a cerelac carton

when i was growing up, my mother used to keep a cerelac carton behind the big mirror. the mirror rested atop a shelf (we called it 'rack', never understood why!). the top of the rack was a source of deep curiosity for us--for me and my sister because we could not reach it. and what disturbed us most was the hidden space behind the mirror. what dark secrets might it hold! one fine day, i and my sister decided it was time we did something bad. it had been more than a month since we had finished off a whole new packet of powdered milk and graciously accepted the consequent punishment and now the imps in us were itching to come out again. i being more than a head taller than my sister got the act of standing in the chair and finding out what mysteries were lying to be uncovered behind the mirror. as my sister held the chair, i reached out precariously for the mirror. i pulled out the first item. the little box of sindur. overcoming our disappointment, i reached out again. this time, i had to lean particularly dangerously. and out came... a carton of cerelac!! shocked, i could not understand why my mother would hide cerelacs from us. of course such edible things tended to disappear if left open in the kitchen. but the wonder was that we were not of a cerelac eating age anymore! could mother...!! but what completely bowled us over was what it contained (no mother was not the secret glutton we imagined for a moment!). the carton contained... hair!! HAIR!!?? the day duly ended with us breaking the mirror. and of course with the accompanying punishment! later we came to know that mother keeps all her hair that falls off in the carton. i remember laughing at this strange whim of hers, irritating her with questions of what she planned to do with the hair! i am now a grown up, staying alone in a city with rootless people, working at a place where you have no friends. 'my hair is falling off so much that i would be bald within 2 years' has been a constant refrain since years. this morning, after washing and combing my hair, i was looking at the clump of hair lying in my feet. as i picked it up and tied it into a knot as huge as my thumb, i felt a huge urge to keep those hair. i immediately emptied a carton of cornflakes and put the hair inside. as i got up after shoving the carton into the furthest corner under my bed, i suddenly realised i have become my mother. i realised we all need a cerelac carton... to hold back the souvenirs of a 'have been' time!