Sunday, September 4, 2011

so much drama over hair???

I'm someone who strongly believes that "You're only as good as your last haircut". And you can imagine what would qualify as the worst nightmare for someone like me. Now that I've given you a heads up, you can truly appreciate this post which starts on a certain eventful day last week-
I decide to get one of my usual haircuts. I go to the usual parlor, sit at the usual chair and stare at my usual hairstylist. She asks me the usual question- “Do you want to go for something different”?
Well, Do I? I think I do! I need a change, Don’t we all?
“Change is the only constant” I decide, and tell her- “Sure, let’s try something new”. Now “something new” could mean infinite things but did it strike me to be more specific? Sadly not!
She nods her head enthusiastically and takes a chunk of hair just above my forehead and then the scissors happily go snip snap. She is done before I realize something is happening to me! I look into the mirror, and I stare at a scary/ amusing look alike of mine with hair that would look great on a 6 year old. As I sit there, digesting it, she finishes with the rest of my hair. No change of style there, just a little length reduction. (Phew! There is still some normalcy in my life).

I pay her and leave the parlor. As I walk back, my brain is whirring, trying to decide how to react. I’m screeching in my head-“I have that typical Chinese fringe which looks atrocious on Indian girls!” and “Please God let me just die right now, I can’t live through this nightmare” etc.

The prospect of coming back to the campus was daunting but I didn't have a choice, did I? Immediately after getting onto the bus, I tied a scarf around my head. Which, I now feel was a really juvenile attempt!
The next few days were initially depressing, then frustrating and finally simply amusing. I had to endure the most freakishly stupid comparisons and the rudest of comments.
Here are some of the things/people I was compared to:
->a poodle (being told I look like a dog did make my day)
-> a UKG kid (I heard a lot of this one in different variations, all as amusing as the next)
->‘Chinky’ (whether or not that is offensive is debatable)
->Katy Perry (wherever did that come from?)
->Cleopatra (I knew I was bound to hear that one)
->some pokemon character (I don’t know which one and I honestly don’t care. I hate them all)
->Wilma from Scooby Doo (she looks soooo geeky!)
I don’t even remember the rest of them.

Whatever I felt, I should say, there is one important thing that I learnt over these past few days. As long as you don't accept your shortcomings (in my case short fringes) people will crush your confidence and be extremely rude and vindictive. Just gracefully accept it and save people the trouble of laughing at you, simply laugh at yourself!

“An intelligent man is one who builds a wall with the bricks that others throw at him.”

True Story.

11 comments:

Kameswari S said...

I loved this part - 'As long as you gracefully accept your shortcomings (in my case short fringes) people will crush your confidence and be extremely rude and vindictive.'

Very true...experience always adds weight to ones learning.

good work.

Jatin Chuglani said...

Awesome !!! and the last part is basically what i do ! Almost always !

Srutha Keerthi said...

u r a real and true story teller chavi!!!!

Unknown said...

thanks a lot for your encouragement....it means a lot to me :)

nishchala said...

send me a pic...wanna c..:)...awesum writing ra...truly impressiv..

Unknown said...

lol nish...ok ill send!

Sahil Kaul said...

You should have posted the pic in the post itself, it would have given a new life to the article. However the article was hilarious and very witty. Loved the end, yup, learn to laugh at yourself and the world will have nothing better to do.. I do it and its the best thing to do. Awesome post. And I want a pic too :P so that I can give you a pokemon name(I have noticed that was missing :P)

Saurabh Kejriwal said...

Well written.. good work

Anonymous said...

U could have been called 'Chinky Chavi' but we missed it ... good idea ... bad time !

kruthi said...

omg... is it true?? I thought u always wanted those fringes all ur life.. I assumed that u got the haircut done on purpose! :P wonderful writing!

Subhashini said...

Dear shravya, I so much loved what you wrote. It can get really hard to live through this, i understand. Even Oprah had this to say, "You learn a lot about yourself when you are bald". Good that you came out with the lessons. But you do look good...i don't understand why things become an issue. Keep smiling gracefully