The Year of the Hair

I am a mushroom head! Sandy told me this in Delhi the last time. I am wondering why all the hair talk is happening in my head. Oh yes, I looked in the mirror today and I told myself it was a nice hair day, I had shampooed and conditioned and since I have such a “bouncy volume of silky shining lustrous tresses” as a certain fan someone had called it, it looked nice.

Then, the image in the mirror frowned at me, my last haircut was a disaster and Prabhu boy was planning murder, he vowed to kill the hairdresser. This was after I had lost the long and flowing look to the super short reaching almost up to my ear look.

Hmmm, let me start at the beginning of the beginning. I had very long hair, extending to below my shoulder blades and this was at the beginning of this year. I went to Singapore on a vacation and I wanted a change like an entirely new look, the last time the urge happened, I got my nose pierced, this time I thought a haircut would satiate the desire.

I set out halfway into the duration of my trip to Kimage, one of the best salons there and walked in, I was excited and the anticipation made me shaky all over. It’s just a haircut woman, relax!!! Well, that is what I kept telling myself. The guy who was attending to me was very very cute, I don’t really know if it was because of the change he made to my persona or if he was in reality cute, but anyway…

I sat there flipping through a magazine as he washed and dried my hair and all that. The minute he took the scissors, I became all stiff and he kept asking me if I was sure I wanted to chop off the length entirely. I just nodded and told him he could create his masterpiece, but I am not sure he understood. He started and long strands of my hair started falling to the floor, at the end of almost an hour, he combed and set and blow dried my hair and flipped me around so I could see. Ecstatic, jumping and bouncing with glee I paid up 40 dollars and told him I’d come back from India if I needed another such makeover.

Still bouncing, I landed up home where my aunt was waiting, she was very apprehensive as this was being done on her permission alone and mom had no clue. I was feverish with excitement and we clicked pictures and went bonkers about it. She said she had never thought a haircut can give someone so much to be joyous about.

The next part was hard, breaking the news to mom. Phew! We got on skype and Pras started video chat with mom and I slowly slid into the frame, mom’s only reaction was, “Prasanna, I can’t believe you let her do this, her next reaction, well, never mind, all I’ll say is she finally managed to say that no one in India could maintain the look. That was the story of how I got it, now three haircuts later, I agree with her and I am hoping and wishing I will have my tresses back soon.

“My head looks like a mushroom in that picture thanks to my hair”, I said and Rags, very unsympathetically replied, “you didn’t know that, well it’s not just in the picture you know”. That is where it started, the narrative of this story.

So, here’s to not looking like a mushroom head anymore, and to hoping that by my Feb trip to Delhi, Sandy boy will have something nicer to say.