Experience of a lifetime

I just happenned to read an article posted by Alistair about his experiences with hair-cut. You can read his experiences here.

This has inspired me to share my experience with hair-cut too. This one was no ordinary experience but taught me something which I will remember for my lifetime.

We had gone to भीमाशंकर on a hot afternoon, to visit the Shiva temple there. भीमाशंकर is one of the famous ज्योतिर्लिंगs. However, it is quite far-away from Pune, the road is not good, the journey is quite tiring, and there is nothing except the शिव मंदिर. By the time we got back to Pune, I was pretty tired.

When I am pretty tired, and incidentally have a long hair, the only thing that appeals to me is having a nice hair-cut. In such situations, if the thought of hair-cut even crosses my mind, it stays stuck over there till I am done with it. I get withdrawal symptoms if I don't get a hair-cut.

This was just the sort of time I wanted a hair-cut. I went to प्रशांत in औन्ध. It was all going fine till the bastard slit the back of my neck with his उस्तरा (blade). Blood started oozing out of it. I just asked him for a cotton swab so that I could stop the bleeding, and do the necessary dressing.

But no! My barber thought himself to be the dresser-in-chief of Apollo Hospital. He took the cotton swab, put it on the wound. Then to my horror, before I knew, he rubbed the wound with something. I did not know what.

The only thing that I could was - "ऊह आह आउच". I shouted at him - "ये क्या लगा रहे हो". To which, he said "फिटकिरि" (alum). I was zapped.

Now these barbers watch too much of hindi cinema. When the hero gets a bullet wound in his arm, what does he do? Yeah. He did the same with me.

He took a cotton swab, took a match-stick, and lit a fire on the cotton swab. He then rubbed my wound with a burning cotton swab.

By now, I had totally lost it. I shouted at him again - "खबरदार जो ये सब किया तो. चुप-चाप जो बचे कुचे बाल हैं, वोह काटो."

Since then, I have never gone to प्रशांत again, and I have never allowed any barber to use उस्तरा on me, even if he changes blades or does any damn thing with it.