The Long And Short Of My Hair

Such hair splitting over hair. I have solved the problem by regularly shaving my head, No one thus will know whether I have grey, white or black hair and break their heads over my real age.

 

Hi Agatha jee,

You are so fortunate to have got that tender loving care from your grand ma. I can only dream of having such a bond with grand parents or parents, because I have none. As a child I came to the UK and soon after lost my parents. I cannot even try to explain what a struggle it was to grow up alone, complete my studies, find a suitable job and fend for myself in a totally foreign country. When I look back I still shudder with pain. Relatives can just utter silly words of pity which they don't really mean, sibling brother is selfish and self centred, not to mention the bitch of a sister-in-law who only lives for herself. Yes, I'm proud of what I've achieved and that too, entirely on my own BUT that inner pain will always remain. I feel so envious when I see others enjoying family care and love and this sometimes makes me very withdrawn. Someone has so rightly said " yun tou duniya basegi tanhaii phir bhi dasegi, jo zindagi meh kami hai woh kami tou rahegi". God bless

 

Dear Agatha,

Your snippets are always rich in content and description. I couldn't control my laughter when you compared your grandma's tight rhythmic beats on your hair to the percussionist Vinayakam's beats. How a controlled but healthy childhood turns into a free but unhealthy lifestyle after the wedding! There appears to be a method to the madness of that ritual followed by your grandma. It is apparent from the way you sigh and miss your grandma at least when you see another woman with a long hair.

As a disappointed mother giving birth to another boy, my mother decided to grow my hair long and tie them up every day with ribbons when I was 2-3 years old. Dear ILite friends (especially Rihana), please please don't ask me to post that photograph online. I have seen the photographs of my young age and fought with my mother for unilaterally making a decision to change my sex much against the wishes of the Lord. Despite all that effort, my hair turned grey and short at the age of 62 now. My son on the other hand, after having a long dreaded hair during undergrad, now has decided to follow the foot steps of Balajee with a cleanly shaven head. My wife and I keep our fingers crossed which young bride is going to like his new hairless style. Lucky Balajee has found his life partner before shaving his head clean.

Viswa

 

Such a wonderful snippet on hair.! I too had a very long thick enviable hair upto 50 years.I was much proud of the same during college days and I was identified as a short girl with long hair.

Normally we never use the word 'hair' during our conversation and it is a derogatory term.Girls were chosen as brides only for the long bushy hair.During girl viewing function, the would be MIL invariably pulled the plait just to verify it was original or addition.
Whenever we think of hair we can't but think of the cinema Thiruvilaiyadal in which a great discussion as to whether ladies' hair has real fragrance -comes for great discussion .The poet Nakkeera argues that the hair of ladies,inclusive of deities has no natural fragrance and the smell is due to artificial shampoos and scents used in maintaining.Nakkeera has a tough argument with Lord Siva.

But what does today's Science say about this?

Today 'Hair business' is a million dollar business.The hair given to temples towards fulfilling vow is a precious export product.
We become terribly upset even if we find a thin strand of hair in the food.But the chemical extracted from the hair -L-Cystine is used generously for making breads, cakes, pizzas,biscuits and the like.Some other chemicals got from hair are used in producing scents and chacolates.
Animals and ants release a chemical called 'Phermones-Phrene+harmones_ which is an excitement carrier to attract partners.This was used to choose partners.They have an organ called'vomero Nasal Organ'to identify the smell.So long this organ was stated to be absent in human beings.Today's research scholars have proved beyond doubt that human beings have both the organ and the phermone which are essentially responsible for gender attraction and instigationof'love'.
Women have 90% of phermone and men fall for women, perhaps for this fragrance.
If the same Thiruvilayadal cinema is taken now , perhaps the famous words of Nakkeera" netrikkannaith thirakkinum kutram kutrame-Even if Lord Shiva opens his third eye ,what he said is totally false)--may not find a place in the movie.

I am not responsible if you think of 'hair' when you eat bread or Pizzaor chacolate.

Dear Agatha, while you have dealt with the length I have diverted your attention to smell.After all the insignificant hair has drawn so much of discussion.Normally people vow to give only hair and not hands or legs because that is the one they can get back soon.

Jayasala 42

 

Hi agatha83,
that was a hilarious account of your hair woes. Truly enjoyed reading it!

 

Dear Agatha

The long and short of this write up is a simple what a delightful read it made and almost all of us relate to the long locks, oil baths and sambrani. My favorite part is the sambrani. I did not realize I loved it so much till I wanted to expose my baby to it even though I was alone managing the baby. As I grow older the rituals I pass on are the ones that I might have resisted as a child but they are the same ones that matter to me now to want to pass on. I still do the weekly oil baths to my kids but on a different scale. When I hear my kids talk of the weekly barb ritual I cannot help but smile. And as for that hair cut, I had one too but for a totally different reason and a long story which I cannot share here but now I enjoy my short hair and am always looking forward to going short in summer .

You write so well and I always look forward to reading you. Keep them coming.

 

My grand mother had long and thick hair ( I only inherited the thickness, two generations later). When she was diagnosed with cancer, she had lost all of it during the chemos. Now a survivor, the hair is growing back, not long or thick like her old times but short and pepper white, in tune with the current Hollywood trends, most beautiful than ever! Thank you for sharing, delightful read indeed. Agree.