cascading tresses
flow over balustrade
storm cloud brews
When I was a little girl, I used to have fringes. I never liked it. I wanted to have short hair like my three brothers. My father would have allowed me anything but my mother put her foot down. She insisted that I at least look like a girl; even though I did not behave like one! Whenever I needed to trim those unruly ends, she did the deed or was always present if someone else did it. I do not think she trusted anyone with my locks!!
For those afore said reason, I ended up having very long hair. I have thigh-length straight, shiny, jet-black tresses. My hair is SO straight that you can check that out with a plumb line. I used to wish for wavy hair. I had to grin and bear my LONG STRAIGHT mane. I never bothered to comb it. My poor mother had to do it until I was 15 years old.
Somewhere down the line, I started to appreciate my long hair. Due to great genetics, my hair is not difficult to look after. It does not tangle much unless it is very humid. I massage it once a week with warm olive oil and wash it after one hour. I use mostly herbal shampoos….India has no dearth of those. I dry my hair naturally. Hair dryers are big no-no. I have never used any harsh chemicals on my hair. Heat treatments damage the hair and I steer clear of those. I once used henna for conditioning but it dried out my hair. I keep my hair plaited, as Indian climate is not very conducive for keeping the hair open. Another reason I need to look neat too being a teacher and all that…;)
Greying hair is one concern but my 91 years old grand mother has very few grey hairs, my mom has only started to grey now after 70, so I am not much worried in that front. I will cross that bridge when I come to it.
When I have a bad hair day I just knot it and put a wooden stick through it. On good hair days, I feel light headed and elated. Hair does dictate our moods. Brushing is a kind of therapy on those depressing days. One just feels good lovingly combing each strand. Bouncy hair makes us bounce on our steps. Hair reflects our perception sometimes. It hides me from the world too...I just need to change my style. Flowing hair reminds one of a river...
In a nutshell...hair can be so sensual..
More hairy tales...
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Another review posted here, this time a collection of short stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Innocent Erendira. Do check it out. Another great read.
49 comments:
I guess we all have a time in life when we want to be like someone else. Thanks for sharing this memory.
warm olive oil ! Wow! that sounds interesting.
my mother kept my hair short when i was a child and i always wanted long hair. in high school i wanted the long straight hair that was popular at the time but mine whould never stay sleek and straight. i guess it's an art to learn to love what we already have.
i enjoyed this post. thanks.
i love long hair
beautiful
(but i have my hair cut every two or three years - whether it needs it or not) :)
Really enjoyed reading it. My hair tells me when I’m sick. It’s a sad look!:)
thigh length - wow! Mine's down most of my back and won't grow longer without looking straggly. I too am lucky to have hair that doesn't tangle very much - herbal shampoos really help as does not having a hairdryer.
btw - yes your blog is loading easier now!
You're lucky to have such beautiful hair. Lovely piece.
Gautami:
So where's the picture?
I agree hair can be very sensual :-) and, coincidentally, I am losing mine :-(
That's a neat story you tell about growing up, and I think your mom was right.
But what do you mean, you put a piece of wood in it?
I love long hair--and I can image your students looking at your hair tucked up wondering... do they talk between classes, wondering if the teacher ever let's her hair down?
I might have to participate in this weeks scribblings--my hair woes, or lack of hair woes (it doesn't look like I'll have grey hair, I just won't have any hair)
I also have straight hair and wish for wavely hair but now it doesn't seem so important.
Thanks for sharing!
Enjoyed the peak into your personal life Gautami... Thank you!
Hair is very sensual, the presence of it, the absence of it... both, very sensual.
I've always had curly hair. The curls where so thick as a young child I cried when my mom dragged a comb through my hair. How I wished then my hair was straight.
I guess the grass is always greener.
Very nice post.
Your hair sounds like the kind most women dream of being blessed with. I love the olive oil tip! I will definitely try it. I would love to see a photo of your thigh length hair. Wish when I had a bad hair day I could just stick a knot in it! :)
paul: In our younger days we do want to imitate someone or the other.
annie: warm olive oil is good for the hair. Try it.
floots: You got great hair and great beard too..:D
borut: Hair does reflect our health. When I had chicken pox, it went limpless.
crafty: You hair sounds great too. Natural treatments works best!
paris/tara: Thanks!
within without: Some day I might post my photo..:D
Wooden sticks are available to hold the hair in place when knotted.
sage: Thanks. I look forward to your SS!
lissa: No, it does not matter now!
herb: yes, it is.
Lucy: I did not think like that while I wa growing up!
I think those with curly hair want straight and those with straight want curly. Most aren't happy with what they got.
I could have written about my white streak but I was too lazy today.
This is really good...I enjoyed reading it...I dont have much about my hair except that I really wanted long hair so I would always wear a scarf prentending to be my long hair a a child...LOL I just wanted to have such long hair like my raising mother (as I had afro hair)
Nasra
i enjoyed reading this.
as opposed to you, i had long hair as a child but once cut i never had the patience to let it grow long. and early greying is in my genes... i've had to dye it for years.
All of the intricacies of hair care leave my head spinning :-)
I had hair past my waist when I was a child and begged to have one of the cute short hair cuts the other kids had. Mom finally gave in when I was about 12 and I thought my poor dad was going to cry when I came home with my beautiful hair cut off..
You definitely should share a picture of yours..
Michele sent me- I'm glad she did..
It really is true that hair can dictate our moods! I never feel quite right when I'm having a bad hair day! Michele sent me today!
