They Shaved Off Their Trademark Beards

Writing in response to acknowledgement of the tag for #WillYouShave activity by one of my blogger friend Rakesh Ranjan in his post http://electoworld999.blogspot.in/2014/12/shave-will-you.html

My bro (a charming boy in his late teens) loved sporting permanent stubble which I almost hated looking at. Every time he styled himself standing in front of the mirror with spiky hair style and those coarse prickly hair on his face, I grumbled uncontrollably on him many times a day. But moving away from the culture of daily shaving, he paid no attention to my words and retaliated at times saying, "Oh di, pleaaaase grow up, stubble is no longer scruffy. Come with me to the college n I'll show you how we get extra attention with short beards...."  The conversation always remained as open as we would find something new to counterattack each other next time  .... 
 
Days were passing the same way. But as they say 'God has His own way of getting things done" ;) I remember the day when he directly came to me after college and uttered, "jo aap chahti thi wo aaj ho hi gaya" . Keeping my book aside, I looked at him with a question mark on my face and he explained, "our college has started a week-long campaign Shave Off Your Trademark Beard for the students to discourage keeping artfully trimmed permanent stubble that has gone viral among boys & it has spoiled their otherwise groomed personality. You see I've been selected as one of the lead activists for that. And my professor wants to see my clean shaven face tomorrow..."  A silent listener till now, I burst into laughter and winked at him sympathetically...

As the campaign kicked off, almost 2000 students flushed off their stylized beard and came out with smooth faces like our chocolaty Bollywood heroes. My bro with his teammates was actually happy with the response they got and felt like accomplishing a task. Though he didn't acknowledge & vocalized it to me, but I knew him inside out so could read his unspoken expressions :)

The beard story had become months old now & he had got completely comfortable with his NEW  look. Even I was happy to see him that way.... In the course of the term, he had reached his final semester of B.Tech and was preparing seriously for upcoming Campus Placement sessions by some reputed firms/companies. The day when topping the list of few desirable employers, he was complimented by one of the interview panel as the 'most well-groomed candidate", he knew whom to thank for that :)

This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette

No Silk On His Face

'TDH' had been the most frequently used cryptic code that me and my girly gang used to whisper as we see a chic fellow in college ;) Our interpretation of TDH was an attractive TALL, DARK, HANDSOME boys who used to rule over the hearts of girls and be the secret 'turn ons' for most females over there. Even few of the girls had the guts to put their lips together & whistle at those smarty stuff  singing loudly 'Chikni Surat Tu Kahan Tha Ab Talak Ye Bataa" and we used to have frequent good hearty laughter at purely delightful incidents :D Then came that geeky personality (sorry, can't name him here) with facial stubble and dark suspicious eyes to our class of under-graduates in the Final Year due to some migration issues.. The tough looking guy in his unshaven face and unkempt hair desperately needed a smooth shave. But somehow this was the most neglected aspect of his personality... Basking in the sun on a sunny winter day in our bunked period in the college, my friend had titled him 'Scarecrow' for his 'not-so-sassy' appearance ;) Other than these masti moments in our class n college, there were definitely serious curricular & co-curricular moments too... and there our Scarecrow proved his mettle. He had amazing ability to cope well with any demanding situation for which we usually needed time for makeup our mind & gather courage. Be it a Subject GD session, Stage Performance, Art or Drama; he mastered every skill with no scope of disapproval. Despite complaining about his unshaven & rough to touch face, all of the classmates including professors were spontaneously flattered to have him listen when he spoke in his commanding accent. Most of the classmates never tried to gel-well with the him and so he spent most of his time in his own type of research on varied assignments within college premises. On the day of bidding adieu to fond collegemates, the manly fellow showed his emotional side in his goodbye message "I don't spend too much time on my appearance, but a toned and muscly guy can be soft and cuddly too if someone tries to look beyond his stubble face. You could have earned a real loyal friend for lifetime if ever tried understanding me rather than fussing over how I looked like. but....." , his voice cracked as we all realized the lump in his throat didn't allow him to continue when he was overcame with emotions. That day changed my entire perspective towards assessing a person's worth which actually never relies on his smooth silky appearance.

