crew cut is not botak (bald)




ida paid $136 for a haircut with tinting at a neighbourhood beauty salon and came off regretting the outcome. reminded me of a similar experience i had when i was in primary school. my mother had asked me to have my hair cut very short.

i went to this malay barber who operated his barber stand under a tree near the former rangoon road primary school. i paid fifty cents for the haircut. i did not know how to convey to him what i had wanted. i needed a crew cut. instead, i told him i wanted a 'botak' cut.

had to be one of the easiest styles of haircut for the barber to execute. in fact, there was no style and no technique involved. the barber just razed the hair off the head. it was over in no time. i was in a daze because i had not expected the result.

when i got home, i became the laughing stock of the whole village. just like when i saw ida outside the salon, i could not help suppressing a laugh. she looked so 'lian' with the dyed hair and sparse fringe. for me, i tried to hide the look by wearing a large handkerchief, knotted at the four corners, on my head. it did not help much, but at least i did not feel 'naked'.

i had to go to school in my new look and had to bear the brunt of tauntings and jokes for nearly a month.