The Eyebrows

The first time I realised that eyebrows are key areas to be beautified on the facial map was when I read a Tinkle comic. The comic used to have one page on facts from around the world and described how women in ancient Egypt used to grind pearls to apply as eye shadow. Accompanying this fact was the drawing of an Egyptian queen with perfectly arched, thin and neat eyebrows. A quick check in the mirror revealed that my eyebrows did not meet any of these three features.

However, as the old jungle saying goes 'You become a woman when you are willing to undergo the pain of shaping your eyebrows'. So it was many years later that I emerged from a dingy beauty parlour, red-eyed from the tears that sprung unbidden when the beautician, with loving attention, plucked all eyebrow hair lying outside the magic shape she had planned for my brows. I was delighted by the new clarity in my face.

Shaping eyebrows is a regular part most women's lives. But I don't think many realise the absolute importance of this activity. The lady with the tweezers can decide what expression you will have for atleast two months of your life. I remember a professor from college who had two perfectly shaped eyebrows - one with a sharp arch and one more rounded. Both looked beautiful individually but together made her look like she had a squint. Numerous hours were spent in my Costing classes debating whether I should alert her to the fact. Eventually in the interest of retaining my scores, I decided not to offend her vanity.

My own experience has been none too great either. Once I looked inquisitive for two months thanks to extremely sharp arches. Another time, I looked sweet and gentle. My mother loved this look but I felt it lulled people dealing with me into a false sense of security. I may not be sweet and gentle but atleast I warn people adequately about what to expect. There have been days when I have had expressions of curiosity, eagerness and deep depression.

The best example I can give of someone's eyebrows changing their looks is Karishma Kapoor. Oh boy! If anyone needed to shape her eyebrows, it was she. Thick and bushy, they made her look exactly like her dad, Randhir Kapoor, and you kept wondering how she could see clearly with all the hair hanging over her eyes. Eventually she got them shaped and went on to act in several hit movies (If you thought it was the 'Sarkailo Katiya' song that launched her career you are quite mistaken).

If you have not shaped your eyebrows till date, do it. Opening your eyes after your beautician is done, looking into the mirror and figuring out what expression you are going to have for the next two months of your life is certainly an experience. As Calvin’s dad would say ‘It builds character’