India’s Foreign Minister S M krishna, left, and his Pakistan vis-à-vis Hina Rabbani Khar (PIc: India’s Ministry of External Affairs)
I am guessing that by now the Indian media has stopped slobbering over Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar. I have been told that it might take Khar a couple of days to get all the drool off her Hermes Birkin bag, Roberto Cavalli sunglasses and white pearls. She can always send a cleaning bill to the Times of India.
My sense from reading some of the accounts is that Khar’s accessories alone would have been enough to pay back a small part of Pakistan’s sovereign debt. For instance, the handbag could have cost her a minimum of $7,000, which is supposed to be the base price for a no-frills Hermes Birkin. Computing on the basis of her feudal background and stay in the U.S., it is unlikely that she would have gone for just the basic version. (See the picture below)
If India-Pakistan bilateral relations are like a marriage that has run out of its charms and rewards and overrun by a jaded disillusionment, then there is no particular harm in adding a dose of glamor and good looks, both of which Khar brought in ample supply. That is just as well because the two countries have tried hard knuckle diplomacy for decades and have not really gotten anywhere. Perhaps it is time to look for ways out-chic each other.
Pakistan has kept its side of the bargain by appointing Khar. It is time for India to significantly up the glamor quotient of its foreign minister by appointing a matching figure in place of S M Krishna. One means no disrespect to the seasoned politician but at 79, life does leave you with a lot of wear and tear. Also, how commonplace is it for a 79-year-old man to carry an Hermes Birkin bag and wear a Roberto Cavalli and wear white pearls?
Independently, Krishna does have a not so well-publicized reputation of being a natty dresser himself. I suspect he bought a new shirt and a tie just for his talks with Hina Rabbani Khar.
And now, if I may engage in a completely unfounded body language analysis based on just this one picture. If you look at the the close-up of the two ministers’ handshake in the picture below, it is clear that it is firm and self-assured on both sides. Although the veins on Krishna’s hands seem to have swollen up indicating some strain, the fact that his index finger has a slight hook and is raised means that he must have tired to be in control of the meeting. However, at the same time Khar’s thumb is positioned such that it indicates that its possessor is not going to yield her ground easily.
Come to think of it, in this close-up it is hard to tell if one of the hands is that of a woman. To quote the great philosopher of our time, Seinfeld, “She has manhands.” But that is a minor quibble given her overall effect.
