Ever wondered how you could have avoided doing something? Not given in to temptation? Not ventured to do the wrong thing?

While sitting with my cousin sister and her little kid, memories of a similar visit were rekindled. She had dragged me along for a session of beauty treatments, because she was to officiate as the sister in law for a marriage in the family.

I was a quite surprised to find a good number of teenagers waiting for their turn. Back in our times, you weren't supposed to sport trendy hairstyles and nail enamels on your fingers, fearing that squeeze on the nail from the prefect or to be very embarrassingly pulled up on the stage and be announced as one with very less regard for school rules.

Are schools very lenient these days or they just don't care anymore. For the 2 hours that I was at the salon, I saw a steady stream of teenagers running up to the main lady and asking for some treatment which was supposed to be some technique to look good.

The only time time I went and asked for something, was when, I wanted to cut my long hair, I was finding it difficult to manage without my mom and also as a precautionary measure lest I look like a zombie after my arduous journey on the U spl.

So off I went to the hair dresser and asked her to cut it short but of manageable length. The next thing she did was to put a bib kind of thing around my neck and spray some water and khachak khachakk... But all the while she was doing this, she kept me engaged in a conversation, and was pulling at my hair.

After while she said khatam beta, ho gaya...., relieved I shook my hair to get rid of of the cut hair if any that remained clinging to my uncut mane. And slowly I have a feeling that something was wrong, yes it was, she had cut my hair really short and there it was rubbing against my ears.

I felt like i was looking at someone else because, I couldn't do such a thing if I were back home. My grand mom would have blasted me for such an act. My cousins... they all had such great thick manes. In a flash, faces of all those people who would disapprove of such an ghastly act came rushing into my mind. I turned to look at the floor and there it lay in a nice bundle,she had cut off more than what i had asked her for.

I had told the hair dresser of the exact length that I need her to chop off. I gave her a rude look gave her the money, and came back home sobbing. My bro was so shocked that he called up home and told my mom that i was looking weird and got a hair cut which was a little too short.

I decided not to do such a thing ever again, unless it is extremely necessary. So this time as my cousin sister sat with the Mallu hair dresser, she asked if I wanted to cut or colour my hair, I said "no" even before she could finish the question. Once bitten twice shy.

I still vividly remember the look on my grandmothers face when she saw me at the station, disapprovingly she said don't even dream of such a thing in the future. I had to promise her that I wont cut it too short.

So what is it with these kids? Manicure, pedicure, something being rubbed on to their faces and being steamed and then being shown under a light. How do you turn up at school? Like mini starlets?

Iam dazed.