Theme: Luck or Confidence? Will you leave your fate in the hands of destiny or will you step up and say yes to a well- groomed face to be at your best everyday?
There was a time when flaunting moustaches and beards was considered manly and machismo. The unshaven look was thought to be hot and irresistible by the ladies and every other boy or man wanted to look like a stud, a masculine hunk by sporting a 4 or 5 days old stubble. In India, probably it was Abhishek Bachchan who made the fad of keeping a stubble and a moustache famous. Even I thought he looked his best whenever he was in that sort of an avatar. A couple of years back, I too used wished to emulate George Clooney by keeping that grungy unshaven look, I liked the casual nonchalance it portrayed. But that was then. Things have changed now. Be it in personal relationships or in the professional filed, a clean-shaven look is what one needs to don for it makes him look honest and dependable.
A funny incident comes to my mind right now, how it was almost about to become a deja vu moment for me, yet another kid would have snubbed me for my unshaven look! But better sense had prevailed on me then and I didn't repeat my earlier mistake. It's about my little niece Nupur whom I was going to meet only for the second time in my life, when they were coming over to India after some six years or so. My sister Liza and her husband Deepak resided in the United States and so they would only come to India every two years or so. But as circumstances made it, I hadn't been able to meet them over the last six years; the last time when they were in India, I was in Australia on an onsite project and they hadn't come to India after that. More than anyone else, I wanted to meet my cute little niece. Though we had seen each other during the several video chats that I used to have with my sister and Deepak, but I so wanted to meet her in person. The first time that I had met Nupur, she was still only a year old baby and now she was a bubbly seven years old girl, who just wouldn't stop talking after she had started, she had so much to say! I have always been very fond of kids and I so loved it when Nupur would cutely address meas "mamu" in her typical childish voice.
Liza, Deepak and Nupur were to land in Kolkata from the US and I was supposed to receive them at the airport after I would have arrived at Kolkata from Delhi. And from there, we were to leave for our home city Bhubaneswar the next day after spending the night at a hotel in Kolkata. It was the winter time, probably December, and as is often the case in Delhi during winters, dense fog had caused several flights to be delayed or cancelled that day. My flight to Kolkata too had been delayed by a few hours. And when I finally managed to get onto my flight and started from Delhi, I only had about two and a half hours in hand to reach Kolkata before their flight from US would have landed. Thankfully though, I just about made it in the nick of time, their flight though had already arrived in Kolkata but they hadn't come out yet. I rushed from the domestic terminal to the International one to receive them. They were still to come out. Just then I remembered that I hadn't shaved since the last few days, so I had a four or five days old stubble on my face. It was only a few months earlier when I had been tagged as "Daadhiwaale uncle" by Tisha, my friend's daughter. I didn't want the same fate to be repeated, I didn't want to be snubbed by Nupur too because of my unshaven face. Kids these days are so particular about one's look, I tell you. Liza and her family were still to come out, so I had about two to three minutes to get myself readied. I looked around for the men's washroom and rushed towards it as quickly as I could. Luckily I had brought my shaving kit with me, so then and there I quickly shaved off every single strand of facial hair. I was now perfectly ready for the meeting. I felt confident that Nupur wouldn't rebuff me like Tisha had.
Just as I came out of the washroom and was going back to the waiting hall, I saw Liza, Deepak and Nupur walk in. Sweet greetings and embraces followed, I was meeting them after a good six years but I was most glad to hug my little niece Nupur. And she too seemed equally happy to see me. But after hugging me, what she told next left everyone in splits, "mamu, you look so handsome and so young. You don't look like my mamu, rather you look more like my elder brother". I could only smile to myself, thanking myself more than my luck, that I managed to somehow save the day for myself by having a shave just in time!
This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette. And I would like to tag you, M Das, for the #WillYouShave challenge. I hope you will take up the challenge and write for this activity.
