A Rapunzel’s Journey

“First shave, madam…?”

The barber’s familiar voice broke into her thoughts as she came back to the present. She glanced over at Vidya in her chair. Her head was down completely and she was staring at a pile of wet hair on her lap. Strands of hair were stuck to her cheek. The barber was cleaning up the back of her head, removing the last chunks of thick wet hair. There was a small pile on her shoulders and back as well. The barber kept adjusting her head as he scraped away. She looked in the mirror at her reflection: looking so small in the barber chair. Was this what her mother felt like when she was getting her haircut all those years ago, she wondered. She then realized that the barber was still braiding her hair. He was about two thirds through the length.

“Madam, I asked if this was your first time getting shaved?”
“Oh… uh, yes.”
“Have you ever had your hair cut before?”
“No. Well, maybe just a few trims you know, to keep it looking neat.”
“Oh, then that makes your offering all the more valuable. The Goddess will be pleased. Only, don’t regret it when I start cutting. The offering has to be whole hearted.”
“Okay. I’ve always wanted to go short for a very long time. I don’t know what, but something made me decide that this is the time and place for it.”
“It happens sometimes madam. The Goddess will ask for your hair. She is testing you and if you pass, her favour will be with you forever.”
“Oh… really?”
“Yes madam, you’re not the first woman to get into a chair without any obligations.”

She paused to turn this information over in her head.

“Do you always cut braids off first?”
“Yes madam. That is the test. If a woman sheds tears when her braid is cut, it means that her heart is not in the offering. Shaving her head would then be an offense to the Goddess. The head shave is something that should be done with the purest of intentions. If a woman cries during the cut, then she is too attached to her ego and her sacrifice would not be considered to be in the right spirit. In such cases, we just trim her hair neatly and let her go.”
“Does that happen often?”
“Oh yes. Even today, just before you came in. One girl came in with twin braids. Started crying after the first one was cut. So my brother just cut the second braid and refused to shave her. Her parents tried to insist, but we told them firmly that it will not happen in our shop. Which is why, if we are not sure that the woman’s offering is whole hearted, we will cut the braid at the second twist instead of the nape.”
“If that is true, then why did you cut my friend’s braid at the nape?” she asked with a glance at Vidya.
“We get a rather good feel of where your feelings are when you get in the chair. And we let the Goddess guide our hands. There are times when I was about to cut a braid at the nape, but something made me move my scissors lower. I was sure the woman was not having any regrets, but every one of those times, a couple of tears were shed.”
“What about me?”
“That, I leave it to the Goddess to decide,” he said with a smile.

She glanced over to see the cloth being removed from Vidya. She rubbed her smooth head and got down from the chair. Her barber shook the cape free of any clinging hair and tossed it on the armrest. He stopped Vidya for a moment, and checked her neck line, cleaning up a few straggling strands of hair.

“Okay, I’m off to lunch. Will you take care of any customers till I get back?” he asked.
“Sure, go right ahead,” said Sandhya’s barber, tying off the end of Sandhya’s thick long braid and letting it fall behind the chair.

Vidya came over and picked up Sandhya’s braid. She pulled it teasingly.

“So you think the Goddess has asked you for your hair? Well, I don’t blame her. After all, it is so beautiful.” She made a cutting motion at the base of her braid with her fingers, letting out a small laugh.
“Who would have thought that you would end up getting shaved along side me. You know what this means. Priya is going to be so pissed off.”
“Well, that can’t be helped. She’s been after me to cut my hair for ages,” said Sandhya laughing.
“True. She always did want to cut your hair short. Every time she braided your hair, she’d pretend to cut it.”

Meanwhile the barber came back with a length of woven jasmine flowers, about one cubit in length. Separating a slim lock of hair from Sandhya’s head he tucked the flowers in and adjusted them. Pulling on the braid gently and pressing it into a neat uniform shape.

“Oh! If I had known, I’d not have spent so much time looking for flowers for my hair!” exclaimed Vidya.
“Well, it is her first offering. And one demanded by the Goddess. So… it has to be special.” said the barber.

He shook out a large white sheet that served as a cape and flicked it over her. As he pulled it snug around her neck, Sandhya bent her head obediently. The barber smiled inwardly, it was a sign. Looking down, Sandhya saw the white cloth float down over her and cover her completely from neck to knee. As the cloth went around her throat, she subconsciously bent her head even more. She felt the barber push her braid aside as he tucked the ends in nice and tight around her neck. Her dream was coming true. She felt the barber adjust her braid so it fell neatly behind the chair. He moved off to the side and picked up the comb and scissors.

“Is this how my mother felt?” she asked herself.
“Look at your braid in the mirror, madam. Look at it’s beauty and length. Tell me if you are making the offering with all your heart and without any regrets.”
“Snip, Snip, Snip!!” teased Vidya. Sandhya gave her a baleful look and turned to the mirror.
“It’s not good to joke about things like this madam,” the barber rebuked Vidya gently.

The mirror mounted on the back wall showed her beautiful braid hanging against a white sheet: long, thick and healthy. In a way it was true. It was a test. She had only intended to get a short haircut like her mom. She took in the length of her braid one last time. It was a perfect braid with flowers accenting the offering. She made up her mind. Any other woman would have had a conniption at the suggestion.

