only someone would let her. Till then, this business administration student perfects her look.
"I got conscious about the way I looked and the way I wanted to look, when I was 15," she says. Girls in Gujarat have arrived — and they just wanna have fun.
"We go clubbing, gallivanting and window-shopping on weekends. I do sometimes feel that some proper discos would brighten up things a little," said Ushma Jharmarwala. In lieu of that, Ushma spends time chatting with friends, going to the movies and restaurants.
For Priya Gupta, a 24-year-old professional, Ahmedabad is lacking in too many elements that a big city needs. "I would like to see some pubbing culture develop in the city like they have in Bangalore and Mumbai. Everyone needs a watering hole to relax in, somewhere to spend the weekend," she said.
Understandably, not everyone is happy with this new-found expansion in female tastes. Meera Shah, a resident of Navrangpura, who has a teenage daughter, has observed this trend for the last couple of years.
She thinks things are moving too fast, to the level of indecency, "Parents allow their 14 and 15 year old daughters to move around in groups in hotels and restaurants. Is this the kind of society we want?"
Shah''s misgivings notwithstanding, change is all around. The Tapi too was set on fire when Surati girls graduated from the boring salwar-kameezes and jeans to tank tops and low-waists.
Mittal Shah, who has passed out of SPB college a year ago said, "In the last two years, girls in Surat have become quite fashion conscious and have adapted to metro lifestyles."
A sizeable number is often spotted at clubs, multiplexes and even on bonnets of cars en route to Dumas enjoying their weekends in clothes that were unseen and unheard of even a year ago.
One of every 15 girls have streaked hair, and sparkling nail enamel, and glitter on eyes, shoulders and cheeks is something they never forget to apply.
Waiters at a posh Vadodara hotel the other day were rivetted by a young girl who walked into the coffee shop dressed in low-slung jeans a la Shefali Jariwala (who was in fact expected in the city later that week), midriff and more on display.
The girl, surrounded by a bevy of boys,was least concerned about the impact she made (though possibly, that was the idea).
Rupal Shodhan who owns a popular boutique in Ahmedabad has 15 and 19-year olds coming up with specific demands about outfits. "They are very sure of what they want," she says.
If spaghettis, noodles, capris, jeans, minis, or shorts have outworn saris and salwars, shorter hair is becoming more and more popular. "Even 14 year-olds come in for the latest hairstyles and treatments (read colour, perm, straightening)," said beautician Usha Chauhan at La Grace Beauty Parlour in Vadodara.
An MBA graduate from Vadodara, Meeta Patel hates stereotypes, "We have all the freedom to go for something which suits us. Forget what the rest of the world is doing," she said. Women all over the world are singing that tune.