One of the most memorable moments of Tamil Cinema to me, was in Thillu Mullu when our beloved Superstar had to shave off his moustache to impersonate his fictitious brother. Nagesh, his friend commented then, 'It's just hair. Not your life'.
The importance associated with the caterpillar in the face is astounding. One of my uncles had a 'Ma Po Si' moustache (if you know what it is), that with age, turned a brown-grey resulting in his daughter naming it the 'shoe-brush'. Undaunted, he holds on to his treasure, grooming it with as much care as a pet. My mother would get a coronary if my dad took off his moustache. And a true husband that my dad is, he still keeps his, despite the fact that it is no longer lush and resembles something the rat ate and didn't like.
Traditionally, the moustache has been given far more importance in South-India than in the North. Southies saw moustache as not just hair over the upper lip. It was a symbol of manhood, courage and panache. Again referring to Thillu Mullu, it was also said that the bigger your moustache, the purer your heart was, which would, of course not hold true considering the celebrated whiskers of Veerappan, the dreaded sandalwood smuggler. But we have to give it to him, he had courage and panache.
For the Brahmin community it was a symbol of liberation from orthodoxy. I am told that when my father was a kid, to grow a moustache was a disgrace to the family. That is, if you had a clean shaven chin. So it was either no hair on the face or some face inside the hair. An intermediate state was unacceptable. Out of question. Needless to say, many people sported moustaches as a sign of defiance.
In the North, perhaps the influence of cinema deterred many from growing moustaches. Many actors; Amitabh, Rajesh Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Shah Rukh, Aamir, Salman, Akshay and others were all clean shaven and the average North Indian idolised these people so much that they imitated their styles. I am not sure if I can make this sweeping generalisation but my Northie friends always associated moustache with Madrasis and mocked it (which is a whole different post)
Anyway this hairy tale is to inform:
Ladies and gentleman, I have news for you. I took off *wails* my moustache. I, who had refused to take my tache for a million dollars, believing that like Samson's hair, all my powers were in it, shaved it off to satisfy a curiosity.
Curiosity killed the cat and lost me my moustache.
Time whizzes by and I, I write of glimpses I steal
12 comments:
my aunts weren't very happy when they knew i had a crush on shahrukh khan... they were like 'what do you even see in his face, not a trace of hair, he looks like a kid!'
and they weren't much happier when i told them veerappan was my idol.
and yeah... thillu mullu is one of the best comedy flicks ever. try watching it in hindi as golmaal... it's pretty good, too.
Oh, talk about coincidence. I posted about hair, too. I will read now, and comment on the post. :-)
This explains your new pic in Orkut. But why? I like moustaches on men. I have been nagging my son to grow one, to no avail.
auntie, mustaches are passe... goatees are in.
Priya, goatees are silly, I feel. But then my father wore a full beard, and so does my husband, so I am partial to the fuller beards. :-)
5 comments before the evening is over on my blog. man! I am so becoming the next primeminister
:D *chants "all the best" and holds out his tongue* yedho! urupapdra velaya paaru!
p.s: u have more than two readers :P.
ah yes. in hostel ppl refused to acknowledge my brahmin status or whatevefr because i *so* had unkempt mush, dadi, and hair! it was fun. i was like "yen da. naanum tamizh avaa madhri dhane pesharen (extra touche there :P)? aprom enna". and he, "illa dadi laan vechindrikkaay!".
shashi! i am tempted to ask if ppl really call tht growth in ur face as 'daadi or meesai' but I'll pass.
yeah they do, for your information. dadi may well be hyperbolised (i've acne) but meesai's just fine.
if u say so
Hi!
This is a really insightful post. I happened across it when I was searching for other news items and opinions after a recent column in DNA India--very interesting! If you have any thoughts you want to weigh in, let me know, or you can visit at http://www.boulevardindia.com.
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