Enticed by a hero’s hairdo
The area where my family resided did not have any colleges when I was a teenager. In a far-off place, my older relatives finished their university degrees. One of them once took a cinema magazine home with him after a trip. Pictures of glitzy actors, mostly from Hindi films, adorned its glossy cover and pages. Among them, I immediately liked Dev Anand. I was really fascinated by his haircut. I was impressionable at the time. My cousin noted that several of his classmates were obsessed with the actor’s hairstyle and mannerisms when I told him about my interest.
I once tore out two images of the movie star from the magazine and brought them with me when I went to the barbershop. His head was seen in profile in one of the photos and on the front in the other. I instructed the barber to cut my hair so that I could comb it like the guy in the photos. He nodded and grinned.
He was a master of his trade, and he always completed his work with ease. He did my hair just as I wanted it since I was a frequent client. My hair was trimmed somewhat short on the top and sides, but he left it long in the front.
On the way back home, I convinced myself that my new hairdo would surely get my granny’s goat. In order to avoid making me go to the barber again for a while, she had always insisted on getting my hair cut short.
On the other hand, my classmates thought my new hair looked great. How did I get the haircut, they asked? Just like I had informed my hairdresser, I told them. So one day, one of my classmates ran to the barbershop I went to a lot and told the guy he wanted his hair chopped so he could comb it like Dev Anand did. “Dev Anand?” “I don’t know anyone named Dev Anand,” said the irritable guy.
It was not shocking at all how he responded. How was it possible for a guy who worked and lived in a hamlet in the back of beyond to be aware of the haircut of a Hindi movie star? The child remarked, “Cut my hair the way you did for my classmate,” mentioning my name as he recognized the barber’s ignorance. The child knew instantly what the hairdresser wanted and he gestured for him to go to the chair.
My classmate seemed to be enchanted as he left the store. The work was done expertly.