“The Goddess has asked for my hair. It is Hers. Please take what belongs to Her,” she said with a smile. The barber smiled. The second sign: verbal affirmation.

Sandhya felt the gentle, yet firm hand of the barber on her head. She yielded without any resistance as her chin went down in submission. She felt the braid lifted ever so slightly off her neck. Lifting her eyes, she saw the scissors disappear behind her head, blades held hungrily against her nape. There was a moment’s pause. She made eye contact with the barber who gave her a very quick wink. The blades closed and she could feel them biting into her thick heavy braid.

The sounds were louder this time around, and she could feel her head shake with every bite of the sharp scissors. She bit her lip, as she got the goosebumps, closing her eyes to savor every bite of the blades. Her only disappointment was that she couldn’t see her braid getting cut. But her imagination made up for it. The flowers where the first to slide off as they were cut along with the braid. She squirmed a little, as she felt the braid come loose with every bite. Finally a small jerk as her braid was cut off completely. She felt a pang of sorrow, not at losing her hair, but that the scissors had done their job too well.

The barber coiled her braid loosely and left it on the shelf in front of her. He started to run his fingers through her hair, shaking out the chin length locks that remained. It was a strange feeling of lightness and freedom to have someone run their fingers through her hair so effortlessly. Then the mist of cold water hit her head. She started a little, as the barber continued to run his firm fingers though her hair, wetting it down with the sprayer. Drops of water running down her neck and face. Parting her hair down the middle, he combed out the sodden locks of hair. She saw drops of water fall off the ends and onto the cape. The barber reached for the straight razor. “It is time…” she thought.

The barber hesitated. Instead of picking up the razor, he went back to the scissors. Holding her chin gently, he tipped her head to the left. Using the scissors, he separated a huge hunk of hair off her right cheek, running the comb through it several times. He stopped, holding the comb very close to her head, barely an inch away. The blades flashed. Four hearty snips and a thick chunk of wet hair fell into her lap with a plop.

She looked at the barber, who gave no indication of why he was doing this. He slowly continued down the side to her back, working top down, cutting off huge chunks of sodden hair. Each snip of the scissors was sheer music to her ears as she obediently let the barber cut her hair short. The hair that he was leaving behind was barely an inch in length as he worked his way to the back. In her mind’s eye, she could see the pile of hair at his feet grow, as clumps of hair rolled off her shoulders.

As he reached her left side, she stole a glance at his hands. It felt so weird to see bits of her hair stuck to his hands and scissors. Nevertheless, she enjoyed the ride. Every snip of the scissors, every scrape of the comb, and every second she sat in the chair. The last lengths of hair fell in her lap. She felt Vidya run her hand over her head. She snuck a look clock ticking on the wall. 20 minutes to lose hair that grown out for 20 years. Hair that she had jealously guarded from her scissor happy friends like Priya. All of it given up without a second thought to a barber, in a remote village. She squirmed a little as she saw the barber reload the razor.

The door opened with a complaining squeak. She looked in the mirror to see a woman walk in. Hair up in a thick fat bun like herself, only decked out with flowers. The barber casually asked her to have a seat and wait. As he stood before her, he put his hand on her head again, pulling forward and down. She instinctively obeyed. She felt him stretch her scalp and a tiny scrape from the blade. Almost immediately there was a series of careful smooth strokes that ran down to her forehead. A tiny clump of wet half inch stubble rolled down her nose. She closed her eyes again, savoring the last few minutes in the old barber chair.

The scrape of the razor took her sensations to a entirely different level as the barber stretched her scalp carefully while he shaved her clean. Slow, careful, yet confident strokes as the blade ran down her sideburns all the way to her chin. She gave in completely as he worked the back of her head, the blade running down to the cloth cape that covered her. The feel of his firm fingers on her freshly shaved scalp, the caressing strokes of the razor, everything was so blissfully perfect. She looked in the mirror to see herself barely recognizable, but yet happiest she had ever been.

The cape was loosened and removed. She felt like she was leaving behind an old friend as she saw the pile of hair slide off and fall at her feet. Some of it landing on her toes. She picked up a strong scent of jasmine as someone brushed past her. It was the new customer. As she got out of the chair, she saw the woman pick up the cut braid and examine it. She looked over to see Vidya paying the barber for both their shaves.

“I am proud of what you just did.” said the woman looking deeply into her eyes as she coiled the braid up and left it on the shelf. She climbed into the chair to await the barber. Putting the money in the cash drawer, he came over to take care of the next devotee. He shook out the same cape that had covered her and flicked it over the woman. She bent her head obediently as the barber tucked the cape around her neck.

“Special offering madam?” asked the barber.
“Yes, please,” she responded, keeping her head bent.

Sandhya felt Vidya take her hand and pull her out of the shop saying they were running late. As the walked out, she glanced back into the shop. Her barber was holding the woman’s head down with one hand, while he snipped away at her hair, carefully cutting her bun loose. Their eyes met and he gave her a quick wink as he continued with his harvest.

+40