Chapter 17: chapter 17

The Man Who Was Too Proud of His BeardBala was very proud of his beard. It was smooth, silvery, long, bushy, luxuriant and framed his face quite handsomely. Bala spent hours everyday taking care of his beard.After his bath, Bala would dry his beard and then apply special almond oil to it. He would then brush through his beard a hundred times till it gleamed and shone. Only after this would he set off for work.When he returned from work after dark, he would spend more time stroking his beard and looking at himself in the mirror. In the light of the candle, he would brush his beard another hundred times before he retired for the night.In the village of Paat, everyone knew that Bala was vain and foolish, especially where his beard was concerned. Sometimes the men in the village would comment on his beard, just to see how he would react.Nandu at the paan shop would say, ‘Hey, Bala, has your beard started thinning?’ That would be enough to make Bala spiral with anxiety and ask everyone around him if his beard was thinning.Ashok at the village clinic once said, ‘Bala, be careful of almond oil, ha. It will cause your beard to become dull.’ Bala immediately stopped using almond oil and asked everyone what oil was beneficial for beard hair.Some village traders bought in cheap beard-grooming products from the city and managed to hard sell them to Bala for a hefty profit, making a fool of him. But Bala never noticed. He was oblivious to everything except his beard and how it looked.Once, the village wise man, Appa, was watching a few people tease Bala about his beard.Nandu said, ‘Bala, have you tried grooming your beard with a candle? I have heard that a few royals groom their beards with candlelight.’Appa intervened. ‘Don’t give silly advice like that, Nandu. In any case, bearded men are foolish. And Bala even more so.’Bala immediately retorted, ‘I am not a fool! Look at me—I am a smart, handsome young man.’Appa smiled. ‘That remains to be seen. You, after all, sport a beard. And all bearded men are foolish and vain.’Bala was quite miffed by this. He didn’t like anyone criticising his beard. And he didn’t at all believe that all bearded men are foolish and vain.He went home upset. As usual, he looked in the mirror. He was quite pleased with how handsome he looked in the candlelight.‘How can anyone call bearded men fools? I look so smart in the candlelight,’ he reassured himself.Then, as his eyes fell on the candle burning brightly next to him, he remembered Nandu’s advice.‘I wonder how those royals groom their beards with the flame of a candle. Will that make the beard look glossier?’ he wondered out loud. He picked up the burning candle and gingerly brought it close to his beard.Before Bala knew it, his beard had caught fire. It burned immediately, quickly spreading to the hair on his head. Within a minute, Bala’s beard and one side of the hair on his head were scorched, while his cheeks and neck were singed red.His screaming and shouting brought the whole village to his house. Nandu, Appa, Ashok and the others were shocked to see Bala’s face scorched and singed and the house full of smoke.‘What happened?’ asked everyone as they put a wet cloth to his face and medicine on his scalp.Bala looked sheepishly at Appa and Nandu. ‘Well, you said all bearded men are vain and foolish. I guess I just proved you right!’