NaBloPoMo 2018: Day 25: A Hairy Lie!

A young girl was brought to her mother’s native village for a prospective groom’s family to “see”. After a brief interaction, the girl’s family returned home to wait for the verdict.

A few days later, the girl’s parents got a cryptic message from their relative in the village. She told them, “If the boy’s relatives ask if your daughter has got some worm infestation in the hair, please say yes, and reassure them that it has already started getting cured.” Before the parents could understand what the issue was, this relative continued, “And yes, tell your daughter to grow her hair out fully, and not cut it ever again.”

Till today, we have great fun telling my fourth sister that if not for this elderly relative’s lie, she may not have been married into this particular family. That old woman belonged to the category of people who believe in the Kannada proverb “Saavira sullu heli ondu madhuve maadu” which implies that it’s okay to tell even a thousand lies to fix one wedding.

So, what was the lie told?

We were living in Goa, and this sister of mine, influenced by her college friends, had got herself a front flick cut. 

Sometime later, someone suggested this prospective groom from a conservative family in a small village called Hulikal in Karnataka.

After the girl-seeing, they were okay to go ahead, but they wondered about what looked like a haircut. Their concern – would a modern girl (one who was ‘forward’ enough to cut her hair) fit and adjust into their family?

Our elderly relative who knew this family well, understood the suspicion behind the innocent-seeming query about the girl’s hair. She did the best thing she could – she lied and said the hair was looking like that because the girl had some worms in her hair. Because having worms was a temporary phenomenon, not in one’s control, and seemingly harmless as compared to the loaded possibilities that a girl with a haircut implied!! 😂😂

Time has proved how adaptable the girl with the haircut has been, playing a vital role in steering that family towards greater stability. Today, she heads the quality assurance department of a global pharma company and is recognized as a dynamic leader, with several achievements to her credit. To give them their due, the family that was worried about her haircut has also been very supportive of her.

All said and done, I guess we must thank that elderly relative for the lie she told!