Indian men end affair with beards, moustaches

The extravagant¹ beards and moustaches proudly sported by generations of Indian men are under threat, according to a new book that celebrates the country's finest facial hair.

As India rapidly modernises, clean chins are becoming the rule among young people, said the book's author, Richard McCallum, who spent months on the road documenting the bushiest bristles² he could find before they disappear forever.

With photographer Chris Stowers, McCallum scoured³ markets, festivals and villages to gather specimens⁴ now collected in their book Hair India - A Guide to the Bizarre Beards and Magnificent Moustaches of Hindustan.

"It was an idea that started out as a bit of fun but turned into a labor⁵ of love," said McCallum, 30, a British travel business operator who has lived in Delhi for four years.

"Beards and moustaches tell the story of modern India - how it is becoming a more Westernized, homogenized place, but also how the traditions and the love of display still exist."

"Male grooming⁶ is important to Indians, and facial hair proved a topic that took us to places and into conversations with people we would never have met otherwise."

The book, illustrated⁷ with hundreds of photographs, divides facial hair into categories including "the chin strap⁸", "the soup strainer", "the wing commander" and "the walrus⁹".

Among those pictured are both the world's longest beard, measuring 1.6 meters, and the world's longest moustache, at 11 foot-6 inches.

The record-breaking moustache is a big earner for Ram¹⁰ Singh Chauman, 54, who charges modeling fees and whose whiskers have starred in Bollywood films and even had a cameo in the Bond film Octopussy.

But the stars of the book are perhaps the ordinary stall-owners and rickshaw drivers showing off moustaches and beards that are cut, dyed, waxed and preened¹¹ in an endless variety of shapes and sizes.

"Some people were confused when we first told them why we wanted to take their picture, but they soon became very keen," said Stowers.

McCallum and Stowers' search took them from thecamel fairs in Rajasthan to the Himalayan town of Leh, and from the banana groves¹² of the Western Ghats to military tattoos¹³ in the capital New Delhi.

Along the way, they demonstrated their commitment to the job by discarding their razors, with McCallum growing an unruly black beard and Stowers sprouting¹⁴ a moustache which he tweaked into sharp upwards¹⁵ curls.

Sikhs, for whom "kesh" (uncut hair) is a religious principle, feature heavily in the book, and moustaches remain a professional requirement for the doormen of five-star hotels.

But otherwise the traditional belief that facial hair is a sign of virility¹⁶ appears to be facing the chop.

"Young people don't want an itchy moustache or beard which they think makes them look old," said Lalan Singh, 40, a restaurant doorman in Delhi's and the owner of a handlebar moustache.

Questions:

1. Why does Richard McCallum say beards and moustaches tell the story of modern India?

2. Name two of the categories of beards and moustaches in the book.

3. What was the traditional belief of facial hair?

Answers:

1. They show how India has modernized¹⁷ and Westernized, but also how others still cling onto their traditions.

2. “The chin strap”, “the soup strainer”, “the wing commander”, and “the walrus”.

3. That is was a sign of virility.