What a Drag

Wedding festivities were in full swing and my friends whisked me away to get my hair and make-up done. I was sitting in my favorite hair salon, getting my short hair coaxed into a bun and praying it won’t look like a butt on my head. The hairdresser was particularly flamboyant. He wore a flower-patterned shirt, sported a big hat and had impeccable eyebrows. I am rather promiscuous when it comes to hairdressers and have tried out almost all the stylists at that salon. However, this particular guy had never done my hair before and I was pleasantly surprised that he managed to put my hair up in a bun without making me look like a sinister school teacher. Noticing that I was rather impressed with his concoction, the stylist gave me his sales pitch. “Would you like me to do your make up too? I have been doing bridal make up for 25 years,” he bragged. For good measure he added, “In fact I also dress up as a woman all the time.” Drag queens are great fun and I wouldn’t quite mind getting made up like one. But it’s best to save that urge for Halloween instead of trying it out at my wedding. However, on second thought, that probably won’t be too far from the look of a South Asian bride.