Hyderabad: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), New Delhi has brought together different hairstyles over the ages from paintings, stone sculptures, wood-carvings etc. and compiled in a title “Kesa-Vinyas – Hair styles in Indian Art”.
Besides hairstyles, it has also collected data on combs, kalibangan (Rajasthan), copper mirrors and rakhigarhi (Haryana) dating back to the Harappan period and on other tools used in hairstyling.
Ancient texts have enumerated exuberant forms of hairstyles and coiffure. The different styles are also mentioned in the Vedas, like opasa, kaparda, kurira, kumba, siman, pulasti, stuka, kesa, sikhanda, sikha etc.
“Probably no other country has had so much imagination, thought and artistic genius applied to the art of hair dressing. Not only the common man, but the gods and goddess, semi-divine figures and nayikas have also been identified with their peculiar hairstyle,” said an ASI official.
Siva and Parvathi wore matted hair or jata while Karttikeya has a tri-sikha kind of coiffure. Buddha himself is shown with curly hair in the early arts while wavy hair is a speciality of the Gandhara School of art.Satpatha Brahmana and Asvalyana Grihyasutra mention that the loose topknot was a sign of mourning. Buddhist literature Chullavagga Jataka and Milindapanho have fine descriptions of toilet procedure. Natyasastra meanwhile mentions that women adopted hairstyles according to diverse geographical regions.
Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) sculptures reveal a variety of hairstyles of the Satavahana period. Both men and women appear in the reliefs with different kinds of hair-dos.
The stupa at Kanganahalli (Karnataka) depicts many scenes of worship wherein diverse types of hair-do are delineated. The Ajanta murals too portray a large variety of hair-dos.
The royals, peasants, warriors and foreigners have different kinds of hairstyles. In Deccan, women were very fond of styling their hair. The hairstyle of women of the lower classes (even those belonging to the menial orders) or peasant women could be as elaborate as those of higher-class women.
During the Vijayanagara period, there was a decline in art, though it was full of exuberance. Aesthetics of the long-braided traditional South Indian lady sculpture amazes everyone till today.
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