On an early Sunday, my deep sleep was interrupted by the jarring music coming from the bathroom. After repeated unsuccessful attempts of acting uncomfortable, I had to drag myself to the closet and find my husband rolling his moustaches carefully, towards a particular 45 degree angle, perfecting the texture, pointedness and up slanting curve. ‘Doesn’t it look brilliant’- he exclaims. One couldn’t help but catch his infectious self-esteem and by law one surely had to compliment it.
It wasn’t very unusual for me to see this, as growing up my dad would often perfect his moustaches before every important occasion. Right before a picture, right after a compliment to his farm, talking about Amritsar and many times during his happy hours at dinners with his friends. It was like a sign on his mood board which said – I’m happy!
A mustache has always represented a sign of manliness, and this has continued to be a widely accepted viewpoint around the world to this day. It’s believed that having a mustache, or any facial hair for that matter, is what sets a man apart from other men. This is why men have continued to embrace that soft fur on their lips for centuries and centuries!
Interestingly during medieval times kings went as far as to have armor crafted to the needs of their moustaches. While formulated styling products were scarce, simple bees wax and other natural solutions were utilized. This reminds me of a particular incident during covid times, when I used to visit my grandfather, he would often complain how barbers couldn’t come home and his moustaches were suffering. So I got him a moustache wax online, overjoyed, he used it so religiously that one may walk in unannounced at any hour, but would meet his upstanding curved moustaches at all times, even if he may be in his morning Kurtas.
Each moustache has its own story, though my favorite remains my niece’s version. The first such time when she saw my husband, with his satanic black proud moustaches, she got so intimidated that she ended up crying the whole way back. Cleverly we’ve been using that memory to feed her vegetables, so every time she came over to my mother’s for babysitting, I could hear my mother say- ‘finish your milk, or the moustache man will come!’ My husband is quite hopeful it ‘grows’ on her soon.