I have a long beard - and there is no religious or astrological reason behind it. I have it for two important reasons. The foremost reason is - I don't shave, and the second important reason is - I like it! Since childhood I have admired beards of people like Osho, Aurobindo Ghosh and Rabridranath Tagore. If not an intellectual like them, I at least feel good to have something in common.
We were returning from Varanasi after completing the rites of my father's first death anniversary. I hate to talk to fellow passengers in train. But my mom doesn't mind. An old couple who were travelling with us initiated a conversation with my mom, and they asked my mom something, which was reason enough for her to faint! Pointing at me they asked her, "Unge saar enna panraru?" Meaning - what does your sir (husband) do? It surely wasn't funny to be treated as my mom's husband!
Talking to strangers is not my cup of tea, but my mother in law (MIL) is adept at it. Me and my wife were sitting opposite to her in a hospital, and the guy next to my mother in law asked her - is your daughter married? She confidently replied, yes. And the next question was, "where is her husband?" My MIL pointed at me, and this time this guy fainted! He reconfirmed 'are you sure?' thinking my MIL cracked a joke. Sitting a bit away from him, I didn't know what really happened to him. His faced looked as if some ghost has entered his body. And I wasn't sure why my MIL put her head down and had tears in her eyes all of a sudden!
The old man took a piece of paper, jotted down something and walked towards me. He handed over that paper to me in which he had written, "why are you hiding your beautiful face behind the beard?" I wanted to reply - if ugly people like you shave everyday beautiful people like us have no choice but to hide behind the beard! (I obviously didn't reply that to him.) MIL walked towards us and said - that gentleman thought I was my MIL's husband!
Out of my goodwill I was trying to teach a 10 year old boy backstroke in a swimming pool. And after everything was over, he shamelessly said, "thanks thatha." Bloody he called me a grandfather! Had I known that this guy will call a 35 year old me a grandfather - I surely would have put all my effort to drown him in the water instead of teaching him to swim!
A long beard has its own set of problems too. Your passport will be checked a couple of times more at any immigration and in India most people will think that you either are a fraud 'swamiji' or a Muslim terrorist. None to be blamed - a name like Kennedi Gopalan and a photograph like a Muslim mullah is going to confuse even the FBIs.
All said and done - I surely enjoy the attention I get due to my long beard - where in even the 'firangs' love to take a picture with me!
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