Thursday, April 1, 2010

Hair Myth



I was told my grandmother had hair so long it reached her knees. I was told her hair was so thick and curly that after it was washed it took two women to detangle it and spread it out to dry. I was told that when it was tied up my grandmother’s head would tilt backwards due to the weight of her hair which is why I envisioned my grandmother spending most of her long haired youth staring at the ceiling. Each time I was told the story of my grandmother’s hair, the hair grew longer and longer within the story until it touched the ground and the last time I heard the story I remember I was told that it trailed behind her on the floor.

19 comments:

Archana Srinivas Pottery said...

Lovely work Priya~

Oh yes...thick long lustrous hair is so part and parcel of looking beautiful in the' Indian context';-)

Chica said...

The drawing is simple B-E-A-U-tiful !!!!

aneri_masi said...

Loved the picture! And the story too! Both massst!

ArtPropelled said...

A magnificent head of hair! Reminds me of your other stunning hair drawing. I love them both.

mixdbrew said...

My...how free your work is. How unfettered and effortless. I can almost see her hair flowing right out of the page. And then to have them all embellished with such words...like they were written in a dream. Mmmmmm....

Anonymous said...

You are an expert at weaving a tale with your drawings and words! Loved it!

Rima Staines said...

This is very lovely Priya :)
I have to say that my head does tilt back with the weight of my hair! So it's true! I think if I cut it my neck muscles wouldn't know what to do!
Delighted you enjoyed my Dartmoor spring :) Isn't blogging strange? :)
Happy Easter to you x

Priya Sebastian said...

Rima: I wish I could see a picture of your hair!
:)

india flint said...

love that drawing...

kye said...

I love the way you've told the story. For me art is all about story telling. It really touched me Priya.

Priya Sebastian said...

Kye: Thank you for that lovely comment.

Unknown said...

Fantastic drawing, Priya. Love how the sleeve seems to pull down in relationship to the hair. I have total hair envy now. I have the kind of hair that would probably float away, were it not attached to my head.

My girlfriend in college had hair that was so long she had to move it out of the way to go to the bathroom. It was also thick and heavy. Sigh...we do seem to want what we don't have, yes?

Dithi said...

I don't know which one I like better, your artwork or your writing, I love both. Super work Priya!

Domestic Goddess said...

Beautiful Priya. Love everything about your post. Thumbs up!

thamizhparavai said...

Nice one mam... Voted...

Barbara Ash said...

lovely! u got my vote :)

Priya Sebastian said...

Thanks a lot Barbara :)

pink dogwood said...

Funny thing is there are similar stories about my grand mother's hair. How they had to hire a girl to wash here hair and they had to wash it with yogurt to detangle it:)

Just voted for you - good luck :)

Priya Sebastian said...

Hmmm, seems hair washing was quite a complex ritual in those times.
Thanks for the vote!
:)