Airborne vs grounded personalities

We come across many unique and different kinds of personalities across all walks of life. A recent research pointed out that an average person encounters more than half a million types of personalities over his/her lifetime. In fact the same individual may present very different and contrasting facets of his personality at separate instances.

One of the best places where you can observe a unique set of personalities is an airport. Recently I had to catch a flight from the Bangalore airport, and it so happened that I turned up at the airport well before my scheduled departure. Anyone who has been to this airport knows pretty well that there are ample outlets inside the airport premises where you can spend time. I chose to sit down at one of the seating arrangements just outside the entry gate of the departure terminal. This offered me a good look at not only the entry gate, but also of the innumerable airline counters on the outside and of the food outlets, which were swarming with people at 5:30 in the morning. And as anyone can guess, I had a pretty good learning experience about people’s psyche in the next one hour!

The food outlets in themselves seemed to draw more people than the terminal itself. Strategically located all around the terminal gates, everybody who would look at them was reminded that he/she was hungry at that time in morning, and would go out to satisfy his quest. In fact, on an average, every passenger was accompanied by at least one person who came just to see off the passenger (it was a great example of the “family” and collectivist nature of Indian society, given the considerable distance of the Bangalore airport from the city. And it’s this lot of “see-offers” who were more interested in the food outlets, than anybody else. Was the food they offered really delectable or was it something else that was driving this behavior? Were the people really hungry, or did they eat something to satisfy some other urge? It seemed as if it was more of a ritual which most of the people followed diligently. Even yours truly could not resist the temptation of a Paneer Kathi roll for long, and fell for it – Ahh…what a wholesome experience that was.

The most mundane and repetitive was the work of the security guards at the entry, who would check the tickets and identity of every traveler. And making their lives tough were people, who would not be ready with their identity proofs, despite a suitably displayed placard requesting them to do so. Another typical set of travelers existed who would look blankly at the security personnel when asked for a an identity proof, then would search through their pockets – right, left and back pocket…and then would come out their prized possession – a typically soiled driving license, a PAN card or equivalent. But yes, overall the people were not so aggressive and would amiably cooperate with the security person. Then there were people who could find no better use of the trolleys than to give a ride to their kids.

I don’t know whether this pattern of behavior would be the same across different cultures, or was there some specific influence of the Indian culture in it. Generally the people who travel by air are supposed to be the towards the upper end of the socio-economic spectrum, so we even can’t generalize their behavior as a representative set of the Pan Indian culture. But one can definitely witness varying facets of human behavior, governed by the personality aspects at a place like airport.

Much ado about hairdo

The moment I got my turn to be perched on the king’s chair, the barber came to me with the typical cover, wrapped me in it and then looked at me expecting me to tell what I wanted. I figured that my already overgrown hair would be a clear signal to the barber about what I needed, but as always, I asked him “haircut – medium”. Enough to send across the message, I wandered in my own ocean of thoughts after that – letting the barber use his ingenuity on my hairstyle.

Apparently, getting a haircut or a shave is one of the simplest things in life. You don’t really need to bother as to which hairstyle or beard style you need next, unless you are so very particular about it. But let’s assume for a moment that it was not the case – that there were a prescribed set of hair styles that were ‘allowed’, and at best, you had the freedom to choose one from them. Unrealistic na? Well, not so everywhere. Few days back I was reading an article where how someone in Iran was dragged to the court because he was sporting a curly-spiky haircut. The prosecution argued that such an act would be a symbol of western influence on their culture. Now this gentleman beautifully pleaded that his hair style was more of an Afro-American style, and given the fact that a number of Black Americans had converted to Islam, he was showing his deference to their act them by adopting their hair style – and bingo, he was released by the court ! Any lawyers reading this, better learn a lesson or two from this guy! The story goes that later authorities released a list of ‘approved’ haircuts.

Sometime back, North Korea released guidelines on what is the kind of haircuts that its citizens were allowed to have – the message went like ‘trim it as per the socialist principles’. I wonder what would happen to the hair styles of the Warren Buffets and Carlos Slims if we start doing so as per the capitalist principles.

Typically, the hair styles have emerged in a way where every new generation has favored those styles which are in defiance to the previous generation. Pretty logical, huh? And when all the turns and twists and shapes were exhausted – some good FMCG marketing chap had the ingenuity to launch the hair colors. These MBAs, I tell you. I wonder what’s next in store.

Nevertheless, as it goes, one can find so many instances across the world where people or regimes have had devoted more attention to haircuts than it actually deserved. Whether it’s a hairstyle sported by some celebrity like Beckham, or the command of some authoritarian dictator – there have been multiple sources to influence ones haircut. Well, I am still waiting for the one to influence mine.