Navigating through the journey of Women's hair

If I tell you I was born with fantastic hair, I would be lying. Because I wasn't.

Perhaps the only time you would catch me ogling salaciously at a woman is for the gorgeous, shiny, sleek and blessed head of hair she carries. And I confess, am attracted to a fantastic head of hair.

And it is no joke, that 97% women think her hair could look much better. 

No woman might be completely happy with her hair. Fact.

Every woman likes the other woman's hair. Fact again. (Afterall, the grass is always greener on the other side)

Don't you agree ladies?

I too am from this majority. Though I am not a beauty and fashion blogger, and neither are those two my forte, I wanted to throw some light on the relation of an Indian woman and her hair.
Having learned genetics, I know the colour, texture, length, growth of one's hair is almost predetermined. And speaking of genes, the family I belong to, is not blessed with a good head of hair.

Moreover, as women, just as we navigate through the various phases of our life - adolescence, working life, marriage, childbirth, menopause- in which our hair too goes rigorous cycle of imbalanced hormones, stress, and lack of adequate nutrition, lack of sleep and more that affects our hair.

Personally, if you ask me when did my hair look the best ever in my life? I would say Pregnancy.

Yep. No kidding.

Getting pampered silly with rest, proper eating habits, adequate sleep, those multi-vitamins pumped into my system, my hair fall took a back seat, sipped on some folic acid and vitamin E to bestow me with thick, luscious tresses.

And then came childbirth.

Which brought back the horror and more. When my baby turned 6 months old, there was more hair on the bathroom floor than on my head! Eeeeks.

With every fallen hair, my heart sank.

Right now, close to my thirties, I can imagine how my hair will be a few years down the line. I cannot defy genetics and think that it will all of a sudden become thick and lustrous. I cannot think it will be akin to one of those lasses in a hair oil/ hair shampoo/ hair conditioner video, flicking my lovely long hair in people’s faces.

Reality – it will be normal for sure. Greying around the edges of my scalp.

I find the salt and pepper effect that just greying hair gives to someone is quite interesting. It appears to give them an air of wisdom.

Unlike men, women are a bit lucky in this department. They cannot blame genetics for the complete loss of hair! Bald women are rare – or so I thought.

Once on visiting the holy temple of Tirupati, my perception changed. Here, after offering prayers to Lord Venkateshwara at Tirumalai hill, there is a popular ritual of offering one’s hair to the Lord. Not a lock of hair, but the complete head of hair.

And outside this mass barbarization offering, you can see not only men, but throngs of women who have offered their hair to the Lord.

And where does all this hair go to? Sold off in an auction to make wigs, hair extensions abroad.

Traditionally, in India, most women have always maintained long hair, mostly with limited intervention through chemicals of shampoos and conditioners. I was told by an elderly lady, that in their day and age, women keeping their hair open was frowned upon as it symbolised a woman who is either a mourning mourning or one who is mentally ill.

However, this trend is slowly changing. More and more people are slowly accepting short hair with coloured highlights. Even in workplaces, an open culture is receptive to hair styles of women. And with more acceptance, the market is teeming with newer and finer treatments, products and experiences to style one's hair.

And I feel this is just the beginning. More is about to be explored.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

#100StoriesofOptimism - The Impact of Organic Farming

In my earlier post I shared Mark D’Souza’s inspirationalstory of being compassionate towards a small group of elders who had no support. His initiative of helping these elders by serving them fresh, home-made food daily, on his own touched a chord with many. That is the impact of positivity and optimism – making a difference.

And so as promised, my initiative – 100 Stories of Optimism – has a second story. It is from lesser known Maharashtra, populated by farmers and their families.

Now in India, we know how farmers are in turmoil due to the unsuccessful yield to their crop. 

Thousands of farmers are left with no choice but to either sell their land or hunt for jobs. And some farmers, who have no other means of living, burdened by the notwithstanding pressure of mounting loans and lendings, take the extreme step of suicide.

Yet, there is hope.

Some farmers have taken the positive leap of faith in farming by educating themselves and taking a chance in trial and error with certain methods of farming.

A farmer who took the positive leap of faith in farming methods is Rajendra Mane.

This impactful story is about Rajendra Mane from Pandharpur in Solapur, who adopted organic methods of farming to boost the production of pomegranate and grapes. Like every other farmer, Rajendra Mane was using pesticides and chemical based fertilizers to treat his crops. But after year or two of unsuccessful yield, made worse by the unpredictable weather conditions, Rajendra Mane sought advice on organic farming methods to have a successful yield of pomegranate fruit.

In the above video, Rajendra Mane talks about how invested a mere INR 10,000 in raw materials and is now reaping upwards of approximately INR 10 Lakh worth Pomegranate fruit yield per acre. And instead of chemical based pesticides and fungicides, Rajendra Mane employs the usage of organic pesticides – cow urine, cow dung, slurry, neem oil and more such environment and crop friendly substances.

Not only did this move keep Rajendra Mane’s Pomegranate crops pest free and disease free, but also reduce his costs of purchasing comparatively expensive pesticides and herbicides.

And the stats are staggering. Thanks to some planning and space management, he is able to plant 1500 plants instead of 300 plants in an acre of cultivable land.

And he recommends this form of farming and the usage of organic substances as fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. Not only are they relatively easy to source, but are cheap and go easy on the farmer’s pocket.

Some lessons we can pick up too:

If possible, we can implement organic farming in our neighbourhood. Say a 5 ft by 5 ft patch of land is arable, receives adequate sunlight and has access to water, one can use it to plant a small vegetable patch.

Even using potted plants in your verandah or balcony. But do use organic means of farming, that is environment friendly.

Do share your comments on this story in the comments section below. I’ll be back with another #100StoriesofOptimism, till then always be on the look out for hope, it’s right around the corner!

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.