Pankajneeraj
Sneha makes her m-i-l and s-i-l boycut ladies
Chandrakala’s story – 2
When Sneha brought her first salary, some two months after we completed our studies, she brought things home and every weekend she downed a glass of wine or beer or some such thing. Her parents could not dissuade her from it. Three weeks after her first salary, she flew alone to Tirumala, happily became a baldy and came to Bangalore to meet me. Rukku also came for the rendezvous. We had a nice time for half a day. While Sneha took whisky in the dinner, we two took apple juice. Sneha declared that boy cut and moderate drinks will be her ‘mod’ mascots henceforth.
In about two years, all the three of us were married within the space of a few months. The first one was of Sneha, who got married with a clippered boy cut to Vijay Deshpande from another rich business family. His parents Sharad and Revathi were Chairman and Finance Director respectively of their outfit. Initially, neither Vijay nor his parents agreed for Sneha, when she made it clear that she will keep a boy cut and takes weekly drinks at home.
But Sneha’s dad told Sharad “Though she has these shortcomings she is very good at heart and is highly knowledgeable and skilful both as an engineer and as a home maker. Your house being a well-known business family, society would accept a d-i-l who keeps short hair and takes drinks.” Sharad took a few weeks’ time, studied her through his people covertly and was happy that she was a really good, capable and gutsy girl and would certainly improve the business. And so a boy cut Sneha entered Vijay’s home as their d-i-l. Vijay’s younger sister Vandana was a college lecturer and as yet unmarried.
Three months later, Rukku got married with her bum long hair. About a month later her hair would be shorn off in Tirumala leaving a shining dome on Rukku’s head. Incidentally my marriage had been fixed about 3 days after Rukku’s Tirumala gundu. She expressed apprehension as to how to attend my marriage with a mottai head. I told her that it would be a very joyous thing for me that a bosom friend of mine attends my marriage with a beautiful gundu head and that there was no need to interfere in the time table of her family. So these two bosom friends of mine attended my marriage, Sneha with a fresh clipper boy cut and Rukku and her husband with almost smooth domes.
Within a month of her marriage, all in Sneha’s in-laws’ house started loving her deeply and believing her blindly, in spite of her short hair and weekly drinking. So good was her behaviour, helpful and loving nature, toeing family ways in all other matters and tactful handling of issues. About a month after her marriage, she said to Vijay, Vandana and parents-in-law that ‘all elders in a business family, male or female, should happily down a glass of wine or whiskey once in a while.’ Nobody accepted this initially.
She said many things to convince them. Finally one day she insisted ‘Taste a little this time and a week hence. Thereafter, I will not force you the third time’. The four of them who had been softened over a week by her harangue, reluctantly tasted half a glass of red wine each. Far from being forced a second time, the four themselves eagerly reminded Sneha about it the next Saturday and there was no looking back for any of them. Within a month they were having whiskey, rum, vodka, etc. and they all loved their drinks. They all thanked Sneha for tactfully breaking their teetotalism. When they took drinks in a party around that time, their colleagues were no doubt surprised, but they all welcomed the change happily.
That done, a month later, she grandly told them that for women of business families, short hair is the in-thing. While long braid is austere and graceful it is difficult to care for and in business circles looks too traditional. And short boyish hair is grand, adorable, high profile and also easy to maintain. Like this, she drilled their ears for a week. Her f-i-l finally said ‘Sneha, I don’t mind whether Revathi and Vandana have a braid or are bald, but they should be comfortable with it.’ She was very happy that at least she got a blank cheque from her dear f-i-l.
The next Saturday afternoon, she told the ladies ‘Just try it once. If it does not suit, grow it back long. After all it is hair.’ The two ladies agreed with some hesitation. Without giving room for any reconsideration, she bundled them into the car and in about an hour, their plaits were in a cover and the two were sporting nice clipper boy cuts like herself. Revathi could not stop smiling happily whenever she ran her palm on her clippered back and sides. When she wore a saree and presented herself to her close friends the next day, everyone appreciated her beauty. When she attended the office on Monday, all her colleagues congratulated her for her beauty, grace and class with short hair. Revathi was overjoyed. Same thing happened with Vandana in her college. So the two thanked Sneha profusely and said they would keep the style.
Then she introduced short dresses at home for the ladies also – mid-thigh shorts and a crop top. Such dress matched well with their short boyish hair and they were really impressed with the ease of such dress. So the two ladies thanked Sneha once again for having opened their eyes to joyous and ‘mod’ living. Sneha had successfully ‘converted’ them to her way of ‘mod’ life.
In 9 months from her marriage, her son Vishal was born. Three months later, a boy cut Vandana was married away. Soon after, Sneha discussed with her m-i-l in private the next ‘timetable’. She told her m-i-l “I want to conceive the next child with a Tirumala gundu head. So when Vishal is a little over 2 years let us go to Tirumala and have a family gundu”. Revathi was shocked and said “are you mad”? But Sneha explained to her the beauty and joy of a ‘takli’ head, that too a family gundu at a holy place like Tirumala. As usual, Sneha won and Revathi smiled and said ‘yes’. Thereafter, it was a cakewalk to convince Vijay and his dad. So about 3 months before the scheduled family gundu, the two ladies, the two gents and the toddler stopped their haircuts temporarily.
On the appointed date, the family of 5 flew to Tirumala. By then the two ladies had grown their hair a little below their ears. In Tirumala, the toddler Vishal was first tonsured and then the gents and finally the two ladies. After their head shave and looking into the mirror with giggles, Revathi embraced Sneha, kissed her ‘takli’ head and said “Sneha, you are really great. What a nice experience this head shave thing was! And you look superbly beautiful. I feel I am also good looking like this.” The happy 5 returned to Mumbai as baldies. On the way back, Revathi declared that “we should have a family gundu like this once in two or three years.” And the atmosphere was such that Sharad and Vijay also said ‘yes’. Back in Mumbai, a bald Vijay impregnated a bald Sneha in a very joyous noisy union on their terrace and nine months later a boy cut Sneha delivered a girl child, Kumuda.
