Jayanti's Shave

"Please come." Kamala said to Jayanti. Jayanti got up and followed Kamala to the shaving stool. All eyes were on her thick long plait as she walked up. A gasp went up from all the visitors who had never seen the length of Jayanti's hair. She felt the wet hair of Balamma underneath her feet and caught a glimpse of Balamma's bun in the basket. She knelt before the sanctum, touching her forehead to the floor and then sat on the stool, hands in her lap. Her heart was beating very fast. Soon her plait would be joining Balamma's bun in the basket, though she did not know how she would be shaved. On previous occasions, she had her plait shaved off once, she had her hair tied into two loose knots and shaved, and the last time, it was the older barber's wife who had cut her plait. Kamala picked up her plait and pulled it tight. Sliding a blade of the scissors into the middle of the base, she made a ritual snip.  Jayanti could feel the pull and the snip. She thought she would faint. Instead she heard Balamma say, "Shobha, It's your turn now." Kamala was pleased to see the woman she had marked for herself get up and join them.  Shobha was wearing a dark green sari with a yellow border.
Vijay shook the sheet out and moved behind Jayanti. Kamala held up Jayanti's plait while he pulled the ends around Jayanti's neck. Then leaving the plait down her front she went to the preparation stool with Shobha following her. Vijay then tucked the ends of the cape around Jayanti's neck neatly.  Jayanti felt the cape close around her neck. She looked at the plait running down her front into a coil in her lap. She wondered what was in store for the plait. The sheet was adjusted to make sure that she was properly covered. Her heart seemed to be stuck in her throat. Soon six year of growth of hair would be at the mercy of the barber. She held back a tear. Her plait was pulled back. Vijay was examining it. His wife had done a good job; it was neat and tight.  He ran the plait through his hands and held it at the nape, squeezing it a couple of times. Placing his hand on the top of her head, he made her bend. She obediently bent her head till her chin was on her chest. She felt the barber pull her plait gently a couple of times. She could still see a few stray locks of Balamma's hair on the cape, and the dampness from the wet hair on her hands. She heard him snip the scissors in the air as he prepared to cut her plait.   Vijay felt a bit sorry for the woman whose hair was now at his mercy. She felt a firm pull on her plait just like the last time shut her eyes. In her mind’s eye, she could see the barber's hands holding her plait in a firm grip as the scissors came in to cut it off. She felt the scissors against her plait.   Seconds later the shearing sound of the blades filled her ear as the sharp scissors sliced into her thick luxuriant plait. The sound stopped and then repeated. Again and again, as Vijay continued to cut into her plait. Occasionally Jayanti could feel the cold steel of the scissors against her nape. A fine sprinkling of hair was on her neck and cape as the cutting continued mercilessly. She felt the pull on her plait shift to the left as the hair was being cut away. Finally when the pressure was at its highest, there was a resounding snip and a jerk as the plait came free.
 For Vijay, this was the first time he had ever cut off a plait. The sharp scissors bit hungrily into the thick lush plait. The shearing sound of the scissors seemed to fill the very air as he continued to work the scissors through Jayanti's hair. He could feel the sharp scissors slicing through the thick plait. He kept a firm grip on the plait and continued to cut away. Half way through, he paused for a few seconds and then resumed cutting. A couple more minutes later, with a loud snip and a jerk the plait came free. He dropped the plait at his feet and here was a collective gasp from the women watching as the fifty one inch plait hit the floor and fell in a heap.
 Meanwhile, Kamala had Shobha on the preparation stool. She removed the flowers from her victim's loose plait. Shobha was in the habit of starting her plait below her shoulders. Kamala wanted a tighter plait to cut. She would simply plait it up again. She pulled the elastic band from the end and started to undo it. She heard the scissors slicing into Jayanti's hair and looked up. Her heart skipped as she had a perfect view of her husband cutting a long and beautiful plait.  She paused to watch. Shobha was pretty composed. This was her third time, and she was used to it. But she could not help feeling sorry for Jayanti whose plait was being cut off in front of her. All the same, the sight of the plait being cut was exciting. She felt Kamala pause in undoing her plait and smiled inwardly. She used to wear a boyish cut as a young girl, and had grown her hair out only during her graduation years. She was no stranger to scissors. And thanks to her in-laws, she had experienced the razor as well. Once Jayanti's plait was cut, Kamala returned to her ward. She quickly undid the plait and started to comb out the hair.
