Kiran Bedi, A Boy-Cut for Girls: Learn English (IND) - Story for Children "BookBox.com"

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Kiran Bedi was not the type to let her hair get in the way of anything, and certainly not tennis. The last thing on her mind was to start a trend.

A Boy-Cut for Girls
It was past midnight,
the train stopped
at a deserted station.
I got down,
flung my backpack over my shoulder
and looked around.
There was no one around
except a few coolies
asleep on their trolleys.
A street dog lying beside them
got up and started barking at me.
One of the coolies
lifted his head,
mumbled something to the dog,
looked at me and said,
“Oh, Sirji,
this place is not safe at night,
go into a retiring room.”
I took a deep breath
and thought to myself,
only if he knew I was a girl...
Right from my school days,
I always wore
slacks and a loose shirt.
I had to often travel alone
all over the country
to play tennis matches
and this outfit protected me.
I also sported a short haircut
known as the ‘boy-cut’
in those days.
This look confused people
and kept them guessing
if I was a boy or a girl.
Would you like to know
how I got my short haircut?
In those days all my girl friends
prided themselves
on their long hair,
but maintaining my hair
was too much work for me.
No matter
how tightly I pinned up my plaits,
sooner or later they would dangle
in front of my face.
One hot afternoon during a match,
my long plaits
kept coming in my way,
preventing me
from concentrating on my game.
I just could not take it any longer.
I ran over to my parents
who were watching the game
and asked them
if I could get my hair cut.
They smiled
and permitted me to do so
without any arguments.
I dropped my racket
and ran across the street
to the hairdresser’s shop.
The hairdresser was well known,
but he happened to be
a men’s barber.
He asked me what I wanted.
I simply replied, “A haircut.”
He then did something
that would send
any other girl screaming.
He held my plaits
and clipped them right off.
He proudly dangled them
in front of my face.
They were wet and knotted
with red ribbons tied at the ends.
I can never forget the sight!
He then gave me a hairstyle
which I never knew
would become a trendsetter,
a boy-cut for girls.
I felt much more comfortable
and could finally focus
completely on my game.
I realised later
that a simple decision
to cut my hair
taught me to prioritise
the different aspects of my life
early on.
It was more important for me
to play a good game
than to look good.

Translator/Author : Kiran Bedi
Narration : Kiran Bedi
Music : Acoustricks
Illustration : M Karthiravan
Animation : BookBox

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