A haircut and a story

'Mein harami bachoo ka bal katnay mein expert hu' - I am an expert in cutting the hair of naughty little bastards- Vinu told me. "My dad used to tell me to round and chop of the hair of any and every kid in the village. Some were really harimi and I literally had to hold them down and cut their hair with one hand. They weren't the hard ones though  the little babies were. The ones whose head you have to shave at six months. Blue veins show below the scalp. One wrong swipe and....."

This sounded amusing and really out of place in the salon of a five star  hotel. It had taken a few visits before Vinu  had talked to me and quite a few more before he had enough to say that his limited English - how would you like me to cut your hair - ran out and he rambled in Hindi. And ramble he did with all the stories he had to tell.

Growing up in a little town near in Delhi he is the youngest of five - that means if you do something wrong you get six slaps he says. He has been cutting hair since he can remember, practicing on all the village kids from what I can tell.

Paying a 15000 training fee he trained officially and got a hair cutting certificate and through times and tribulations became a senior haircutter at a reputed five star hotel's salon.

'Cutting women hair is hard, harder then men. Women are fussy and have very short temper' Vinu then proceeded to tell me about the 'angry' women - the spoilt madams who just liked to shout, and the muslim ladies in burkhas that he promised not to look at the face of while cutting their hair.
Then about about the woman's whose hair he fried by leaving chemicals on it too long. Seems he went for lunch then on the way back started flirting with the girls who work at the spa.  "I was young and stupid " he justified.

Well, he was and from what I hear she went beserk and broke the reception's computer. His manager asked him to leave the building - there are scissors around and we are not sure what she will do was his reasoning. Vinu left but he said she returned- angry but placated slowly as he worked and gave her a good short hair cut.

"She had to return" Vinu said.  Seems her  little son was a hair cutter's nightmare and as Vinu put it - even the little bastards need a hair cut.

Even KFC can do some things right

I walked into KFC at Forum Value Mall today (don’t judge me – this post is not about me J). I knew exactly what I wanted so I walked over to an open counter and while squinting at the crazy offerings on the display board ordered. A hand politely waved at me. The person taking my order smiled at me, and pointed to his badge, then motioned me to point at the big hard board menu in front of him. He moved his hand over his ears and mouth indicating he was deaf and mute.

I must admit I was slightly taken aback – this is very unusual in India - but in all politeness I kept my face straight and found what I wanted in the card in front of me. While I paid and waited I realized that all the people in five order stations wore the same badge. The order was taken and filled in no time at all.

As I sat down to eat I realized I had forgotten to ask for water. Back at the order station I could not find any water on the menu card in front of me. I was wondering whether I should point to the soda fountain or try a drink gesture. Reading the confusion on my face the guy flipped the menu over and pointed to the drink selections. He obviously was used to confused people like me.

KFC does a lot of things wrong but this is one thing I must say they are doing very right. Highly impressed and delighted by their initiative.

I like brown and no I don't want to be bleached.



The whitening creams make you white - instantly.
Like chalk on your face white. Looks more white in person.

 Once in a park in Sammamish a little boy walked up to me and asked me who I was. Ankit was in the park so I pointed to him and said “His mom.” The little boy was not convinced. “You can’t be. He is white and you are black” he said. Black. Hmm. I was brown, not black, but to give due credit to him - in that park I was the blackest person.

 Bleaching is the Indian equivalent of tanning in the US. It is rather popular in India but bleach? Me? I could have digested this offer in the park in Sammamish where I stood black in the very white park. In the parlor where I was the white person, I sat startled and amused.

No, I did not get my face bleached (maybe near Halloween if Michael Jackson is still hep this year) but between the bleach offer, and constant skin lightening commercials on TV and that little boy's comment in the park I have been feeling rather dark brown these days. The good part is I love dark brown. I love all shades of brown. Black and White too.




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It is interesting how skin color preference differs between India and the US. I don't think there is anything wrong as long there is no prejeduce associated with it. I have not seen a single tanning bed or "sun tan" parlor in India. While in the US I did not see one commercial for a skin lightening cream. The grass is always a shade better on the other side.

Moving from a US to an Indian School

Ankit studied in schools in Seattle till he was 11, we moved to India just as he started sixth grade and were tasked of looking at schools in Bangalore. We looked at what one would call a typical Indian school - Bishop Cottons, National Public School - with the Indian CBSE and ICSE syllabus. We looked alternative schools like the Valley School and International Schools like Indus, Canadian and TISB.

Looking at these schools made me realize how much India has changed from when we studied here and was amazed at the variety and variance in education options. These options come at a cost for sure (some schools in India rival ones in US at $25,000 a year). Then watching Ankit adapt was also very interesting.

For years in Seattle Ankit was used to getting A's and there were many kids who got A's. He learnt and excelled but was never pushed to be the best. There was no best. There was an A and an A+. Then he came to India. During his first test he was not sure what the numbers were next to questions (surprising I know as most Indians know this by the virtue of being born in India). Then he got his results. There was an A but there was also a mark there - 85/100. Then there was Rahul and other kids asking him not what grade he got but what his marks were. The marks were added and he knew exactly where he ranked in class. This has worked with Ankit - he is competitive and loves to study. He is no longer satisfied with an A or an A+. He wants to know where he lost half a mark.

Ankit explained the difference between the two systems beautifully - In the US they teach you a few facts but teach you how to make the connection between them, in India they teach you a lot of facts and you learn how to make the connection between them.

He has been lucky in a way; he learnt to learn and is now learning to be competitive, which in this global economy might not be a bad thing. While Ankit is thriving in a competitive environment it might suffocate the creativity of another child.

Based on this I have to say that while you cannot totally generalize education styles, social requirements and years of repetition have ingrained some principles into each system.
Generically the Indian system
• prepares children to read, absorb and memorize way more material than you'd think possible – preparation for college entrance exams can begin in 8th grade and most third graders can tell you what 13 x 13 is instantly.
• is competitive. Very competitive.
• has large class sizes with 'stricter' teachers – there are smaller classes in many schools but in general you can expect 30 plus children in a class. The teachers in India are shown more respect and are more like to threaten you with extra work and minus points in tests for misbehavior.
• places great value on academic excellence – prizes for coming first, ‘topping’ a test, getting into IIT are all praised and announced at multiple school events.

Generically the US system
• is about learning and learning to learn – children learnt and knew what multiplication meant and how it worked however most fifth graders needed some time or a calculator to tell you what 15 x 26 is.
• prepares the children to ask more questions and explore – Ankit learnt about the life cycle of a butterfly by raising them in their class. They learnt Civics by forming a society and running for elections in fifth grade,
• encourages them to think outside the box – ideas were encouraged more than stressing on just the end result, egg drop competitions (dropping eggs in homemade contraptions from 100ft) were bigger events than general knowledge quizzes in school.
• has smaller classes with more approachable teachers.
• does not stress as much on academic competition. Academic competitiveness does not show up till high school and even then excelling academically in not as important as it is in India. Being the school's best basketball player is as good (if not better) than getting all A+'s

The above mentioned points are all generalizations – there is a more competitive streak in India and a more nurturing streak in the US – but the wonderful thing I discovered is that there are many options now in India. What style brings the best out in your child- it depends on the school, it depends on the teachers, and it depends on your child. You have to know your child and find what works best for them.


For a breakdown of schools in Bangalore please see http://kindazesty.blogspot.com/2011/03/international-cbseicse-alternative-home.html