Tale of two braids-2

Kavitha: The Abandoned. Kavitha stood outside the large Kalyanakatta building. The place where she was to go to offer her hair. A large mural depicting a two families getting tonsured adorned the façade. On one side was a man getting shaved, and on the other was a woman. A long braid was clearly visible on the woman depicted sitting before the barber, her head bowed, obediently getting shorn. It was a quick glimpse into her immediate future. Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked past the building and up a side street where the entrance was. She entered the queueing barricades, every step bringing her closer to the barber who would take her hair. Her mind replayed the conversation she had with her mom the day before. “Mom, why should I shave my head now?” “Don’t think of it as a shave. Think of it as an gift for escaping trouble.” “But…” “No buts. Your fiancé was already married. Think of the trouble it would have caused if we found out late.” “I understand… but…, my hair?” “Hair will grow back. Life will not.” Living in the town of Tirupati, it was just a quick five hour trip for her. Of course, this also meant that she came alone. Slowly she followed the drifting crowd of pilgrims, lost in thought. A figure in pale pink walked briskly past her. It wasn’t the dress that caught her attention, but the thick long braid that fell down her back. She stopped in her tracks for a moment as the woman briskly pushed through the crowd of pilgrims collecting tonsure tokens and blades. Taking a deep breath and steeling herself for the ordeal, she slowly worked her way through the crowd to collect her token. As she emerged on the other side, the figure in pink was nowhere to be seen. She walked down the corridors to the tonsure hall. Her footsteps were slow and she could feel her thick knee length braid swing behind her. It would be a few years before she would feel it again. She looked at her token and looked around trying to find her assigned barber. The pink dress again caught her eye, as did the number on the wall near her. Slowly she walked up to her place, beside the woman in pink. She was beaten to the punch by a woman who showed up with a couple of kids. She glanced over to her side. The barber was busy shaving a woman and asked the woman in pink to wet her hair. But she made a gesture indicating a few inches off the end of her braid. With a pang of sadness in her heart, she turned back to wait for her turn. Looked like she had no company in her misery. “Excuse me… EXCUSE ME!! Can you please record?” She looked over to see the woman sitting before the barber, calling her. She was holding out her cellphone. Reluctantly she took the phone. She moved a little to focus properly and nodded at the woman. She smiled at her and turned to the barber, bending her head slightly. Kavitha realized that the barber had scissors ready in his hand. But why was she sitting face to face with the barber? The barber took her chin and drew her face forward, bending her head down. She scooted forward a little, placing a hand on his knee. He grabbed her braid and pulled it firmly. Kavitha gasped in surprise as he put the scissors snug against the woman’s nape and started to cut. She zoomed in a little on the scissors as they sliced through the thick braid. Hair spilling out in a chin length mess as the barber hacked away at the braid. Hair unfurling from her nape. Almost as soon as the barber started, the braid seemed to come off. The cut braid was dropped in the gutter on another pile of hair. She heard the barber say something about the finish not being neat. A second shock for her as the woman handed the barber a blade. Perplexed at the goings on, she kept the recording going as the barber started to pour water on the woman’s head soaking her hair. Massaging her short hair firmly, getting the roots wet. He smoothed down her hair and replaced the blade in his razor. Once again, holding her chin, he brought her head into position for the shave. Starting at the crown, he went back towards her nape. Quick deft strokes of the razor removing her wet hair. Using his fingers to push away the shaved hair. Wet hair dropped on her hands and into her lap. Some of it rolled down her back, and got inside her low cut blouse. She adjusted the camera to capture the shave properly. As the barber turned her head to shave the top and sides, she realized that the woman had her eyes closed and a blissful expression on her face. It baffled her to realize that the woman was actually enjoying her shearing. Her feelings and doubts aside, she continued to record the shave as best as she could. Shaving off the last few chunks of hair off the top of her head, dropping them in her lap. He wiped off her head and face. Smiling she got up and took the phone from Kavitha. Kavitha turned back to her barberette only to discover, to her dismay, that waiting crowd had increased. She could see at least four more people joining in. She felt flustered and couldn’t get up the courage to assert her position in the queue. The woman before her was no longer there and there wouldn’t be anyone to support her claim that she was supposed to be next. