They say, "hair today, gone tomorrow". In many parts of the world, a haircut may not be a big deal. Now I understand why many of the novels and movies show the leading lady heading to a salon to cut and color her locks! A significant change in a lady's hair can not only change how the world looks at her but also how she looks at the world. A cute bouncy bob might suggest a cheerful, casual personality, a very stylish and sophisticated cut might suggest she means business and you're not supposed to mess with her :-P and a long, well-cared for locks might suggest a personality with loads of patience ;-)
I've always had a love-hate affair with my hair. Due to certain rules at school we had to wear uniform and braid our hair. That's the only time I remember begging my mother to braid them. Otherwise, right from my childhood I've never really felt any great affection for my hair and always preferred it short much to the dismay of my mother. Caring for my once long hair (I braided it everyday from class 7th to class 10th and that's the only time I remember having hip-length long locks. The only other time was during my engineering days when ragging in our hostels meant we weren't allowed to chop 'em off!) was time consuming and drying it took almost half a day! It was heavy against the neck in summers and in winters it itched! So it was then I decided that it was time for us to part ways. Its another story that I had to listen to my mom's non-stop scolding sessions for about a week! But which style I wanted, I didn't know and didn't really care. So, I went to this Anglo-Indian lady who had a salon at her home and asked her to take it all away. Half way through the haircut, my eyes started welling up and she waited for them to subside enough to finish her job! For a moment there, I even thought of asking her to sweep up all the clipped hair and put it all back!!
Then came my cousin's wedding and everyone was so excited about wearing the traditional sarees and matching gold jewellery and really dressing up for the occasion. Most of the long distance phone conversations were filled with how they couldn't find matching bangles for a particular colored saree or how they were going to try this new hairstyle which was popular in some blockbuster movie at that time etc etc. The more I listened to the conversation, the more my mother's words echoed in my ears - "All Indian girls have long hair except you" :-(
Despite my very nauseating fears, the whole wedding process was exciting. The application of Mehndi (Henna) in various designs on our hands (I had orange hands for about a month and orange nails for about two months!), teasing my cousin, running here and there for no reason etc. On the day of the wedding, everything was exciting until the make-up woman came. After getting dressed in a very nice traditional outfit my mom had picked out for me, I tugged at my hair consciously trying not to worry. After all, the make up lady would know how to deal with it right? Wrong! She did all sorts of hairstyles for the other cousins who had long or manageable hair and finally when it was my turn to get transformed, she had dismay written all over her face in bold letters! She just left me there saying nothing could be done with my just-above-shoulder length hair! When everyone finally left the room after passing sympathetic glances at my direction, I started by curling my hair a little at the bottom and using some nice pins to set them in a particular style which I considered 'okay'. I just slumped in the chair thinking I was at my worst. But everyone said I looked sophisticated and different! Wow, I thought happily. Different is just me!!
Since then, I've grown my hair long enough to be three-four inches below my shoulders and then chop them off half a dozen times. I even contemplated having a new hair style once but never got myself to it. It is definitely still a love-hate relationship. Now, at twenty seven, I wear it just below my shoulders. It has a slightly wavy feel to it sometimes and is my natural black. Now, that's completely me and I am happy :-)
I've always had a love-hate affair with my hair. Due to certain rules at school we had to wear uniform and braid our hair. That's the only time I remember begging my mother to braid them. Otherwise, right from my childhood I've never really felt any great affection for my hair and always preferred it short much to the dismay of my mother. Caring for my once long hair (I braided it everyday from class 7th to class 10th and that's the only time I remember having hip-length long locks. The only other time was during my engineering days when ragging in our hostels meant we weren't allowed to chop 'em off!) was time consuming and drying it took almost half a day! It was heavy against the neck in summers and in winters it itched! So it was then I decided that it was time for us to part ways. Its another story that I had to listen to my mom's non-stop scolding sessions for about a week! But which style I wanted, I didn't know and didn't really care. So, I went to this Anglo-Indian lady who had a salon at her home and asked her to take it all away. Half way through the haircut, my eyes started welling up and she waited for them to subside enough to finish her job! For a moment there, I even thought of asking her to sweep up all the clipped hair and put it all back!!
Then came my cousin's wedding and everyone was so excited about wearing the traditional sarees and matching gold jewellery and really dressing up for the occasion. Most of the long distance phone conversations were filled with how they couldn't find matching bangles for a particular colored saree or how they were going to try this new hairstyle which was popular in some blockbuster movie at that time etc etc. The more I listened to the conversation, the more my mother's words echoed in my ears - "All Indian girls have long hair except you" :-(
Despite my very nauseating fears, the whole wedding process was exciting. The application of Mehndi (Henna) in various designs on our hands (I had orange hands for about a month and orange nails for about two months!), teasing my cousin, running here and there for no reason etc. On the day of the wedding, everything was exciting until the make-up woman came. After getting dressed in a very nice traditional outfit my mom had picked out for me, I tugged at my hair consciously trying not to worry. After all, the make up lady would know how to deal with it right? Wrong! She did all sorts of hairstyles for the other cousins who had long or manageable hair and finally when it was my turn to get transformed, she had dismay written all over her face in bold letters! She just left me there saying nothing could be done with my just-above-shoulder length hair! When everyone finally left the room after passing sympathetic glances at my direction, I started by curling my hair a little at the bottom and using some nice pins to set them in a particular style which I considered 'okay'. I just slumped in the chair thinking I was at my worst. But everyone said I looked sophisticated and different! Wow, I thought happily. Different is just me!!
Since then, I've grown my hair long enough to be three-four inches below my shoulders and then chop them off half a dozen times. I even contemplated having a new hair style once but never got myself to it. It is definitely still a love-hate relationship. Now, at twenty seven, I wear it just below my shoulders. It has a slightly wavy feel to it sometimes and is my natural black. Now, that's completely me and I am happy :-)
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