VIOLET hair- #BarAThon

Posted in Aks Corner, BAR-a-THON, Gender Equality, Micro Tales, Parenting, Self Love, Sexism, Short Stories

Ray looked with awe at the woman who emerged from the saloon. She had colored her hair with streaks of violet and it looked spectacular. He imagined himself in violet hair and smiled. He always wanted to colour his hair and not the usual shades of brown and burgundy that guys do but he wanted to try something new. But the fear of being ridiculed, of being ostracized by people made him hold back his wishes.

He distinctly remembered as a child when he once draped his mom’s saree and applied lipstick, a tight slap on his cheek and the stinging pain that followed. What hurt him most was his father’s words which pierced his heart like a dagger. “Are you not man enough, what’s this behaving like a eunuch, shameless fellow?”

The day when he was contently playing with his sister’s kitchen set and was reprimanded by his mom- why don’t you play with your bat, ball and cars? Why are you playing these girlie games?”

Today, as a 21 year old he had the science admission form in one hand and the home science right beneath it. The former- his family’s wish, the latter his dream.  Throughout his life, he had suppressed his wishes, lived in a sham because his masculinity was made to be all about so called “manly” things. He wouldn’t hide anymore, he knew what he would do with his life, he would take charge, to hell with the stereotypes. He would live his life on his terms in a gender agnostic way.

To start with- he walked into the saloon confidently and with a smile, asked the lady at the desk “Hi I am looking to colour my hair violet”

(This post has been written for the second edition of  BAR-A-THON, the fortnight-long blogging marathon for bloggers everywhere!  My theme is “7 colours of the rainbow ROYGBIV”. I present a Flash Fiction in 300 words  based on one colour  for each day of the challenge and blend it with something that personifies that colour)

barathon

 

Published by Akshata Ram

Chartered Accountant, Story Teller, Dreamer, Voracious Reader, Blogger, Mommy to a little munchkin, Shopaholic, Day Dreamer.Passionate about my career in the corporate world and aspire to break the glass ceiling, at the same time nurture my passion for writing. My niche area is short stories, I also write on parenting, sexism, life's experiences, micro blogs and flash fiction. I have won the best Parenting blog post at mycity4kids.com the largest parenting website in India, 4 times and several of my posts have been published in the #MostPopular category on this site garnering millions of views. I also write on Bonobology, Rivo Kids, Women's Web and Youth Ki Awaaz. My blog has been chosen as the Top Indian Blogs for the years 2018-2019,2020 by TopIndianBlogs website and found a place in the prestigious Top 22 Indian Literary Blogs in 2020 @TopIndianBlogs.

16 thoughts on “VIOLET hair- #BarAThon”

  5. Akshata! This story brings human expression alive with a humanely sensitive touch. I love how you broach topics in such a gentle manner and at the same time a power statement on the ways of society that fetters human growth.

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