2 cents: Tales of Heads

The Tirumala Venkateswara Temple at Tirupati, India is the richest and the most visited temple in the world. Devotees from far and wide make the pilgrimage and the folklore of the temple is well known throughout India. Although insignificant in comparison to its religious importance yet there is one other reason for temple town's fame - Tirupati is the world's largest producer of human hair, infact enough to make India the world's largest exporter of hair.

One of the traditions at the temple is the tonsuring of millions of devotees' heads as an offering to the Gods. The hair thus donated finds great value in the international market. The temple's trust - Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam is charged with the management of the shrine and consequently also auctioning the tonnes of hair to generate revenue for the temple.

The current accepted notion of beautiful hair is very close to the Indian variety. The average Indian woman's head is not accustomed to the cosmetic torture that the western woman puts herself through and hence the quality of the export is better. Therefore the hair goes into making hair extensions, wigs and other cosmetic products consumed in a culture very different from the producer's. Here is an example of harmonious trade among nations where everyone comes out a winner, well almost. Although there are no complaints about the trade practices but it escapes most of us that the business is based on a uniquely uneasy issue - beauty.

Both beauty and the beholder's eye are functions of culture. The dominant culture or race in a society dictates the standards of beauty which generally resemble their own physiology. Therefore in the US where African-American women are a minority in all respects, it becomes harder to sustain their idea of beauty against the onslaught of the establishment's ideas, especially regarding African hair. This is the subject of a recent movie/documentary by the acclaimed African-American comedian Chris Rock - "Good Hair", he even came down to Tiruapti to follow the fake hair trail to its origins.

While the devotees in Tirupati are oblivious to the role their hair plays in the psychological battle overseas, at home they are subject to a very similar barrage with regard to skin colour. The cosmetic industry in India has been steadily picking up on the idea of fairness of skin as a desirable trait and has been eating away at the minds of Indians for years in order to sell their products. The harm that such ideas do to a population is inexcusable and the effects of such campaigns on children are especially horrendous. Ultimately though such ideas only survive because of our tacit support no matter how harebrained they may seem.

Update - Chris Rock's visit to Tirupati: