The Serpentine Locks

I was looking at my childhood photographs and reminds me the effort my mother spent on getting me ready to school. The 3 or 4 year old girl with boy cut with a little "juttu" and flower decorated. I was a very naughty brat and would make my mother run around to get me ready. She thought the best way to reduce her time is, getting me a boy cut just the way my neighbouring kids had!


My cousins who were much elder to me had long hair and would make hairstyles on each other to show off. In South India, at least, every little girl or a boy would have a photo posing for the "moggina jaDe"[made of jasmine] I would cry to my mother that I need a photo of Moggina jaDe with my real long hair. She decided not to cut it any longer.

Image downloaded from internet from the movie: Moggina jaDe in Kannada

I started going to the school with my waist length hair, thick and black and made me proud. The school had the below rule for long haired girls. If not adhered, thou shall be fined.
Anything below the shoulder was termed "long":

Steps for braiding:
1. Hair should be partitioned into two equal halves.
2. Each partitioned has 3 legs (of hair)
3. The hair is braided till the end and then ribbons are attached
4. The braided hair is then folded and the ribbons are tied up and knotted.

The braiding was so time consuming that I would reach late to school sometimes and be punished. :(
But my mother patiently did it everyday and I started to learn from it. Soon, it wasn't as boring as I thought and started experimenting new hairstyles.

Until school, my hair was oiled everyday. Most of them at school would ask, "which hair oil or shampoo do you use?" and I would blush and tell my mom after reaching home.
This is how I looked while I was in primary school with the red ribbons. :) This is the only photograph that has been preserved with the red ribbons. :D

My school pic with the long braids and red ribbon :D

As I started attending college, I no longer had two braids but only one. My waist length hair had now reached my knees. I could not find a swimming cap matching my hair length. My swimming instructor would admire my long hair. :)

Applying oil at college grown up was out of fashion. It was only during the weekend or else hair would look messy on weekday. Soon, the hair ends started to split and looked ugly when the ends were not braided. I could see trimming my hair as the only option. The beautician would reluctantly cut my hair and was disheartened,"why do you want to cut your beautiful hair just for the split ends?" and she would cut less than an inch. But the problem did not solve.

My long braided hair (present)

It so happened just the way Rapunzel (a famous fairy tale studied at school) had to cut her long hair reluctant for no good!

Rapunzel: Fairy Tale

Dove Split End Rescue Shampoo and Conditioner