Day 132 - The First Human Touch


As I begin the new month, I wonder who is the solitary and secretive reader of this blog. 

Today, I got my hair cut finally; after six long months. Hair was getting unmanageable and I decided to take the plunge despite my paranoia of coming in close proximity to the barber. It happened on an impulse. It is my first human contact during the pandemic. Only 2 barbers were working in the saloon and I had to wait as they were serving other customers. They asked me to wait inside the air-conditioned saloon, but I chose to sit outside. When I went inside, some sanitiser was perfunctorily sprayed on the chair and also on the implements. It inspired zero confidence. I asked the barber to wash his hands thoroughly before touching me. He complied. He wrapped me in a disposable cape instead of the conventional cloth cover. He was not wearing his facemask properly and I had to chide him twice. While my hair was being cut, I learned 2 things. They were in business during the entire lockdown, behind the closed shutter. And also that they make home calls. Anyway, I don't think I need to get my hair cut this year. 

 Listening to the Social Distance Podcast from The Atlantic became one of my most entrenched habits during the pandemic. It accurately mirrored the anxieties and longings of these troubled times. Initially it was on all weekdays. Then it got restricted to 3 days in a week. Starting next week, it will become a weekly affair. I will miss James Hamblin and Katherine Wells. They brought so much meaning and feeling to my life, from thousands of miles. 

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