Episode 301 : The beard

From the time the sideburns grew into a beard, people have been seeing me differently.

My colleagues think it is time they present me with a razor kit. The family thinks I am up to no good, again! The friends wonder what is wrong with me. I never bothered to think what strangers thought of me, till two incidents happened last year.

I met a broker who agreed to show me "good houses" in my budget and area preferences. As we climbed up the stairs of a house, he said 'The tenant has stepped out for some time, so we can only see the house from the outside. By the way, are you from Kerala?'

I paused for a moment, and said yes. 'How did you know' I asked out of curiosity.

'From the way you talked' he said.

From the way I talked? I was speaking to him in Hindi and my motorcycle's number plate should have said something else. But he chose to ask if I speak Malayalam. I wondered how.

In hindsight, I felt it must be the beard and not how I speak, because till then, people never identified my nativity correctly.

* * * * *

A few weeks later, I boarded the Shatabdi from Madras to Bangalore. I intended to catch up some sleep,read a book, and gaze at the world outside when the folks in the Shatabdi weren't feeding me. I roughly calculated 2 hours of free time. My co-passenger was an old gentleman.

Knowing how garrulous old people can get, I decided to take a nap when the train began to leave the station. The old gentleman had other plans. Even before I could settle into my seat, he started asking me about me- who I am, what do I do etc.

Then he asked, 'Are you from Kerala?'

The pause was longer this time. How did he know, I asked myself.

'Oh, from the way you talk', he said nonchalantly.

I was speaking to him in English.

I am sure it is the beard.