Kiran Bedi was not the type to let her hair get in the way of anything, and certainly not tennis. The last thing on her mind was to start a trend.
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A Boy-Cut for Girls
It was past midnight,
the train stopped at a deserted station.
I got down,
flung my backpack over my shoulder
and looked around.
There was no one around except
a few coolies asleep on their trolleys.
A street dog lying beside them
got up and started barking at me.
One of the coolies lifted his head,
mumbled something to the dog,
looked at me and said,
“Oh, Sirji, this place is not safe at night,
go into a retiring room.”
I took a deep breath
and thought to myself,
only if he knew I was a girl...
Right from my school days,
I always wore slacks and a loose shirt.
I had to often travel alone
all over the country
to play tennis matches
and this outfit protected me.
and this outfit protected me.
I also sported a short haircut
known as the ‘boy-cut’ in those days.
This look confused people
and kept them guessing
if I was a boy or a girl.
Would you like to know
how I got my short haircut?
In those days all my girl friends
prided themselves on their long hair,
but maintaining my hair was too much work for me.
No matter how tightly
I pinned up my plaits,
I pinned up my plaits,
sooner or later
they would dangle in front of my face.
One hot afternoon during a match,
my long plaits kept coming in my way,
preventing me from concentrating on my game.
I just could not take it any longer.
I ran over to my parents
who were watching the game
and asked them if I could get my hair cut.
They smiled and permitted me to do so.
I dropped my racket and ran
across the street to the hairdresser’s shop.
The hairdresser was well known,
but he happened to be a men’s barber.
He asked me what I wanted.
I simply replied, “A haircut.”
He then did something
that would send any other girl screaming.
He held my plaits
and clipped them right off.
He proudly dangled them
in front of my face.
They were wet and knotted
I can never forget the sight!
He then gave me a hairstyle
which I never knew would become
a trendsetter, a boy-cut for girls.
I felt much more comfortable
and could finally focus completely on my game.
I realised later
I realised later
that a simple decision to cut my hair
taught me to prioritise
the different aspects of my life early on.
It was more important for me
to play a good game than to look good.
Story: Kiran Bedi
Story Adaptation: Ananya Parthibhan
Illustrations: M Kathiravan
Music: Acoustrics (Students of AR Rahaman)
Translation: Madhu B Joshi
Narration: Kiran Bedi
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