Hi Gautami --- I just wanted to make sure that you weren't skipped this time around! My problem isn't the hair going grey, it is the hair going white;-)
N.
I have no doubt you have gorgeous locks...my hair is long also, but instead of being "beautiful" long locks, mine are coarse, thick and frizzy :( Naturally curly too...that's the only real bonus!!
Michele sent me tonight to thank you for the hair tips!
Ooh, I so love that kind of black Indian straight straight hair! You are so lucky.
As always, your posts enable me to see glimpses of your life.
You cast a glamourous image (but my view of Indian women is very much biased by my love for "Devdas").
I always wanted to have such a hair when I was a child (mine was long but just brownish-blond). still, I had very long hair until 4 years ago and had it cut very short. It suits me fine (made me look yonger, for some reasons) and, since I am a diver, is far more manageable...
I always thought long hair looks so much better. As you say, it can look sensual.
Sometimes all i need is the hair that you breathe.........
Oh never mind,,,,,,,,,,,,I don't think you would get it!
Really good poem. I only have time to be myself. As to Floots and his hair: Lucky devil!
I've always thought from your small photo that you had nice looking hair. My mother is 65 and has no grey hair yet.
My daughters are begging me to grow long hair. We'll see...
I love your redeisign, by the way.
Until I reached puberty I had long straight hair and then for some reason it turned curly as my hormones started to do their thing. I always wished to have my straight hair back, the British climate tends to just make curly hair frizzy, but now I've learnt to appreciate it. I guess we all long for what we don't have some times!
I use to wash my hair in beer. My grandmother always said it was good for the hair. Still not sure that it is. But, I have long thick hair to this day. I always hated it because there was always so much of it.
Isn't it funny though, thin haired women want it thick and thick want it thin... ha! the grass is always greener eh?
I love that your hair is Thigh Length...! That is l-o-n-g....!
And also interesting that you got over wanting your hair to be short, too.
Have you ever considered cutting all your hair off, as an adukt? I'm not suggesting it...Just wondering.....There have been ccassions when I have taken the scissors to my hair....Sometimes to utter disaster...! But I just couldn't stop myself! (lol)
I think it would be wonderful to have such long beautiful hair---Well, the idea of it is wonderful..BUT, I know me. I wouldn't be able to andle really long hair...Yours sounds like it is absolutely gorgeous!
hee-hee! is it just a co-incidence that the "ads by google" at the top of your blog are for (1) "cure for hair loss", and (2) "tips - regrow hair now"?
funny how so many with straight hair would, at least occasionally, want wavy or curly hair, while those with curly hair sometimes want to straighten it out.
if my baby-fine hair has any length at all, it goes flat-flat-flat. the grey hairs i'm getting, though are coarser and let me pretend i have some waviness.
Lovely post, Gautami. I should write more about hair. I've been in the hairdressing business for 42 years and have had the great pleasure of running my fingers through lots of lovely tresses. One has to admire your keeping it so long (for so long). As some others have said, A picture would have been a real treat.
Namaste
I like your ultimate acceptance of your hair. I'm sure it is quite beautiful.
That is so funny, we are completely the opposite: my mother always made me wear my hair short and I hated it, I wanted girly loooong hair! And my hair was wavy and puffy and I just wanted it to lie flat and straight. And now that I am older, wouldn't you know it, my hair has lost a lot of its old body and bounce and I wish I had it like it was when I was younger :)
I still have to brush my 10 year old daughter's hair because she doesn't like to it. :)
gautami,
Long straight hair is the most appealing to me and I agree with you it is very sensual.
I work with an Indian surgeon who is my age and neither he nor his wife have any grey hair. He looks like a little boy, more twenty-five than sixty. So you too will probably look young for a long long time. ;-)
rel
Wow - thigh length!
I'm sure it is lovely.
Don't you ever pull it though while you're sleeping? I would think that would be painful.
We are almost opposites! I am shorter blond. I started out with fine thick straight hair (almost white) and how have sort of curly, blond hair- pregnancy can change it all! I found you through the Blogging Carnival! Glad I stopped by.
Long thick luscious hair must take a patient person to upkeep. Amazing!
Your hair sounds like a beautiful river. I loved reading this piece of writing. It made me feel very peaceful somehow.
Interesting how different cultures wear their hair. Some religions state that the womans hair is the crowning glory and it must not be shown to other men ... some keep their heads covered.
I too, have fairly long hair ... the most annoying time is in the sleep period ... I feel the need to tie it up.
thank you for sharing your hair details. :o)
I always wanted long hair and my mother made me have pixie cut most of the time. Funny that we always want what we donn't have. A delightful read.
I prefer long hair to short. Unfortunately mine doesn't look right long. Few grays at ninety, amazing!!
You are so right.
When my hair is bouncy I feel bouncy too!
I am imagining how lovely your long plait looks hanging down your back.
See you next week.
Namaste,
Frances
I am sitting here with my head in a pot of warm olive oil, as you suggested Gautami. I hope it works. And thank you.
interesting, the relationship we have with our hair. your's sounds very pretty!
I keep my hair long too, for some reason it makes me feel more female (which is actually rubbish talk 'cause there are plenty of men walking around with gorgeous long hair and they're certainly not female!). I liked your post, wish my hair looked a bit more like yours!!
I'm so jealous. My hair is wavy and frizzy and getting grey!
I found you at All Woman Blogging Carnival
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