Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna‘s carefully coiffured pate has been the object of much mirth after the usually reverential media mustered the gall to ask “Why wear a cap on top of a wig?” Six years ago, the Mysore police actually had to keep an eagle-eye on members of the raitha sangha, after word got around that angry ryots were planning to pull it out for the benefit of the TV cameras.
Aware of the “threats”, the image-conscious former chief minister has been doubly careful, as he was at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office in Bangalore on Friday, refusing to let anybody place the ‘Mysore peta‘ on his head, or remove it suddenly, afraid that rash handling might reveal his crowning glory.
Photographs: Karnataka Photo News
Why is SMK not going in for a permanent solution to his bald pate. He can consider hair transplant which should be a half day procedure as an out patient….but the problem is the transplanted hair also should be his own hair from the crown of his scalp. This might be a problem for SMK since he is totally and irreversibly bald
But looking at the brighter side of his plight…
he may have less/no hair to care for but he has more face to wash :)
Hahaah! Super post.
The motivations for wearing a wig can be varied.
Americans love to wear wigs, not so much to hide their own hair (or lack of it) but to make a fashion statement — a new head of hair every day might even bring new romance (or restore old romance!). In 18th-cent America the “Whigs,” early capitalists who supported property rights over human rights, used the slogan “No taxation without representation” in a relatively parochial sense. Coincidentally — or maybe not — many 18th-cent Whigs are said to have worn wigs as a mark of their Whigness. There were even famous wig-wearing Whig journalists such as John Dickinson of the “Pennsylvania Chronicle” published in in the 1760s — his wigs are preserved in museums.
Commonwealth judges routinely wore wigs as a mark of judicial distinction. Of late judicial wigs have gone out of fashion in all courts in England and India and elsewhere. In 16-cent England wigs were a way of life — even for kings such as Henry VIII whose wigs are actually a part of the stories of his role in the establishment of the Church of England.
In many central and western African tribes, as well as in many aboriginal societies, wigs continue to be fashionable and are believed to enhance social status. Wigs are also considered a political aphrodisiac.
Whatever Mr. Krishna’s motivation, the wig sure suits his politics — tidy and wholesome on the outside but perhaps empty inside! ;)
I forgot to add:
Some soldiers wear wigs too! See http://www.slate.com/id/2086490/
Anti-China protesters, are you listening?
Krishna is a stubborn man with equally stubborn hair follicles that have rebelled against him for more than a decade. Thus, the hair on his scalp has grown inwardly into his brains, activating certain brain cells into producing neural emissions. This unfortunately triggers a chain reaction that affects the other brain cells. Not good.
Krishna must perform a yogic headstand every morning to infuse fresh blood to his scalp. The blood rush will trigger the hair follicles into reverting to their natural growth pattern and therein lies his only chance.
This however is a lengthy process that could take several years. It is a path laden with risk but Krishna should try it just for the fun of it.
Who knows, even if the hairs refuse to grow back, the aasana will clear his mind into throwing away that rag he calls a wig.
Go Krishna Go!
mayura,
‘but the problem is the transplanted hair also should be his own hair from the crown of his scalp’
I didnt know that – thanks. But why cant someone else’s hair be used? Also does it have to come from the crown of the scalp. What about other places? hehe couldnt resist that one.
Under the whig is the skull. What is in the skull apart from greed and Machiavellianism?
Silly Blog, Churumuri
Another ‘bigwig’ is Amitabh Bachaan ! Can someone compile a list of big wigs?
whats the big deal about anyone wearing a wig?
Krishna is a Tory pretending to be a whig, MB.
Your observations are thought provoking. There is a long history of mankind’s preoccupation with hirsuteness or its absence.
Can you imagine Lankesh wandering around in Basavanagudi with a shaven head like his son’s? The father tried to hang on to the whisps he had, while the son decided to avoid the anguish of being bald altogether.
Does Bangarappa colour his locks? A silly question, indeed. Did our Kanmani wear a whig in his last days? Yeddi’s pursuit of power has made him bald. HDK demands that the media always use his pictures where his pate looks completely covered although we don’t know what it hides. I think Nijalingappa, alone among our chief ministers, was remarkably free from vanity.
Time to bring back Keshavardhini thyla.
Krishna needs a pair of dentures to go with his bewigged dome.
…’fraid that rash handling might’ …. that or Saroja devi might object :)
whatever his politics may be but enraging the modesty of a person is not proper.
Now you know as to what has been underneath all these days!
TS–
Gowda is rough, Krishna smooth. Together they have robbed us. What does appearance matter?
Krishna spends more time about his looks, image and wig than about any issues concerning the State. He is false through and through as a man who is surely suffering from a mega complex of inferiority.
devegowda still manages to work i6-18 years a day , considering he is in his 70’s , it is really great. this has to do with strict food regimen ,controlled habits and love for work.
bangarappa also is very fit for his age. he emphasizes a lot on physical training. also does a bit of dollu kunitha . he is also an example of disciplined life style.
S M krishna is an entirely over rated, english media-created politician who refuses to mingle with common electorate.
Dr Sir, Devegowda still works for 16-18 hours in his bed sleeping and dreaming as he did as PM!!
this makes me sick. what are you people up to? and you sum kirla, you are a worm. i should stop opening this site. you make me vomit.
