I am back again ....after another long break. This time, the post is an article that I wrote for my office in house ezine , on baldness and how I dealt with it. Hope it amuses and entertains ...
I read somewhere that the key to a balanced life is the ability to laugh at oneself and have a sense of (self- deprecating) humour. So, in this article, I am going to give it a shot and poke some fun at myself and my other “hairily challenged” friends.
When I first learnt about genetics and heredity, I remember asking my 10th standard biology teacher about whether baldness was a hereditary trait and could be passed on from parent to child. I also remember the whole class laughing when she said “Yes”. The class had caught on to the fact that I was wondering if I would also have sparse vegetation on my head later in life following my dad’s …. Er ‘Head steps’. Well, I also laughed along with the class, because I had a full head of hair then and the possibility of baldness seemed pretty remote.
It was around the age of 22 that I noticed a significant change in my hair levels. They began falling out like the force of gravity was particularly getting stronger on them. And not just gravity, they seemed to develop an undue affection for water. A “head bath” was a sure way to clog the drains- with my hair!
Now, when a young man looks at the mirror, the single dominant question in his mind is: “Am I handsome or what?” Before my hair lost their strong attachment to my scalp, I was always able to answer a resounding “YES” to the question, but the answer soon started to sound feebler and feebler and worse, was replaced by an even more critical and life challenging question: “Am I going Bald?” I found myself replying: “Nah! I am just combing it the wrong way!” This is what some would call a bald lie.
Nevertheless, the exodus of hair kept progressing (and whether I like it or not, continues to this day…L) and from time to time, I tried pretty much all the cure-alls that are available in the market. Oils, massages, creams- all exorbitantly priced, mind you, taking advantage of society’s love for men with heads full of hair. But, I stopped short of alternatives like hair weaving/ artificial hair which I felt would be like messing around with whatever Nature has given me.
Being a born optimist, I have accepted this phenomenon and am at peace with it. Like everything else, baldness has its positive side.
I save money on a lot of the things that men with hair splurge on- Combs, Shampoos, hair styling gel, haircuts. And money saved is money earned !
I am not at all affected by any Hair Raising incidents.
No bad hair days for me !!!!
I love to quote Anupam Kher – “Madhuri (Dikshit) and I have something in common. We both use Head and Shoulders shampoo. She uses it for her head and I use it for my shoulders.”
“God made few Perfect heads. The rest, He covered with hair!!”
I rarely worry about getting grey or white hair!
When there’s very less light around, the cry goes out- Call Sunder, He is a very bright guy! Of course, I have grown “Brighter” with every hair that I have lost. I guess I took Buddha’s advice of “Be a Light Unto yourself ” too literally. At least for my head, I did.
The only negative I can think of is that when I wash my face, I sometimes don’t realize where my face ends and my head begins !
So now, I am (mostly) bald and proud of it. Come to think of it, I didn’t complain when I inherited all the good genes from my dad. So, why complain now?