 Vijay took out the comb. In his left hand he had the water sprayer. He sprayed a fine mist on Jayanti's head combing her hair back at the same time.   The wet hair was slicked back and drops of water were now running down her face and cheeks. Putting the sprayer down, he took out the scissors again and bent her head. She heard the snips of the scissors in the air and seconds later felt the cold steel against her nape. Putting one blade against her neck, the barber cut a straight line across. Then, using the comb to push up a section of hair, he cut it short. The cutting continued rhythmically: Two or three down strokes with the comb, then a quick reverse stroke to hold up a section of wet hair and then the scissors cutting them short. Slowly he worked his way to the crown of her head. Shobha was relaxing as Kamala combed her hair out thoroughly. She knew her own hair would be up for the chop as soon as the barber finished with Jayanti. She didn’t mind that. She looked forward to at least six months of freedom from long hair. Long, short or bald made no difference to her. But she definitely liked someone else combing her hair out.
 As the wet hair began to rain down, Jayanti still had her eyes closed. She felt the barber's hands on her head again as he combed the hair straight down from the parting over her cheeks. Kamala was happily multitasking: combing Shobha's hair and watching the carnage on Jayanti's. Vijay moved over to her left side and lifted up a section of hair from her temples. The waiting scissors snipped them away and the first wet locks of hair landed in her lap. One more section went the same way. Then she felt the comb fold her ear down as the last section was cut down to size. She opened her eyes and looked at wet locks of hair in her lap. Looking up a little, she caught sight of the growing mound of wet hair in her lap. She quickly shut her eyes again. The barber meanwhile was snipping away, working towards the top of her head and the hair parting. She felt the cut hair being combed off the top of her head. The snipping stopped. The barber moved over to the right side and then she heard and felt the action start again. She prayed for the barber to finish soon.
 Vijay on the other hand, was enjoyed the scissors slicing through her thick wet hair. He worked quickly and rhythmically. He would have loved to do it even more slowly, but he had nine more women and girls to work his way through.  She was obedient though, bending her head to his will. Soon he had her hair reduced to two inch stubble. He glanced over at Kamala who was now plaiting Shobha's hair. Jayanti sat covered by her own hair. Kamala caught a glimpse of Jayanti's plait lying on the floor and started to feel a bit sorry for her. Her husband was wetting Jayanti's hair once more with a fine mist from the sprayer. Then he picked up the razor. He replaced the blade with the other half and bent her head once more.
 Kamala paused to comb the hair out again before continuing to plait. Shobha's plait was just as thick as Jayanti's and she did not have any qualms from letting her husband cut Jayanti's plait. This one was hers. She kept her eyes on her husband. He was standing behind Jayanti, and he shaved a strip straight down from the crown of her head to her nape. Using this as a starting point he started moving quickly to the right. Jayanti felt the razor scraping over her scalp and inwardly sighed. Her ordeal was coming to an end. The barber shaved away in quick strokes. He folded her ear and shaved carefully around it. Working from where her parting was, he shaved down to the sides and worked his way over to her left. Resuming from the front he continued to run the razor over her scalp, shearing away the remains of over four feet of hair. Soon the barber was shaving away the last of the stubble. He wiped the blade on the cape and dropped the razor into the box. He pushed away the hair from her neck, removed the sheet covering her and shook it out, sending a large mound of wet hair to the floor at her feet.
 "Just in time," thought Kamala as she secured the end of Shobha's plait with an elastic band. As was her habit, she picked up the plait and squeezed it into shape. It looked beautiful and she was giddy with the thought of being the one to cut it. Jayanti opened her eyes and saw the huge mound of hair lying at her feet. Tears came to her eyes but she blinked them back and got up from the stool. Six more years to go! She looked behind her and saw Shobha being led up to the stool. She walked over to Balamma and sat down beside her. She took the towel and wiped her head clean. She felt light headed. She saw the barber pick up her cut plait from the floor and drop it into the basket to join Balamma's bun.  Kamala brought Shobha to the shaving stool and seated her. "Who wants to go next?" asked Balamma. Seeing no volunteers she said, "Vandana, your turn."