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see the woman in the pink dress nodding her to the now free barber. He gestured her to sit down before him. The woman nudged her forward gently. Hesitantly she stepped forward, sitting down before the barber. She sat down cross legged, looking down on the pile of hair that belonged to the woman before her. The barber gestured her forward and she scooted forward the tiniest bit. As she offered her token and blade, she saw the barber gesture someone behind her. She felt her braid picked up and being undone. Quick nimble fingers undid her braid, brushing against her nape as they combed through her loose hair. She tried to calm herself as her heart raced: the barber was replacing the blade in his razor. Moments later she felt a heavy knot of hair against her upper back. Her hair had been tied into a loose knot. As she turned around to see who had done it for her, she caught a glimpse of familiar pink before she felt the barber’s hand on her head. He pulled her head down, holding her chin drew her forward and positioned her for the shave. His fingers entered her hair, fluffing it out. A warm stream of water poured on her head as his fingers worked through her hair. Rivulets of warm water running all over her head, flowing down her back and face. He continued to pour water as her worked it into every bit of her hair. Water dripping into her lap and getting her saree soaked. His fingers ran all the way down into her nape and massaged her sideburns. She squirmed at the barber’s strong grip. This was a completely new experience for her. She took deep breaths trying to calm herself. Her hair had never been touched by a barber. Her hair was uncut, except for the tiniest of trims every four to six months. She felt like getting up and running away, but her feet did not respond. The barber turned her head to the right. She obeyed rather reluctantly. Her scalp was stretched at the top of her head, and she felt a line of small scrapes along her hair part. The strokes grew longer from her forehead as the barber shaved her, one square inch at a time. The barber’s fingers were pushing aside the shaved hair, stretching her scalp and continuously turning her head. She felt chunks of wet shaved hair slide down her face and hang off on her shoulder. Water dripping from the wet hair onto her folded hands. The razor glided down her sideburns all the way to her chin. The barber folded her ear and carefully shaved behind it. Then, he turned her head the other way. The bottom of her stomach dropped as she saw the wet hair hanging down her shoulder. As her head was turned she could feel her cheek pressing into the wet hair. She closed her eyes in despair. She bit her lower lip as more water was poured on her head. Most of it ran down the shaved side of her head, flowing directly into her lap, dripping on her hands. After some more massaging, the barber started to steadily shave his way down the right side of her head. The strokes getting longer, and the pile of wet hair on her shoulder growing heavier. Once again, her ear was folded as the razor reached the back of her head. The barber paused to wipe his blade on the back of his left hand. She saw quite a bit of stubble wiped there, wondering how much of it was hers, and how much belonged to the woman before her. Almost immediately his hand was back on the top of her head, bending her head down. Sitting at a height did give the barber an advantage in reaching the back of her head. She resisted, but relented to the firm push. The razor started again from crown. Bracing his palm against her shaved scalp, he slowly shaved down the back of her head. The same one inch strokes, from right to left, steadily pushing back her hair down the back of her head. She could feel clumps of hair roll off the back of her head. Held in place by the huge knot they hung behind her, wet and sad. Her head was pulled lower and lower, despite her resistance. She felt the razor reach her nape. Her ordeal was almost complete. All of the weight of her hair was on the last few strands of hair as the barber shaved them off. The heavy knot rolled down her back and fell off. Her head felt surprisingly light, the cool air caressing her freshly shorn scalp. She saw her knot getting tossed into the gutter, landing on top of the cut braid. She couldn’t help squirming as the razor cleaned up the back of her neck, shaving away till her shoulders. The barber inspected her head, wiped off a few strands of stuck and and gestured to her to get up. She wiped her face with her pallu and got up. She felt a huge weight removed from her head. This was when she realized exactly how big an issue she had dodged. She turned around, saw the woman in pink who had apparently decided to help the barber with her shave. She gave a nervous little smile and went on her way.