Do dupattas deserve all the hype?

Dupattas are definitely the most annoying wasteful pieces of clothes. They embarrass girls more than they help/protect/what-ever-they-are-supposed-to-do. Some say that they are meant to enhance the style and highlight the grace of a woman, just to be hung around one’s neck; Some say that its a huge kerchief, that can be used to wipe/dust/swab anything anywhere; Some say its often useful at extreme climates- for covering the head n face by making a mask when out in sun, or wearing like a shawl to protect from chill breeze, or covering your head to protect it from soaking in rain.

I acknowledge all of these. But there is its other maddening side too! It falls off at all the wrong places at all the wrong times (damn the Murphy’s Law!). Most of the times while walking in wind, it flies off, attracting unwanted attention that a girl would be asked to avoid in public. In the winds, if its ends even brush by mistake on some passerby, he would either give a disgusted can’t-you-manage-it look or an appreciative perverted look. A friend of mine was so humiliated when her dupatta just flew off due to strong winds; from her shoulders to the middle of the opposite road. What was she supposed to do? Run after it? How stupid would that have looked? It was even more awkward when the amused onlookers on her side were looking at her for a nice entertaining reaction! Once some guys confronted to us girls that they thought girls kept adjusting their dupattas for fun, as a habit or a mannerism, or perhaps even to attract the attention of guys! How utterly ridiculous! It was even crazier when they actually imitated the dupatta-handling styles of some of our lady-profs and friends!

Oh well… whatever it is, we could even conduct debates on ‘dupattas- boon or bane’ or ‘dupatta- a necessary evil’… it could be a really funny topic to ponder!