Sometimes $3 Is Too Much

As I sat in the salon chair sweating from anxiety, it struck me that perhaps some "cultural experiences" are not really necessary to fully appreciate another country. Like getting one's hair cut, for example.

I had gone for my first Hindi movie with Mousumi, Abishek, Sahas, Murli and Sumithra and we were killing time before the movie began. As we walked along the street, I saw a salon. I hadn't had a haircut since 7 months before and my bangs were beginning to look a bit shabby, so I spontaneously decided to step in and get a trim. I was egged on by the inexpensive cost of a cut ($3!) and the mindset that since Indian women always look primped and beautiful, I couldn't possibly get a bad haircut in this country.

We wound our way up three sets of dingy stairs to the fourth floor of an office building. We pushed open the door and stepped through some curtains to find a young woman sleeping on a bench in a tiled room with harsh white lighting. We woke her and I explained what I wanted: a trim with long, side-sweeping bangs.

She sat me on a chair facing a mirror, covered me with the standard barber's sheet and sprayed my hair with water until it was wet. Then she pulled from her drawer a comb and a pair of tiny, orange-handled scissors, the kind that children use to cut construction paper in school. I gulped and my palms began to sweat, doubts spinning through my mind, but I had already committed myself to the experience.

Maybe it was the communication barrier, since our conversation consisted of "chotta, nahi...or laamba" (short, no...more long). Perhaps she was still sleepy from her nap. Or the constant interruptions as she answered her mobile phone. All I remember is that she somehow managed to grab a large clump of my hair and cut before I could stop her. That innocent, simple action has left me with short, choppy bangs that I struggle with constantly to control in the humidity of the monsoon.

My lesson here? Perhaps its possible to appreciate a new culture without trying everything...even if it only costs $3.