Well, it was just one of those phases in life when just too many things happened at the same time.
First a quiet Diwali at home (woke up at 3 p.m.) and then Boom! A party at a friend’s place, then a coupla weddings and allied ceremonies, two friends visiting from out of town, another coming back after a long break, a coupla movies – Naach and Aitraaz – that had to be reviewed, then a whole bunch of meetings – social and official, interviews — namely, one where I met Abhishek Bachchan and another, where I was interviewed by Ananda Vikatan.
Add to this, drama in a police station. I created quite a scene last evening after I caught a cop taking a 100 buck-bribe when I approached him to complain about him towing my bike away from a Parking Zone!
Well, either nothing happens or everything happens at the same time that suddenly you don’t have time for the smallest of things — like blogging or filling air in the tyres of the bike or giving it for service or paying the telephone bill or just replying to emails or a haircut!
Is the world getting busier by the day?
Like, today I tried going for a haircut… I figured I had an hour free this afternoon, I had the money and I was in a mood to experiment.
Mission: Hair-cut.
What’s the hype about?
To get a hair-cut at Bounce…
Bounce, where a haircut costs Rs.250 plus tax, colouring costs Rs.400 plus tax. So after a lot of thinking, I decided I was going to do it finally.
Find out what all the hype about a luxury salon is all about. Can a hairstylist really transform you into one of those characters that walked straight out of Dil Chahta Hai? For someone who looks like a slimmer, thinner version of Manish Malhotra, I decided it was time to be get a dose of the ‘cool’ and finally get done with the thalaikku melai velai (the job over my head!)
So, I tell my boss, set off during lunch. I go to the ATM, withdraw money, ride into Ispahani Centre, feel like a stud…
Finally, I was gonna get a cool, funky haircut at the high profile Bounce place!
I could feel it.
Positive energy.
The excitement of a schoolboy.
A great song playing in the head (Tom Petty, Free Fallin’) .
I was feeling good. In fact, great.
As the song in the head continues, I stroll into what looked like a salon straight out of the movie ‘Everybody Says I’m Fine.’
Awrite, I see a doll of a receptionist with coloured hair and all, looking at me as I walk over to say in the most polished tone I can come up with:
“I would like to have a haircut.”
“Do you have an appointment, Sir?” she asks. The song in the head stops.
Ah! Appointment? “No.”
“One moment, Sir,” she says as she pretends to browse through an already full time-table.
“I’m afraid, we don’t have an appointment now, sir.”
“Oh, okay. When can I have an appointment?”
“3.30”
3.30 was when I had something else to do, like, join my friends and face the journo who was coming from Ananda Vikatan to interview us on “Whether a boy and a girl could be just friends.”
So, I try to sound important and tell her, “Well, I got something else lined up at 3.30. What other time can you give me?”
Once again, she pretends to go over her already-filled columns and says: “Well, this is the only slot we have today, Sir”
Oh! But you know, you just can’t walk out of a place you walked so confidently into, that soon right? So, I thought I’ll just check out their rates. I could see that bright yellow printed folder on her desk.
So I say: “Can I have a look at the menu?” (sic!)
“You mean the tariff, sir,” she said, as I wished I was dead right there, right then.
“Well, yeah, tariff sorry,” I said, quite embarassed at the faux paus, and stared at the rates mentioned against complete jargon I could not understand.
“Well, I want to get my hair cut and coloured. So which section do I look into.”
And she explains it to me. It all sounded cool. For a bit I think of postponing by meeting with friends by 15 minutes, so I say: “So, well, I think I’ll take the 3.30 appointment.”
“But that’s only for the hair-cut Sir. We don’t have a slot for hair colouring.” I just take their business card and ask: “Can I call in the morning to fix an appointment for tomorrow?”
She finally seemed to be happy that I was getting the hang of things there.
Three hours at the interview later, I walk into office, freshen up in the loo, put a little water on my hair and just let it fall all over my forehead with the wet look. I meet a friend in the corridor and say: “Hi”
“Well, you’re looking different,” she says.
“So, is it good?”
“Yeah, it’s nice… He’s gelled it too. Bounce is a good place. Dil Chahta Hai was all about the hair-gel!”
“How much did you pay for it?”
“450 bucks.”
“Wow. Cool. It’s nice.”
Hmmm! Well, time to quit my job now and start something like Bounce.
Or maybe just buy hair-gel!
MADRAS INK. 