Wierdo Hairdo

Most part of my life I had long hair. i.e until my 10^th standard I had it running below my  hips. But had to cut it short as its weight was giving me headaches. The next 2 years I let it grow and it grew again as it always does. (Touch wood). I cut it when I had to join a hostel but grew it again as I realized that the short hair was tickling my neck constantly. Since then I maintained it upto my waist. But alas! After my marriage, my husband didn’t allow me to cut it. If he liked my long hair, he never said it. But he was always against me cutting my hair and it managed to grow below my hips. A thick long braided  hair makes a good sight to the onlookers and also makes you the older generation’s favorite. But trust me, its such an ordeal to maintain it. I had to be constantly careful to not sit on my own hair. Many a nights I was force awakened when my husband tossed onto my hair in sleep. At crowded places like temples on a festival, buses and all such places when I had to  squeeze my self forward to get going, I had to pull my hair that would get tangled with the shirt buttons or bag zippers or the intricate embroidered dresses of those around me. Hey don’t get me wrong, all through, I loved my hair very dearly. But all the above are “as a matter of factly” statements which I thought everyone else who didn’t or don’t have long hair should know.

I had a mannat that I would shave my head on my son’s mundan along with  my son. And hell broke loose when my parents came to know of my weird mannat. My husband gave a “that’s disgusting” look and I maintained my “Whatever” attitude. Finally the day of the mundan arrived and I parted with my Umph factor. I thought I would feel sad but on the contrary I was relieved. My head felt light and for the first time in my lifetime I could feel the breeze caressing my scalp. It felt great that way. Oiling and washing my head took no time. But I didn’t like the no hair on my head look but that didn’t bother me as I seldom look at the mirror. Yup. That’s true. My husband bought me scarves and told me to cover my head with them when at office. I was absolutely comfortable to go out with my no hair head but was forced to put on the scarf as my in laws laughed at me when I told them that I would go to office without covering my no hair head. They said it would look awkward to go out like that and I was foolish enough to believe them. 5 minutes after reaching office I removed the cloth covering my head. It looked green now with tiny hairs sprouting from their follicles. I was absolutely comfortable that way but wasn’t sure how others felt about it and I didn’t care. That day many people told me this, “HEY! You had such a beautiful hair. Why did you do this?” few of them were strangers. i.e. I knew that they existed on the same floor by their faces but didn’t know their names or anything about them. It was a revelation for me that I was known at office by my long hair. Few of my friends asked me, “You might have felt sad to see your hair go. Didn’t you?” and strange though it sounds, I didn’t have even a tinge of regret or remorse. A little later that day, came this good lady from the next cubicle who told my teammate, “But she looks pretty even without hair.” Now I must say this really came as a surprise to me. I wasn’t looking pretty when I saw myself in the mirror. This good lady must be having a heart of gold I should say. Though I didn’t believe her, I smiled. It made me happy. 

My hair has now grown upto the neck and is trying its way upto the shoulders and almost everyone I come across say that short hair suits me a lot better than long hair. But by now, I have become immune to peoples taunts or complements when it comes to my looks. Yes, I do miss my long hair but short hair is more rewarding for someone who is constantly racing against time. My head might look like a man’s now but I just don’t care for I know that I had spent enough of my time tending to my hair and would do it no more. My hair might turn gray in coming years and my skin would wrinkle in another couple of years. Why should I invest my time on something so short lived?  I don’t want to waste my time to fit into someone else’s definition of good looking or beautiful. Haven’t you heard of the age old saying - “Beauty lies in the eyes of its beholder”.