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The Long And Short Of My Hair

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Agatha83, May 29, 2016.

  1. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    When I was walking along the road after buying groceries, a lady walking just in front of me grabbed my attention. It was her stiff starched Bengal cotton Saree, her neatly pinned pallu and her shopping bag moving in perfect synchronization with her dark lustrous hair, tied in an elegant long plait, it's length almost touching her knees-an astonishing sight, which left me dumbfound. I desperately touched my head for reassurance that I still had some hair left, and found comfort when I could feel my thin grey hair, utterly short, tied in to a small pony tail, which very much resembled a bunch of wilted coriander leaves, those which we get in summer months. I took a bit of consolation, that my pony tail had some stylish resemblance to the ones sported by tennis stars Maria Sharapova and her likes. Uhhh!

    As a young girl I was blessed with long thick black hair which almost touched my hips, one which caught envious glances from my friends and relatives. But the possessive guardian of my hair was my grandma who religiously oiled and massaged my scalp with coconut oil, combed with a wide teeth comb and then a comb for picking out lice, and then finally tied it in two tight plaits, ending it up with a ribbon. The entire ritual was repeated the same evening without fail, as a result of which, one could collect oodles of oil, oozing out from my face, any time of the day. Any slight movement from me, during the combing ritual was met with a tight slap on my back!

    Concoctions of different oils fused with curry leaves, hibiscus flowers and mehendi leaves, no doubt imposed a great sheen to my hair, but the obnoxious smell of the oil was so overwhelming, that my school teachers asked me to stop using the oil while coming to school.

    The thick well oiled hair was a great attraction not only for onlookers but also for those creepy little lice, which was found in abundance among my school mates. When the lice infection turned serious, with me always scratching my scalp, my grandma found an indigenous treatment - applying a mixture of gamaxin and kerosene to the scalp overnight. No wonder I was freed from the tight grip if lice and nits, the very next day, but the after effect of the strong medication, resulted in an eruption of boils all over my scalp, which culminated in me and my grandma running to the doctor. The doctor gave an earful to my grandma for her treatment that belonged to medieval times and prescribed some ointments for my scalp. For me, the next ten days was sheer bliss, away from those oily concoctions, combs and my ferocious grandma.

    Weekly oil bath was a horror ritual, right from pouring extremely hot oil on my scalp, to those vigorous tapping of my scalp, to holding my head in a tight grip. What I realize now, is that those tight rhythmic beats on my head, could sure have given, well known percussionist Vinayakaram a run for his money. The oiling was followed by a wash with Shikakai powder soaked in rice starch got from cooked rice, in the dense smoke filled bathroom and ended up with a final rinse of cold water. After a brisk towel drying, my hair was spread on a bamboo basket, under which was placed burning embers of charcoal covered with a dash of sambrani - the divine fragrance filled smoke, not only dried up my hair but also filled up the entire house with its sweet aroma.

    After marriage, it was one long struggle to keep my hair neat and in place. Repulsive as I was with oils, I hated the very sight of hair oils. Not well versed in tying my hair in to a neat plait, I always longed for my grandma's touch who was no more. With a family and a child, taking care of my precious mane was the last thing on my mind.

    With ageing there came a host of health problems, like frozen shoulders, stiff neck, high BP etc things which made me decide to shorten the hair to shoulder length. Though those at the beauty parlor were reluctant to cut my hair and wondered, if I was crazy to cut such a thick long hair to an absurdly short length. But I was very adamant, what with a host of health problems, nagging pain included, with frequent neck and shoulder movements.

    Now I look at my dull grey hair, looking forlorn. In these days when a simple hair treatment in a beauty parlour makes one poorer by a few thousands I marvel at my grandmother who gave me all those hair treatments for free!
     
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  2. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    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.
     
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  3. Ishita

    Ishita Gold IL'ite

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    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
     
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  4. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Balajee,

    When I went to the unisex beauty parlor, a man next to me, also wanted a small pony tail, just as mine. There were youngsters who wanted Amir khan cut, Virat Kholi cut and the much favored mushroom cut. I left the place wondering, how nowadays men spend equal amount of time and money to groom themselves like women.
    No need to worry about our age as long as our brain is in perfect working condition. If you are living down south I am sure people would be asking whether you are from Tirupathi or Pazhani!

    Agatha83
     
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  5. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    Desr Ishita,

    From my snippet you should have understood that all the love I got was aggressive, assertive and hysterical. Oppressive love - whether you get from your parents or siblings is choking. You should be proud of what you have achieved in life without any support . Every human being has some pain in life - not having what others have. In IL you have supportive friends who will love to share your musings.Be sportive and courageous.

    Agatha83
     
  6. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    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
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2016
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  7. jayasala42

    jayasala42 IL Hall of Fame

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    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
     
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  8. joylokhi

    joylokhi Platinum IL'ite

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

    Srama IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Agatha

    The long and short of this write up is a simple :clap2: 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 :sunglasses:.

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

    Pickle Silver IL'ite

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    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.
     
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