Style, cool and Tashan: What's the difference?

Disclaimer: All the examples in this article have definite resemblance to either living or dead people. Any lack of coincidence or resemblance to real life characters is greatly regretted. Any dispute in this regard would always be welcomed*.

*Conditions apply.

Before I proceed further, I request all the software engineers and those who have even distinct interest in computers, to forgive me for the ruthless use of a programming language (without caring about the programming syntax).
#include
void main();
{
clrscr();
char you;
cout<< “Enter your level of Stycota*\n”; cin>>you;
If you=style
cout<< “ You have style”;
else If
you = style + imitation by others;
cout<< “ You are cool”;
else If
you= style + attitude;
cout<< “Tashan ve, Tashan ve, Tashan ve…”;
else
cout << “ Wannabe !!!”;
getch();
}

*Stycota is a term used to define the sum total of style, cool and tashan quotient of a person. It is dependent on the individuals’ internal and external locus of control. For further information, DO NOT refer to any dictionary or encyclopedia.

I am not a great writer but still pretending to be one, trying to make you understand the difference between style, cool and tashan.

Isn’t it cool, I know, that’s my style, full of tashan….
…or am I a wannabe?

Style is for everyone, the recent commercial of Brylcream is a landmark in many terms. It highlights the resurgence of the great Indian middle class. A young lad, from a village near Ranchi, comes back after making the entire country proud, fearing that everyone would think shehar ki hawa lag gayi. He gets the shock of his lifetime when he sees the entire village following the latest trends or style, which he thought was a bi-product of the urban culture, restricted to the higher SECs.

This, I say is style and the incident I just mentioned is nothing less than a revolution, its democratization of style. Style is about keeping up pace with the latest trends and happenings around us and not get alienated by them.

Thirteen years ago, when Raj said to Simran’s mother, “agar Simran ko bhagakar le jana hota to kab ka le jata, magar main Simran ko sabse ankhen chura kar nahi balki ankh milakar le jana chahta hoon”, it became a cult. That was style, Raj’s style.

But, what happens when someone adopts the latest style and expresses it in a unique way. Inspired by Raj, seven years ago, when Aakash a.k.a Bhuvan stormed into the wedding reception of Shalini and proposed her in the presence of two hundred flabbergasted people, it was stupefying. This I say is cool. Being cool is about expressing your unique selves while following the latest style. This metamorphosism of style in an eloquent way, which inspire others to imitate it, is cool.

When 21st century Bhagat Singh expresses navras of Hindi literature through his eyes, people get stunned. This I say is cool.

Scene 1:
Few years after Aakash’s wedding, ‘topless scene expert’ Radhe proposed to the love of his life.

Venue: Library Time: College Hours

Radhe says, “Tera baap nahi mana to ek bajaonga kaan ke neeche”.

Scene 2:
Few years before Aakash’s wedding, “Ek machchar..” man proposed to his love, “ Shaadi manayegi mujhse? daru peeta nahi, aurat ka shauk nahi, koi galat kaam kabhi kiya nahi, beedi peeta hoon, muh se badbu aati hai”.

This I say is style with attitude. This is Tashan.

Modern expression-ism can be characterized by,
Style, following the trends
Cool, owning a style in a unique way
And Tashan, style with a pinch of attitude

After creating this classification, I realize that there is one common feature across all three categories, i.e Wannabe. Anything in excess is bad for health, the same axiom holds true for style, cool and tashan. Bollywood’s Farex baby falls flat when he tries to make a style statement by wearing a T-shirt which says, “Believe me, I am a virgin”. Asking Computerji to freeze instead of locking an answer does not make it cool and writing ‘K...’ on you hand to prove your love is definitely not Tashan (reminds me of the famous Mera baap chor hai scene).

Therefore, do not overdo anything.

Tashan, this one word has changed the way brands are communicating. Style is no longer style, it has moved up the cool ladder and become Tashan. Haywards, Splendor have added this word into their repertoire. Tashan, I believe has got the export potential.

Having classified style, cool and Tashan, as strategy planners, how can we make use of them? We now have three different ways of interacting with our consumers. Can we take a step forward and democratize Tashan? After all, Tashan is for everyone.