Looks matter to almost all of us, more to some, not so much to others. There are of course who don’t care about their looks at all. I come somewhere in the middle. Looks matter enough for me to turn myself out in a presentable manner. But I do not really care enough to cover up “flaws” or what the vast majority of our society considers a flaw aka the sings of again.

Some months back I met an aunt, a cousin of mother, at a wedding reception.

“What’s this?” she asked me, pointing to my head.

“Do you mean the white hairs?” I asked, not really getting her point.

“Yeah. What’s with the gray hair?” she wanted to know.

“What do you mean? I am old enough to have grayed!” I told her.

“No, You haven’t!”

I was nonplussed. What did she mean?!! I was on the wrong side of sixty. Why shouldn’t I have a salt and pepper head of hair?

“If you display your grays, others will know my age!”

My jaw might have hit the floor, I am not really sure because I was sort of shell shocked and also indignant. Apparently it is not enough to live a life you choose for yourself, grays, wrinkles and all. It was not enough being a good human being and not harming others. You also needed to bleddy look younger so that those older than you didn’t have to look older. What the heck!

Now to the lookalikes.

Going through life I have been told I have a few lookalikes. While a teacher in my early twenties, I was called ‘Manjil virinja poovu’ (the flower that blooms in the snow) because I bore a resemblance to the heroine of the movie by the same name. Down the line there was another too. Revathi. Some still think I resemble her. Then there was a friend, the wife of a colleague of the L&M. We were mistaken for each other by others.

The Second Born and I bear a close resemblance to each other according to friends and relatives. All these lookalikes have actually been already mentioned in earlier blog posts. What I haven’t mentioned perhaps is that people mistake my daughter in law for my daughter. But you both look alike, they exclaim when I tell them she is my DIL.

What took the cake as lookalikes go was when a friend suggested recently that Luci and I resemble each other. The same eyes, she said. The same look, she added. I look like Luci? What could be better?

Sharing THE photo for you to verify. And yes, I am grinning! 😉

©️ Shail Mohan 2024