Enzo
Lisa waited anxiously at the airport for her friend Divya’s plane to arrive. She’d had missed her best friend, who’d traveled back to India for 3 weeks. Divya was eager to be back too, for she couldn’t wait to share the news with Lisa that while in India, her family arranged a marriage for her. She would need to return to India for the ceremony, and since Lisa was her best friend, she wanted Lisa join her and be her maid of honor. Lisa was honored when asked and gladly accepted
A month later, both girls arrived in India on a Friday morning. When Lisa was introduced to Divya’s family, she was told that in order for her to stay at their home, she must immediately rid herself of her American attire and embrace the Indian culture. Lisa was more than happy to comply with the demands, as she’d always been a fan of the elaborate Hindu style and culture.
Later that day, Divya took Lisa to a store where she underwent a makeover. Lisa bought a blue Saree to wear, then began adorning herself with earrings, necklaces, bangles, waist chains, anklets and toe-rings. She even agreed to get her nose pierced for her nose ring. When they returned home, Divya helped Lisa with her makeup, exaggerating her eyes with bright colors, which contrasted well with Lisa’s natural Italian olive complexion. Her dark brunette hair was tied behind her and the addition of a bindi on her forehead completed her look. She now looked like an Indian woman.
In the days that followed, Lisa fully embraced the Indian culture. The girls visited a henna artist where elaborate designs were applied to their hands and wrists. While she was enjoying her experience, she knew her main priority was to help Divya prepare for her wedding. It was Lisa’s job to ensure Divya stayed calm and joined her at temple daily for prayer. She was determined to ensure Divya’s wedding day was perfect.
On Monday, Divya asked Lisa to accompany her to the temple at Tirutanni, a beautiful temple on a hill. As they were climbing the steps to the temple, Lisa asked what was the purpose of their trip to this temple. Divya simply replied, “I’ve decided to come to the temple at Tirutanni and cut off my hair.” Lisa did not expect this, and asked how much she would be cutting off. Divya replied “This will not be just a snip but a full head shave, all 100cm of my long locks will go. By sacrificing something so beautiful to the Gods, by shedding my ego, the Gods will bless me with good luck in return.” Lisa was shocked, but knew she had to support her friend and her beliefs.
Around the temple compounds, The Main Kalyanakatta building is equipped with four big tonsure halls with platforms to seat both the woman getting shaved and the barber. There was a big waiting hall where Divya and Lisa waited until their number was called.
When they were called, Divya and Lisa walked past a row of women getting their heads shaved until they found their barber. Divya sat down cross-legged in front of the barber with her head bent forward. Lisa looked around at the other women, then watched intently as the barber wet Divya’s head with an antiseptics that was mixed with water and applied to her head to prevent skin-related and other diseases.
After the hair was saturated, the barber created a center part down the middle of Divya’s hair, and gathered her hair into two long tails on each side. He then took his razor blade and began scraping her skull, beginning at the part in her hair. Divya smiled broadly as she felt the blade run across her head. Lisa was in awe at how fast the barber shaved Divya’s hair off. She watched in amazement at how happy Divya was to get her head shaved. Her butt length hair which had become her trademark among their friends was no longer important to her. Sacrificing her hair for her beliefs was more important than her superficial beauty.
As the barber continued to remove her hair, it was gathered up and placed into a barrel. The collected hair was then handed over to the temple authorities, who used the donated hair to make wigs and hair extensions, which are then sold to raise funds for the temple’s charitable activities. Divya smiled knowing her donation will bring good fortune.
Scrape after scrape, the barber methodically removed every hair from Divya’s head. When she was finished, Divya stood up and felt her freshly shaved head for the first time. Lisa looked in astonishment at Divya, then looked down at the barber who was signaling her to sit down. Lisa looked back towards Divya who simply said, The Gods will bless you if I do this selfless act”.
Overcome by her emotions and caught up in the moment, Lisa sat down cross-legged in front of the barber and bent her head forward until it reached her chest. After wetting Lisa’s head with an antiseptic, he took her hair and gathered it into a tail at the front of her head, then took his razor blade and began scraping at the crown of her skull. Lisa was thoroughly enjoying the feeling of the blade scraping across her head. As the barber turned her head to the side, she saw the woman next to her getting shaved. She suddenly realized that her hair was getting peeled off like an apple, revealing white skin underneath, just like the woman she was looking at.
The shaving process was quick, and the barber moved her head from side to side, holding her head tightly with one hand and scraping off her hair with the other. As he was scraping off every hair from her head, Lisa saw Divya smiling, which made her happy to be supporting her friend and donating her hair to the Gods. When she was done, she stood up and was shocked to feel her freshly shaved head for the first time.
The two bald girls then walked amongst a group of bald headed women to the bathroom, which was equipped with geysers to provide hot water to cleans themselves before they entered the temple. Seeing the room full of bald women. made Lisa more comfortable in her decision to shave her head. They then visited the temple in order to show their freshly-shaved scalps to the gods, so they could be blessed for their sacrifices.
When they arrived home,the family congratulated the girls for making the sacrifices. Divya looked at herself in the mirror and laughed at her changed appearance. She touched her head and said that she liked the way it felt. Lisa admitted that as the barber was shaving, she felt her problems lifting away. “Now things are going to get better for me” she said.
On Tuesday, with a bit of a sandpaper feel already growing in on their heads, the girls revisited the henna artist to apply a Mehndi design to their heads. Before doing so, the artist explained a depilatory cream was needed to be applied to their heads to give a smooth surface to apply the design. The artist used a strong cream which gave the girls a burning sensation, but they were ensured that it was needed so no hair would grow for at least a week. The artist then applied elaborate designs to their smooth heads, enhancing their beauty.
On Friday, a week after they arrived, the wedding ceremonies which took place over the course of three days began. Throughout the ceremonies, Divya looked radiant adorned in her red wedding dress, sparkling jewelry and henna ink. At her side, Lisa looked like a beautiful Indian woman in her stunning green and gold dress. Divya’s brother was enamored with Lisa in her jewelry, makeup and henna, which enhanced her beauty. He asked Lisa to consider staying in India, but she knew it was time to go home.
On Monday, when Divya and her new husband left for their honeymoon, Lisa packed her Indian garb, put on her American clothes, and traveled back to the US. Upon arriving, her family was shocked to see her shaved head and henna covered body was adorned with a nose ring and multiple piercings. She explained to them the henna was temporary, and her hair would grow back. However a month later, while the henna had faded, not a hair had grown back on either Divya or Lisa’s heads, leaving them wondering what was in that depilatory cream.
