A Nose Job

A lot of water has flown down the river since i last wrote. By far, the only significant thing since then has been me getting a nose piercing done, costing me a little more than hundred rupees to aquire the piercing and the cute lil nose pin.

But, i tell you - the fun isnt in the money. And obviously its no big deal to get your nose pierced, specially when people are opting for more unconventional spots - the eye brows, lips, navel etc to flaunt their piercings. Im not too much of a fan of body art - nose, ear piercings and tattoos work for me. Other piercings kind of repel me.

Body piercing has been around for thousands of years. The earliest known body piercings were depicted on stone carvings found in Iraq in the 9th Century B.C. and in China as early as 2000 B.C. The Mayans and the Aztecs believed they would be closer to the gods through tongue piercing. Egyptians used naval piercing to mark the rite of passage from child to adult. The Romans considered nipple piercing as symbolic of virility, strength and manhood. And the Victorians were known to pierce body parts to denote their royal status.

A few years back i was way too chicken to get my nose pierced thinking it was too traditional. To me it was a symbol of belonging to a conservative family with middle class sensibilities. But now in 2009, there's been a pardigm shift in my thinking. Its the 'IN' thing, with even the west adopting it. Heidi Klum, Madonna, Britney, Ashanti have all been sporting it. But now, the nose pin is not just a piece of jewellery. Its Ethnic. Uber Cool. Earthy. Clssy.

So, I sat on the chair, with clenched fists and closed eyes to get the piercing done. The shopkeeper made a mark with a pen on my nostril. After a few rounds of me questioning - Will it hurt and the shopkeeper's assurances that it wont. I was finally ready for it. He just shoved the gun with the pin into my nostril and the process was over in a fraction of a second. There wasnt any pain while piercing, it just felt like a prick of a pin. Khoda pahaad nikli chuhiya! A glance in the mirror a minute later, the stud was sitting nicely on my nose, shining brightly.

I plan to get a small sparkling diamong nose pin. Im loving the new look and the compliments im getting. :) Who likes to get drowned in a sea of million faces. So,you better do something - get a tattoo or a blue streak of hair or a piercing and get noticed too!!

Till then, Cook your eggs sunny side up.