A Cheap Haircut

"Here! If you're not going to keep your head still, I might as well as cut your head along with your unruly hair and pull the shutters and move somewhere else. Why do people like you spoil business early in the morning? As though a haircut makes a difference to you!"

"Sorry Billu Bhai, The visuals of the song were awesome. Never seen them before.", my eyes still on the TV in the top right corner of the Salon.

" VISUALS bother you my lord, when I'm having half a dozen customers, with much better hair than yours, queuing outside my shop, waiting for me to finish cutting your damned hair, with a thousand curls?"

" All right bhai. I'm sorry"

I couldn't hold my mother any longer from pushing me outside the house for having a haircut. Having a curly hair was all fine when you keep growing it. The tricky part usually came when i had to persuade Billu Bhai, my haircutter, to give me a nice decent cut, with SOME hair still on my head. Unfortunately, my father knew this man a little too intimately for me to get away with playing pranks, or having adjustments done to my hair.

My doom was racing towards me. The 'blueprint' of my head after the haircut was made clear by my father, to the barber. He wanted to literally count the number of hairs on my head after I had the haricut.

"Bhai, does my father want you to make me like Ghajini?", I asked, jutting out my head, trying desperately to act funny.

" Slightu to the leftu, will you?", asked he, as he swirled my head to the left with such a violent jerk, that I almost screamed.

I was puzzled. I usually was one of Billu bhai's favourite customers, who praised about my hair often. Something was definitely pricking him today. His neatly combed hair, was in ruffles. A strand of greying hair, cast a shadow on his wrinkled forehead, as he worriedly peered out of the transcluscent door, to witness 13 customers, waiting impatiently near the tea shop, adjoining the salon. Some of them were drinking tea, with newspapers to feed their boredom, some satisfied with the newspapers alone, some were jus pacing to and fro from the salon to the nearby mess, which was pretty crowded too.

I took advantage of his monentary distraction to behold the scene outside, when a sharp pang, jolted me back to attention position on the recsin chair. I couldn't hold myself any longer.

" What's wrong with you Bhai? Any problem with you today? Well, is it anything monetary?", I began, when he pushed me out of the chair.

" Don't you dare stray into topics where you shouldn't be straying Hari. Get out. I will talk to you later. I have a much more important customer to take care of. Get going."

I took a last peek at the giant mirror in front of the revolving chair. On the contrary, Billu's anger had helped me accidentally. My hair was not too short. I could call it the right size to be sporting outside, either. But I could say ANYTHING was better than a Ghajini!

I walked outside, to be greeted by the 45 degree Sunday morning rays, beating me out straight on my face, blinding me momentary. I trod on the crude stone tiles, laid outside the shop, to witness someone, who shouldnt be standing there.

It was Mr. Vijay, the chairman of the TK Group of fashion companies. The surprising fact was that HE was standing outside Billu's shop. Probably a haircut. Then why should he be waiting outside a busy salon, teeming with about a dozen people? To search for shareholders? How dumb could my guesses possibly get?

To be frank, Billu's shop wasnt quite the posh hairdressing havens, a fashion designer could possibly opt for. Then why this wait outside the salon?

I decided to munch the question inside my brain on my way home. Back at home, i turned on the shower. The warm pincers of water began to sooth me, but just began to, while i pulled myself from the shower, just remembering something. I realised I forgot to get back the change from Billu, in my hurry to get off the room.

Making a silent note to myself, to get back the change, after the shower, I went back to the warm bliss, for the next 10 minutes, Changed, then had a quick breakfast, and went out again to destination ultimatum, Billu's Salon. The scenario had changed completely.

The lone customer waiting outside was the Chairman, waiting patiently for his change. His behaviour still hadn't become better explainatory still. I decided to indulge in a conversation, but he refused to get the conversation going well enough for it to be polite for me to keep talking with him.

After half an hour, it was still the same scenario with me being the only person waiting outside for the godforsaken chance to enter the congested room. I couldn;t wait. The time I was wasting for the change was not more worthy than the Maths exam coming up tomorrow, and mom had already been agitated about my last terminal exams, and I couldn;t stay at the same zone any longer.

Pushing the door aside with a burst of impatience, my speed reduced exponentially when I saw what was going on. Mr. Vijay with a completely bald head, was talking to Billu, who froze with horror when he saw me. Mr. Vijay's reaction was not any different.

Seconds lengthened and my steps became elastic. I still couldnt relate the happenings to what was going inside the room. The gentleman I assumed, had realised his mistake my being rude to me.

" Hari beta," he bgan with a smile.

I nodded, signalling him to cointinue.

"Being popular and having a prosperous life has disadvantages. Could you believe that?", he asked, pausing long enough, to indicate me to answer.

I jerked my head bluntly, too surprised to answer verbally yet.

" Two years back, doctors diagnosed me with a vitamin deficiency, to explain the abnormal loss of hair I was experiencing. Being a fashion designer, balding was the last thing on my fashion list. Considering the number of shows I'm organising and designing now, It would have kept vanishing as fast as my hair was balding, if they came to know that I had become bald, So I obviously realised the need for an alter way out. That's when I noticed Billu."

Billu shuffled across to turn off the TV, as Vijay continued.

" Ordinary though, his shop was, I could see the simplicity and the involvement coupled with the ceaseless entusiasm he put in his work. I realised, he was a person, who wouldnt mock at me when he realised my plight. I frequently began talking with him to get a wig to suit my needs and a "Haircut" for the world to believe I had hair, as usual. So i come here to change wigs often. God is cruel smoetimes, Hari. My plight is so worse that my wife and children are unaware of my predicament. So now put 1 and 1. All I have to ask from you is that dont make 1 and 1 as 11 and blurt this out to the neighbour hood. I'm sure you wont, given that you're this intelligent Hari i knew, from what Billu says.", he finished.

I had perhaps thought I had earned an excursion to Antartica on a 38 degree celsius Sunday morning, as I was feeling strangely cold. I couldnt trace its roots though, might have been my rudeness to open the door. I didnt need to ask Billu why he was annoyed today. He had to make sure Mr. Vijay shouldnt be noticed by anybody lest it would get out of control. He was too famous to go unnoticed.

I slowly got the change from Billu in slow motion,and exited the room, when something made me turn back.

Billu and Mr. Vijay were staring at me with eyes full of expressions. I couldnt quite place them properly. Pleading? Thankful? But they definitely were not threatening. I then realised the kind of response I had to give them.

I gave the best look of understanding, I had given all my life, back to them, as I turned.

The door of the salon creaked to close once more for good.