Making a case for growing a moustache
Amoustache goes both right of centre and left of centre. Thus, as a rule sporting a moustache or not sporting one is not likely to earn you sobriquets like liberal, leftist or rightist. Nor does it have anything to do with being on the right or the wrong side of the capitalist divide. The haves (those who have a moustache) and the have-nots (the ones without it) don’t become so by virtue of any special privilege of class. However, in many communities moustaches are groomed as an adjunct to manhood.
Thinking of the various uses of the moustache, the iconic picture of freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad twirling his imposing stache comes to mind. In this image twirling the thick moustache is a sign of rebelliousness and defiance. It’s a valiant assertion of the dignity of a race experiencing subjection and fighting against foreign rule. Even though the association of a moustache with bravery is old; most of the times, clean shaven men nurture a moustache purely for cosmetic reasons.
It is strange that once you grow a moustache, it becomes a reference point in no time gaining more prominence than every other aspect of the personality. Having grown a moustache a few weeks ago, I’ve been addressed by unfamiliar names such as Singham. A moustache becomes so inseparable to some personalities that you will find it harder to think of actor Anil Kapoor or wrestler Hulk Hogan without a moustache than of sheep without fleece. While Kapoor’s bushy chevron leaves the audience disarmed, Hulk arms himself with a bristly horseshoe to accentuate his musculature. Author Mark Twain and scientist Albert Einstein would not have looked true blue philosophers without their bushy walrus moustaches coupled with their shaggy hair.
In almost every society, begetting a moustache in adolescence is given the same importance as cutting teeth in childhood. The downy little fuzz sprouting on the upper lip virtually makes a young lad the father of man, signalling the end of childhood abandon and the onset of maturity.
Even though on the face of it, men with moustaches may comprise a brotherhood, the internal dynamics of the smaller leagues are known only to the initiated. The flavour and character of a given moustache may be as different from the other as that of toothpaste from shaving cream.
The comic appeal of the tabby toothbrush made popular by Charlie Chaplin was restored with an equally hilarious effect by Asrani, portraying the angrejon ke time ka jailor in the movie Sholay.
A majority of people in more regular professions and callings settle for non-cursive styles such as the lampshade, magisterial and chevron which are dapper and do not venture beyond the corners of the mouth. Many a television anchor, besides lawyers, bureaucrats and business executives has made use of these styles to instill confidence and win trust. People with a more debonair life or those in outdoorsy professions go for calligraphic varieties such as the handle bar with ends waxing eloquent way beyond the edges of the mouth.
It is common for a flamboyant drummer or a rock star to enhance his appeal with a bandit moustache with sideburns. A doughty colonel would any day prefer a thick and bushy imperial variety curled at the ends to a more conservative model. Thinking of soldiers, one is easily reminded of the quintessential and intrepid soldier Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw with his royal finely sculpted moustache. One is also reminded of the soldiers who while performing the shrill drill at Wagah border showcase both their ferocity and their hefty whiskers.
It is a trend among youngsters to flaunt their rakish side by sporting swashbuckling buccaneer moustaches. Nowhere have I heard a more ingenious reason for not growing a moustache as in the movie Sharaabi in which Amitabh Bachchan gives an oblique but ingenious justification for being clean shaven. Every now and then, he looks at the character Nathu Lal with his oversized moustache elaborately twiddled and says, “Muchen hon to Nathu Lal jaisi hon warna na hon.”
IN EVERY SOCIETY, BEGETTING A MOUSTACHE IN ADOLESCENCE IS AS IMPORTANT AS CUTTING TEETH IN CHILDHOOD