“If you don’t go to the barber today, I’ll cut your hair while you’re sleeping.”
- Warning issued by contemporary mothers.
The days are gone, my friend, when a long and fuzzy mane was symbolic of masculinity and a superior genetic make-up. Moses, Jesus, Hindu deities and most other forms of god were depicted with wonderfully unkempt tresses. Our Saviour even sprouted a splendid beard to keep his shoulder length hair company.
The point is, in the days of yore, locks of long, thick and relatively filthy hair were a man’s pride. Not only was it a status symbol, it was also very practical. It served as a ready-to-use pillow on occasion, it helped shelter the scalp and was useful to keep the flies out of one’s ears. As a defence mechanism, it softened blows to the back of the neck which we now know, can kill instantly. Hair was not only allowed to grow on the scalp, but flourished unhindered around the facial area and on the limbs.
However, today, the Metrosexual Man (or Salman Khan, as he is also known) has the gall to throw dirt in the eyes of our forefathers. It is lucky that bushy eyebrows were also in vogue during those days, or else our ancestors would have been rubbing their eyes for days. The Metrosexual Man urges us toward short hair, even encouraging baldness in the hotter months. Blasphemous! Disgraceful! Slander and libel.
Unfortunately, the Metrosexual Man has captured the minds of some deluded and misguided souls. Even Amitabh Bachchan, the veteran and hero of old, sports but a mere ponytail in the only movie where he acts his age (Cheeni Kum).
The extremist views of the Metrosexual Man must not be allowed to roam free. Do not let our culture and tradition be so eroded. I beg you to remember the message that god first gave Adam. “Go forth and multiply those locks!"
