IN her newly-acquired status as great-grandmother, my mother decides to let her hair show its true grey. Until now, my mother has refused to grow old. At 85, when she arrives at this momentous decision, her hair is coloured jet black, a practice she had started in her twenties on discerning the first silver whispers of premature greying. Her secret weapon came packaged in a flimsy paper box the size of a packet of cigarettes, branded as 'Moon and Star hair dye,' and succeeding generations found space in her bathroom closet till the advent of a more glamorous-looking foreign brand sent the moon and its star beyond the horizon.
Like many women of her time, my mother's face is almost unlined through eight decades, and though she has stopped using lipstick, the only makeup she has ever used, she continues colouring her hair more out of habit rather than vanity; even inculcating my father into the ceremony, when a frozen shoulder prevented her from doing it herself. It gives her the dubious privilege of being the only one, among all her many siblings and relatives, who is not sporting a halo of grey.
The grey that has now settled on her 86-year-old head ages her in our eyes. And in her own, too, when she looks into the mirror; for her entire demeanour seems older by years in just a few months.
Perhaps that is why women fight the signs of ageing that time and gravity relentlessly draw on their faces and bodies. They want to be perceived as still being able enough to stay in the thick of things. And perception starts with that first look in the mirror every morning.
The perspective has changed. Earlier, women tried keeping signs of ageing at bay because looking progressively older reminded them of the ticking clock of their mortality. Today, they try to look young for a host of other reasons.
Denne historien er fra March 21, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
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Denne historien er fra March 21, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The 'Invisible' Dalits
The debate over sub-categorisation of castes is likely to shape the political discourse in the upcoming state elections
Caste Census: To Conquer Or Conserve?
The caste census is generating heated debate, but even its most ardent proponents are not able to articulate a plan about how to use the resulting data
THE FATEFUL COMEDY
Actor-director Rajat Kapoor talks about adapting Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov into a Hindi play
Mad Hatter
When a leader takes off his topi and holds it in his hands while appealing for votes, it signals something extraordinary
Circle Within Circles
The caste question in Muslims.
Backward March
The Maratha reservation question may continue to mire the next government in the state
The 69% Exception
Quota within quota: lessons to be learned from Tamil Nadu
United Indifference
The perils of tweaking tribal identities
Two Nations, Two Destinies
The widely differing balance of power between the military and civilian leadership in India and Pakistan has significantly impacted democracy in the two countries
Crème de la Crème
The mainstream society thinks reservations are against right to equality. It’s high time they are seen in the context of right to justice.