Grey’s autonomy

O

ne reason why I hate going to a salon is because hairdressers go on and on about why I don’t colour my hair. “But don’t you want to hide the greys, madam?” one said, the last time I went to a salon and appeared disinterested in their offers of setting me back by at least a decade. “Next time,” I countered, in what I believed was a promising tone. “For sure.” I never went back. I don’t have too many grey hairs ( at least when I last checked), but the beady- eyed ‘ hair experts’ had detected a few strands and tried their hand. It’s simple: if I want to colour my hair to hide the greys, I’ll tell them to colour me up. The fact that I don’t obviously means I don’t really care. But I don’t know what my stance will be if I were to grey entirely; maybe I will fall into the ‘ illusion of youth’ hair knot. Who’s to know? Most of my friends are hyper about the greys not showing. A few are content with their grey areas. This week, we decided to ask around and find out about more grey pride. Turned out to be quite an experiment. Have fun splitting hairs.

August 7 is Friendship Day ( there’s also a Best Friend’s Day reportedly — but let’s keep that for another time), and our cover feature celebrates the spirit of bonhomie with heartwarming and quirky tales. That’s what friends are for, after all! Jacqueline Novak is an American stand- up comedian; she’s also the author of a book called How to Weep in Public. Confused? Well, Novak feels it’s quite alright to have a laugh about being depressed instead of treating the matter with hushed verbosity. And it’s okay to roll out of bed — even if it’s right onto the floor: at least, you don’t hit rock bottom. A chat. In Bollywood, find out why South Indian superstar Rajinikanth — he, who used to be a bus conductor before fame and fortune smiled on him — is still the big boss when it comes to fanfare.

All this and much more. Enjoy reading wknd. and have a great weekend.

“But don’t you want to hide th e greys, madam?” th e hairdress er asked