THE NAQABS OF PUNE- TO VEIL OR NOT TO VEIL- THE JOURNEY

Oooo lal duppete wali tera naam toh bataaa…..nopes I am not suddenly nostalgic about Chunkey Pandey :p but recently I got called out in a Marathi version of this! “Ooo lal odhniwali madam tumche paise paddle” alas(or Thank God) it was no Chunkey Pandey who was singing after me but just a do gooder calling me out to pick up my change.

 It was then that I realized that I have become a Puneri  in yet another aspect- using  the ubiquitous, the omnipresent, the all pervasive, the one and only, the Puneri hijaab, the naqabs of the Peshwains, (drumrolls please)- the scarf/dupatta/odhni.  This piece of cloth covers the entire face of the Puneri lady only leaving out the eyes. And no you can’t just tie it anyway you want, there is a specific style of tying it up which you can master only after undergoing a sunstroke in mid May. Be it in the buses, the parks, the roads, or the other ubiquitous Pune factor the two wheelers, it is naqab ladies everywhere. There is even the specific manner in which you just untie one knot to drink your coffee on the go, without the whole thing coming off, and you tie it right back. It seems like they all have superpowers and a superhero identity they are trying to hide behind the veil. (Batman will easily blend in here).

When I shifted to Pune about 1.5 years back, I was still the pure Mumbaikar looking down upon this neighboring city and its many typical norms. With that attitude I scoffed at all the lady Alqaedas as I called them then. But a month of marital bliss later stared the routine entailing the arduous PMT bus journeys (anyone who has experienced one would agree ‘arduous’ is too small a word for it, but more on that later); and I realized for some odd reason all eyes were on me! For a fleeting moment I was flattered off course, wow I must be really pretty looking and all but then I started realizing it was not just the male eyes but even the eye windows popping out of the naqabs. Two days later (ya I am slow that way) realization further dawned upon me that I was the only lady in the whole bus whose face could be seen. The Mumbaikar inside refused to give up though, big deal so what they all cover up, I won’t adhere to any such sociocultural norm. 

I did start observing the naqabs though. There is so much variation to it, the bandanis, the crepes, the uber cool colors, the vibrant ones, the florals, it was almost like making a fashion statement with the humble odhni. The eye window also gets detailed special attention I guess as that is the only visible part, I observed varied styles of applying liner and kajal and eyeshadows which  I had never seen in Mumbai. Then there were the variations as to what to do with the extra cloth hanging in front, it was draped in oh so many different ways. The scarves on FC road called out to me; come on see we are so silky and we are pink and turquoise come on just get wrapped in us. But the Mumbaikar refused to give up!

 It was almost a month after travelling in the hot May that I realized (slow again) that my once I assume pretty face was full of zits and burnt, I wasn’t just tanned I felt burnt! The bloody SPF factor of my sunscreen didn’t live upto its claim. My hair was falling out and visibly thinner.  The change was tough, the Mumbaikar inside didn’t go without a fight, but the mirror reflection won at the end and I picked up (drumrolls please) ‘the naqab’. Then came the struggle of tying it and Mr. Betterhalf who had started the Mumbaikar to Punekar journey before me actually knew how to tie it. (saw his cousin do it he says not that I believe him).

 Once the draping was mastered came the next step, how does one breath through this horrid thing! I felt as suffocated as I would in a room full of smoke. I even contemplated on cutting out two holes for the nostrils!  But Mr. Smarty Pants had a logical reasoning as always saying if that is what the weather and pollution has done to your face imagine what it would do to your lungs, you must have the cloth filter. Well, then came the endurance phases- I had to built up the naqaab time slowly from umm ten seconds to a minute then five and so on. 

Another issue I had earlier on was, how do you express yourself with 95% of your face covered! When you meet someone you know, or just want to give that casual friendly smile to a regular co traveler, how do you do that. I also thought this would hamper any interpersonal bonds or simple recognitions which could be formed. But the naqab has its own ways. I learnt like the others to convey myself only using my eyes, a head nod of recognition, the casual friendly smile reaching the other through your eyes, and despite the naqabs I made great friends on my bus rides (maybe my Jassi specs helped in identification). 

 I never realized when I mastered the art of breathing through the naqab, tying it to perfection, looking through and forming bonds through the narrow eye window. I felt protected then physically and mentally, no more stares, no more sun burns. The humble piece of cloth helped me to blend in, to feel protected like all naqabs do, some of cloth some of character. 

©Sneha Karle , July 2015