Subbamnore–
Namma jagalige welcome. Buddhivaada heli. Kwaapa byaada.
idoo ondu krishna leele!!
at ptl. “subbamnore”
awesome!!!
as gowdru says, ‘grammar learning learning sandhi only forgotten they have our people’.
there are strict injunctions against transliterated kannada, translated should hopefully be ok.
hilarious…you made my evening…
wiginoLoge yenu ideyo ballavaru yaaru. Manushyanige halavu mukhagaLu iruvante avarige halavu koodalutopigaLoo irabeku. IIga Krishnaavataarada innondu mukha Mumbaininda haLLihaLLige or Belagaumse gaawa gaawa thak. Jai Gandhi Topi, Jai wigdhaarige!
TS–
I should have been more alert. There is apparently a female counterpart for you here.
Sathya–
Don’t many BJPs where Gandhi topis? What’s up with that?
Don’t many BJPs “wear” Gandhi topis?
TS–
Took another look at your fiat. What exactly are the prohibitions on transliteration?
If you want to act as a king on the stage, you have to dressup like one. All these politicians change their dress according to the need of the situation. Only Kengal Hanumanthaish was the real Mysorean.
Kengal was the first most important victim of Karnataka jaathi politics.
well go for hair bonding/hair fixing!many kerla based companies does that!
gulf gate or beumonde etc all may have branches in blore :lol:
surprised that this silly issue got so many comments which most serious ones don’t
Ask Krishna. It is not a silly issue to him. Only men can understand the anguish caused by thinning or graying hair. There are serious psychological reasons for the anguish.
And his name is Krishna, not K. Brahmachaari.
AG
>>I didnt know that – thanks. But why cant someone else’s hair be used? Also does it have to come from the crown of the scalp. What about other places? hehe couldnt resist that one.
>>
Someone else’s hair cannot be used because, the chances of acceptance of the hair follicles by the transplantee is less, it is the same way of transplanting an organ, if the donor is a relative better chances of acceptance. If you are referring to the lower body hair, I think there is a significant difference between the scalp hair and lower body hair in terms of thickness, density etc which might look akward when transplanted on to the scalp.
It was about to fall when he tried to escape from Delhi’s rough media after his meeting with the then TN CM Jayalalithaa at TN house in october 2002!
His personal staff covered him from all sides and whisked him away!
pulikeshi,
There is something called ageing gracefully. What SMK is doing is trying to hide his age beneath the wig and dentures….but you are right, of the late a lot of ageing people have resorted to coloring their hair and moustache also and it looks horrible…have you notice how the henna applied to the hair loses color after a few weeks and becomes orangeish…:)
SMK should take a cue from Rakesh Roshan and Indrajit Lankesh and go bald…ooops he is already bald :)
I have always had trouble associating Krishna and most politicians with gracefulness. Only Ramakrishna Hegde seemed to have it. But he could fake.
Gracefulness and Indian politicians? Gracefulness is an attribute of statesmen.
There used to be a time when some bald raajakaranis didn’t seem too troubled about their pates looking shiny, spotty, or both. Don’t know about Kengal, but Nijalingappa didn’t cover his naked head. Gandhi’s baldness, natural or barber made, matched his toothless smile. Chaanakya shaved his head to make his Brahmin juttu stand out. A hatted Nehru is a strange sight, no matter what Edwina thought. I also have the feeling that there was no topi big enough to fit his uncrowned head. Even a full head of hair would not have made Vallabhbhai Patel look less glum.
Sanjay Gandhi was bald, but our royalist newspaperists always described him as a person with thinning hair.
I think our unhappiness with Maddur mukhyamanthri’s shading his head wih somebody else’s hair is triggered by the fact that wigs (pardon me for consistently misspelling the word in my earlier posts) are worn only by khalanaayakaru in our magic movies. Wearing a wig is the best way of going incognito to hide something that one has done. In any case, it tickles me to think that his bodyguards can also be called headguards, or koodalurakshakaru.
Because Dharam Singh, (what a misnomer?) is given to total dissembling, I cannot tell if his locks are real. But I am sure we all agree that a topi on his head would make him look even more clownish than he really is. Kharge might somewhat alleviate the perpetual frown on his face by wearing a cap.
People like Bangaarappa who look deceptively young not only wear wigs but also make sure that they are darker than young men’s real hair. Given the differen party caps Bang has worn in his long political career, I cannot help but conclude that he is bald because of the toll taken by the effort to change caps on almost a monthly basis. Dyes can be dangerous. Indulge me for a moment by imagining Bangarappa delivering a prime ministerial speech at Ramlila Maidan and a gust of hot wind from Rajasthan blowing his wig away right in front of a hundred thousand hindiwallas wondering what he is saying.
Yediyurappa is derided as a cheddi by his detractors. I would rather think about how Gowda kutumba aavayyana thale bolisidru and feel sympathetic. But that doesn’t mean that I would vote for him. Saarvajanikavaagi pade pade topi haakisikolloranna naayakaru antha oppikollodu kashta. On the other hand, Devegowda has no topi left because he has conferred his entire stock on millions of us. I know Dr. Ramesh will counter this accusation by saying Gowda is bald because he always thinks so hard about serving Karnataka. I hope DB will not fly into a rage if I say Gowda deliberately looks bald to make his head look like a mudde.
In English there are many expressions in which the word “hat” has many metaphorical manifestations. “He wears many hats, “He talks through his hat,” etc. None of them can outshine the profundity of our own Kannada “topi haakodu.” Yaako topi haakisikondavarige naavu anukampa thorisalla. Surely there are figuratively topied five crore people whose indifference to what has been done to them by our politicians is phenomenal.
Americadinda topi haakisikolluvudu namage kailaasa sikkidanthe. These days I see everybody, boy, girl, man or woman, wearing a baseball hat on important occasions, an eminently American practice.