This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette
I tag my friends to write for #willYouShave activity - Prerana Ranjan who blogs at Giveaway Dose.
and Rakesh Ranjan who blogs at Electrica

Shaving : Manliness Decoded

Writing in response to acknowledgement of the tag for #WillYouShave activity by one of my blogger friend Prerana Ranjan in her post here.

I am not the kind who gets all fuzzy over personality or looks of others whom I'm not concerned with. But yes, I'm extremely definite n distinct when it comes to my loved ones. This has been in my genes probably that no one in my family compromises in groomed looks. Specially my dad used to point out it takes lifelong practice to hone your manly skills. As a small child, I never got to understand what he exactly wanted to convey, but now as a wifey to my man I better learnt that manliness is not only being particular about your outfits & accessories, but needs a careful n conscious effort to look presentable.

Here is one of the memorable incidents from the diary of the first man in my life i.e. my dad, that speaks aloud about impact of this male ritual of DAILY SHAVING at different times and places ...

Dad enjoys a professional career of Law practitioner of great repute since years and is a style icon to most colleagues and youngsters. For all of us family members, there is nothing new or unusual when we see him getting up timely even on holidays and trimming his facial hair with same fervor every morning.

Nobody ever thought of asking him whether there is any special reason to shave off his beard everyday without a miss.  It was when dad's distant cousin visited us from Canada and stayed with us for few days. He observed dad being too particular in his shaving routine and could not resist giving my dad a compliment for the same saying "Bhai Sahab, Itne saalon me bhi aapki aadat nahi badli, ab to umar ho gayi hai. Kya fark padta hai agar ek din shave nahi ki..." ;)

Uncle's statement had triggered an involuntary reaction from dad, when he responded with a soul-stirring story of his life. Everyone knew dad had been a scholar students throughout his study time. Inspite of cash crunch that the family was going through as well as other hardships (like being eldest son responsible for managing whole family due to my grandpa's physical disability to walk) at home, he kept on bringing laurels year by year making his parents feel pride. The courageous boy (my dad) had the iron determination to excel in studies so as to be capable of earning a comfortable yet reputed lifestyle for himself and family. When he got himself enrolled for LLB in Kurukshetra University, he owned no better means to commute to the college than to walk for a distance of many kilometres early morning and reach college. He very well earned his Law degree and started practicing in year 1976 at Session Courts.

More interested for taking his profession graph upwards, dad attempted for judicial services exam when he was well settled in the arena. There were few other bright guys who were competing for selection in Judiciary Exams. The chances of a member for the judiciary making his way all the way up the ladder were rather remote. But the competitive spirit & in-depth knowledge helped dad sail through the tough competition in the written exam with flying colors. Half the battle was already won and now the formal interview was the last step to take for significantly hasten the promotional prospects. Dad was damn confident to hit the hammer on the nail as he occupied his seat in front of the panel all dressed up like a gentleman for the final interview. One of the panelists whispered something in the ear of co-panelist giving a dirty look to dad as he was fluently answering the questionnaire & then interrupted him in between saying "Mr. Bindlish, we are elated with your performance n self-confidence, but the harsh reality is that we would like to appoint a smooth chinned man for this post who looks a little more sophisticated..."

Something inside dad's heart was shattered forever :( He had never imagined that the facial hair that he flaunted as a sign of manliness was the only reason of his unrealized dreams... Those moments were irreversible, but he had committed to himself to keep his face clean-shaven n silky smooth always blended together in true perfection. All of us were heartbroken by dad's loss & the story created a saddened atmosphere that moment. But dad concluded by saying now my face feels completely chic without a puff of furry love at the bottom and I have grown to appreciate my new found chin liberation since that day.  Its never too late to adapt to new things in our lives to be happier n smarter in life ;) 

This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette