Let’s face it, as a nation, we are obsessed with long, lustrous, silken spun tresses. Pick any tele serial heroine and you would know what I mean. The ‘good daughter who becomes an ideal daughter-in-law’ always has Rapunzel like gorgeous hair. They are almost synonymous with a character certificate. Why, even Bollywood plays safe with an occasional wave and bounce in the hairstyle. The two occasions when the heroine had unabashed curls, in one she is stalked by a college mate and in the other she is the gangster’s muse, remember? I faintly remember a third movie where the heroine was engaged to one and gets married to another. In short, it’s not been looking so good for the tong tousled hair.
And as luck would have it, I have hair that stands out like a sore thumb. On good days, they look like I have plugged in my hand in the electric socket. On bad hair days, I could pass off for a god (wo)man in saffron clothes handing out miraculous powders that can cure all ailments. As a child, 20 minutes were dedicated to combing my hair, often referred to as coir. For the better part of my childhood, I had short hair that could just be brushed and adorned with a hairband. Mom did not have the time for hair logistics. She had a family to look after.
As I grew older, and the hair a tad bit longer, plaited hair was the norm. College days were life changing as ‘the perm’ was the style to sport. Ah, those days were the best days of my life, as Bryan Adams put it. Everyone said I was lucky as I did not have huge salon expenses. I remember, for special dates I’d pick the Sunsilk Shampoo sachet that cost Rs 2/-, a simple hair wash, and I was ready to rock and roll. That trademark fragrance lingered, the layered hairstyle emphasized my mane, and I got compliments galore. Yes, there was a God!
Good hair days, they say, are really a myth. Just a couple of them and an era goes by! Funny, before I knew it, I was married and on my way to have my first born. Then came the hair woes of thinning, hair loss and greying. Add to that the pollution of the mayhem called Mumbai. A little something that kept me up for better part of the night was also taking a toll. That is when my hair got introduced to the messy bun. Well, when you don’t have the time to fight it, you simply adopt it and put it back there where no one can see. I did try the occasional hair colour and treatments, but age is not just a number after all. The daughter is now going to be 12. Chaos still reigns supreme with her social and school calendar. Yes, it possibly has been that long since my crowning glory has been reduced to being tied with unflattering rubber bands. Perks of being a mom on the go.
I look back, gingerly, at photos of long ago and they seem to be of another life. I wish I could turn back time. Well, not the whole postpaid plan, but a simple recharge would do the trick . What I’d really like is to be able to ride a cool blue Vespa, without worrying about ruining my hair with the dust, pollution, and the works. Take off my helmet when I reach my daughter’s school, like Kareena did in 3 Idiots. Then shake my head to get the curls in place and walk in to that PTA Meet with BRATTITUDE. YES! That is all that I want! My 30 seconds of fame where I am able to live without the fear of frizz and let my hair down, literally.
This post has been written for the Sunsilk Recharge Your Hair Contest in association with Indiblogger.
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