To Do or Not to Do..#BlogchatterHalfMarathon


Since the time they watched, Materialists, the only thing Avanti has been pestering him about is getting a facelift done. This left Rik confused, in a dilemma- to do or not to do. Since the time Avanti got into a relationship, and mind you, that's a long one, she has divided her heart into 2 halves- while one half was all about Rik, or rather the status of her relationship with Rik, and the other one was how to catch up with every trend to customize Rik accordingly. And that was the whole point of Rik's confusion. Now that with Materialists, a 40-something guy called Pedro Pascal was making headlines, Avanti wishes Rik to get a "Moustache-only" face-updo. Nothing much, but Rik was imagining himself in Pascal's shoes, rather, moustache. How would it turn out? A prominent moustache flaunted on his not-so-prominent face? Forget Mr Pascal, the maximum he could picture himself as was like one of those nameless baddies from random 70's Clint Eastwood Westerns, whose only job was to somehow dodge 2 bullets and lie flat on the ground with a 3rd. 


A few years ago, Avanti had him transformed into Michele Morrone, with a stable beard, to appear like a hunk with a very bad temper and equally bad English. Rik, a devoted boyfriend, followed her wishes by keeping a beard and desperately trying to speak in a terrifyingly chewed Italianised-Indified English. He has been continuing to do so till yesterday, but now he was scared to get himself Pascalified to grant his girlfriend's wish. What would happen to his thousands of bucks of beard oil, perfumes, shampoos, creams and anything that spells " Beard"? Would Avanti listen? Would she understand? It's not about a moustache or beard; it's about the pain of maintaining the transformation... every time. 

Rik went to the bathroom, looked at himself in the mirror. With great pain and a heavy heart, he moved the razor across his face. Within minutes, Morrone vanished. He could see his Pascalised version, not bad, but wait, the moustache still had work to be done on. He tried to trim the sides a bit to make it appear narrower at the two ends, but oh no... just like Avanti trimmers these days, they have a mind of their own. It went haywire, and before Rik could sense anything, he found himself standing there with just one half of the moustache. The other half was gone, nowhere to be seen. Rik thought and thought...what would he do? Borrow an eyebrow pencil from his sister and draw the other half, ask his theatre actor friend to lend a false moustache for a few days? How would he face Avanti with his half-moustache? As he was delving deep into this moustache dilemma, unknowingly, he tried to soothe an occurring itch under his nose. Little did he notice, he had again used the trimmer as the tool, and yes, the other half of the moustache disappeared. He stood there, baffled in the beginning. But slowly, he gained confidence and a heavenly feel. Here he was, standing there, Rik Ganguly, with no beard, no moustache- clean shaven. He was proud of his eternal sunshine of the spotless mind...oops, hairless face.


This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2025 


This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ 
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla
in collaboration with Ratna Prabha.

Comments

  1. Ah the things we do in the name of trends. I'm glad forces helped Rik find himself.

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  2. That was a (facial) hair-razing story :D

    I hope his partner's unreasonable fascination with trends also gets a much-needed trimming.

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  3. This was funny as well as serious at the same time. Why would you want to change a person's personality. Every individual has a distinct one. I never follow current trends but rather dress in what suits me best.Now it is all about comfort.

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  4. A good thing through a sudden mishap! Rik found himself and his ground. Trends are scary.

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  5. hehehe.. this was such a refreshing read... you made me laugh with the word 'Pascalised'.. lol !

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  6. Nice read, i think i laughed quite hard at the turn of events!

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  7. Moustache Adventure..... Seriously what all do to get that picture perfect look . I want comfort in my outfit let it be less stylish and minimal look .....I want to be me. But yes, I just push my hubby to clean shaves... He looks good to me.... But how much to cut and in what angle I never interfere ... That's his call.... Thankfully Moustache I also dont like and he is also not having one.... Ah!!!!!!!!!!!

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  8. The way you described the mental checklist, the “what ifs”, the fear of looking like it was all for nothing was very realistic.

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  9. The trend of fashion vs comfort is always a race. Love the way you portrayed this theme! Thank you for portraying this reality!

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  10. This was such a unique read and a wonderful take on the never-ending craziness for trends. Initially I thought she was obsessed with her looks as per the trend but the twist that it was for her bf added a nice layer. Rik finally found his lost self was such a beautiful and apt ending.

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  11. God save guys from such girlfriends! Hope Rik learns to stand up for himself without a slip of hand. He deserves better.

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  12. I am rooting for Rik and his clean-shaven look. You have very hilariously written this need to live up to the on-screen Joneses quite literally.

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  13. Oh god people and their following up with trends. I'm glad this happened and he got to be himself

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  15. Loved your post — you’ve captured the hesitation and hope behind “to do or not to do” so poignantly. Your words make the dilemma feel alive, relatable, and deeply human.

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