memories of hair
Hair has always held a special importance in the life of most Sikhs, you are either a full Sikh with an uncut head of hair, or you are a Mouna, or someone who has cut their hair. My whole family went from being full Sikhs to all being clean shaven. To even trim hair was against Sikh values. When my uncle, cut his hair after a trip abroad, his parents did not speak to him for some time. A friend in school’s brother had cut his hair, and my friend wept like her world had fallen apart, and she was so ashamed.
My earliest memories of hair, were of my thick unruly hair, that never sat still. Until twelve, I had one plait that was thick but not long. At twelve my plait was unceremoniously cut off and I was taken to Habib the hairdresser, who proceeded to chop it even further, until it was a boy cut.
The only variation in hair styles that I had, were either a center parting or a side parting, or one plait or two, before twelve. My mother or maid made my plait most of the time. After washing it was big hair and a lot of it.
I remember sitting facing my grandmother’s dressing table, sitting on her stool and having my hair combed and plaited like Choti K. The style was where a portion of the front side of the hair was taken, plaited and then the center was plaited. The side section was joined with the center section. So it was like three plaits combined into one.
Once a week my mother went to the Ambassador Hotel, to the Vogue beauty salon, where she had her curly hair, washed, blow dried and straightened. She looked glamorous for a few days until it was washed, and resumed it’s wild ways.
My brother’s hair was a different ball game all together. His hair was as thick, but it needed to be tied up in a juri. Most of the time, it was brushed down and then it was lifted atop his head and a jura was created by rolling his hair into a ball, and then the end was pulled through the center and out, so it was secure. Then on top of the hair a patka was tied, that was a square piece of cloth with four strings on all sides. It was laid on top of the head, and then pulled into a knot, towards the base of the head. Then the other two sections were rolled on either side of the juri, which when combined were made into a knot. By the end of the day, his patka was off balance, off center and generally ready to be taken off. Often the position of the juri had also moved from center to either the left or the right side. On a trip to California, my brother was taken to a salon, and his long hair was cut short.
My dad did not have much hair, but he wore a turban to work. I had to hold the turban, which was five yards of starched voile. He held one side of the turban tight and straight, while the other side was twisted and rolled, so that it folded over on to the other side. He was often mad at me, if I did not hold and pull my side. When I did not the turban was lose and my father was unhappy. He put on a fifty, which was a rectangle cloth first on the forehead and tied it to the back. This held the turban in place. Then he held one corner end of the turban in his mouth, and his hands twisted the turban in a triangle building up from the head. The end piece was eventually taken from the mouth and folded over the hair and pulled down to hold the turban in place. My dad always wore different turbans than other Sikh men, they were colorful bright oranges, reds, yellows, greens and purples. He often wore tie and dye turbans in bandhini and lehariya. Once he wore his turban his ears were covered, and his hearing was substantially reduced. But in the evenings he took it off, brushed his hair down and back and went out to party.
One of my cousins, had serious issues with his hair. He had very fine, dirty brown hair, that was long and knotted easily. But he refused to allow anyone to take the knots off his hair. He was taken to Vogue, where he screamed, shouted, cried as two men held him and two others washed and tried to unknot his hair. His hair is short now and not knotted anymore.
My earliest memories of hair, were of my thick unruly hair, that never sat still. Until twelve, I had one plait that was thick but not long. At twelve my plait was unceremoniously cut off and I was taken to Habib the hairdresser, who proceeded to chop it even further, until it was a boy cut.
The only variation in hair styles that I had, were either a center parting or a side parting, or one plait or two, before twelve. My mother or maid made my plait most of the time. After washing it was big hair and a lot of it.
I remember sitting facing my grandmother’s dressing table, sitting on her stool and having my hair combed and plaited like Choti K. The style was where a portion of the front side of the hair was taken, plaited and then the center was plaited. The side section was joined with the center section. So it was like three plaits combined into one.
Once a week my mother went to the Ambassador Hotel, to the Vogue beauty salon, where she had her curly hair, washed, blow dried and straightened. She looked glamorous for a few days until it was washed, and resumed it’s wild ways.
My brother’s hair was a different ball game all together. His hair was as thick, but it needed to be tied up in a juri. Most of the time, it was brushed down and then it was lifted atop his head and a jura was created by rolling his hair into a ball, and then the end was pulled through the center and out, so it was secure. Then on top of the hair a patka was tied, that was a square piece of cloth with four strings on all sides. It was laid on top of the head, and then pulled into a knot, towards the base of the head. Then the other two sections were rolled on either side of the juri, which when combined were made into a knot. By the end of the day, his patka was off balance, off center and generally ready to be taken off. Often the position of the juri had also moved from center to either the left or the right side. On a trip to California, my brother was taken to a salon, and his long hair was cut short.
My dad did not have much hair, but he wore a turban to work. I had to hold the turban, which was five yards of starched voile. He held one side of the turban tight and straight, while the other side was twisted and rolled, so that it folded over on to the other side. He was often mad at me, if I did not hold and pull my side. When I did not the turban was lose and my father was unhappy. He put on a fifty, which was a rectangle cloth first on the forehead and tied it to the back. This held the turban in place. Then he held one corner end of the turban in his mouth, and his hands twisted the turban in a triangle building up from the head. The end piece was eventually taken from the mouth and folded over the hair and pulled down to hold the turban in place. My dad always wore different turbans than other Sikh men, they were colorful bright oranges, reds, yellows, greens and purples. He often wore tie and dye turbans in bandhini and lehariya. Once he wore his turban his ears were covered, and his hearing was substantially reduced. But in the evenings he took it off, brushed his hair down and back and went out to party.
One of my cousins, had serious issues with his hair. He had very fine, dirty brown hair, that was long and knotted easily. But he refused to allow anyone to take the knots off his hair. He was taken to Vogue, where he screamed, shouted, cried as two men held him and two others washed and tried to unknot his hair. His hair is short now and not knotted anymore.
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