Hema's bun or Sadhana cut our ancients had them all

If you think actor Hema Malini's graceful hair bun or the famous Sadhana cut are products of this era, you could be wrong. They may have been in vogue in ancient civilisations. A great tradition of 'kesa-vinyas' (beautification of hair) has apparently been maintained from the time of the Indus Valley Civilization and many of today's styles, including tufts or hair twists, are probably hand-me-downs from dynasties like Mauryas, Satavahanas, Guptas, Pandyas or Cholas.Sangam texts talk about women who divided their hair into five parts, plaited separately, and tied up five tufts allowing the ends to sling down the back gracefully .
Now, to create awareness about ancient hair-styles, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has been conducting a travelling exhibition, now at Fort Museum, of more than 100 photographs of hair-styles of men and women in Indian art from the Indus Valley Civilisation.
"Hair has been associated with charm, rank, power and aristocracy. In Indian art, arranging hair in an attractive manner and decorating it with flowers, beads, ribbons remains an interesting subject to study . Ancient literature narrates fine descriptions of various methods of coiffures. The idea of this exhibition is to trace the root of a great tradition thorough photographs and sketches taken from the archives of the ASI," said Neeti Anilkumar, curator of the exhibition.
"Kesa-vinyas": Hair-styles in Indian Art" puts on display a kaleidoscope of coiffures in Indian art beginning from the Harappan to the medieval period. "Apparently, no civilization in the world barring the Indus Valley Civilisation maintains a continuous tradition when it comes to maintenance of hair. Also, no other civilization has probably invested so much imagination, thought and artistic genius in the art of hair-dressing. Not only the lay person, the cosmic or divine figures have also been identified with their peculiar type of hair-do. Siva and Parvati wore matted hair or 'jata' while Karthikeya had a tri-sikha kind of coiffure. Buddha himself is signified by curly hair," said Neeti.
Some exclusive examples such as neatly tied hair of 'Dancing Girl' and trimmed beard and hair of 'Priest Head' (Harappan period), Didar Ganj Yakshi with a loose bun at the nape (Mauryan), Salabhanjika with fan-shaped hair of (Sunga), head of Parvati with intricate curls (Gupta period), lady with a long neat braid (Nayak), show the different styles that once existed. "A terracotta head of Parvati from Ahichatra (today's Uttarakhand) wore 'alaka' (curly locks) type of coiffure which was tied behind and decked with round jewel. This complicated style shows how rich was our tradition," she said.
Rare photographs and sketches of sculptures and paintings from sites such as Ajanta, Amaravati, Bhubaneswar, Halebidu, Khajuraho, Mathura, Patan and Vellore have been exhibited in chronological order. It's the second venue of the travelling exhibition after the first stop at New Delhi's Red Fort a couple of months ago.
Braided glory:
Hair tied in long pleats was a fashion during the Vijayanagara era. It's still popular among women in south
Divine style:
"Worship of Bodhi tree", a panel created during the Satavahana era in Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh (top). The panel shows hair that is looped and loosely knotted and further embellished with flowers and turbans.