Do shirsashan, some would advice. This, incidentally, is believed to be the magic cure for a host of problems, hairloss being a minor one. If you stay upside-down, the theory goes, blood flows to the head, irrigating the sparse areas on the scalp and coaxing new hair to sprout and enjoy the breeze. Maybe the theory has its merits, but it is not for the sod looking for dramatic results. You gave up after a few days, partly because curious hostelmates gathered every morning to watch you in action up close. The same went for other yogic poses. Baba Ramdev had not descended on the scene then, so anulom vilom was not in vogue. But some breathing exercises were suggested too. None helped.
While through many experimentations you made the surreptitious trip to the charlatan in a roadside tent who had a herbal solution for every conceivable human trouble, from erectile dysfunction to infertility to acne to arthritis to whatnot. Of course, you got the oil to bring back luxuriant hair and the promise that a fortnight is all it would take. As you made the return trip to him, fretting, fuming and frothing the tent would be nowhere.
Heartbreak was all you got from these efforts. And you lived between sighs and sorrow.
As we have mentioned, those were less evolved times. Baldness was believed to leapfrog you to unclehood. This was before it was reimagined as sexy, and masculine. Hollywood hunks with shiny heads gradually captured the imagination of the young and baldness became synonymous with virility. We had fashion models with smooth heads walking the ramp.
Soon, being bald was cool. As inhibition collapsed, it became a style statement. Now we live in times where male pattern baldness or alopecia is a signature good look accessory and baldness of other kind is as welcome. It is no more the luxury of the old.
What the hell was I up to? You wonder looking back to those days with some embarrassment. It had to do something with the social shaming that followed. Our cinema portrayed baldness with little sensitivity, making it less than normal. Two films Bala (yet to be released) and Ujda Chaman deal with the subject. The script line suggests despite baldness being trendy, in certain quarters it remains a condition to be laughed at.
It’s time people grew up.
