Roots... Every male on my dad's side of the family was bald before they turned 30. My hair is my only source of vanity and when i was younger, i was shit scared about the same bald fate (pate?) passing down the family tree. Having genes that did not do too well with respiratory viruses, overworked joints and a sense of humour, it could almost have been a certainty that another strand got mixed up with the wrong bunch and sent me down the same .... until i came to know that male pattern baldness is passed down from the mother's side.

My grandfather has a thick set of hair on his head, and he is well into his eighties. Sigh of relief....

... until a few days ago, when someone pointed out that there was possibly a bald patch developing in the center of my head. That couldn't be! All my mother's male relatives have a thick set of hair on their heads! Maybe a bad hairdo? Could be just a bad hair day, right?

WRONG. My mother has 5 sisters. Her mother had sisters as well. No matriarchal male relatives within three generations. Considering my knowledge about my relatives extends only to people who are within the boundaries of this city, there's technically no chance of me finding the closest male relative on my matriarchal side to determine whether the baldness strand has fallen from those genes.

Maybe i could simply look for this lost gene along with the lost family members on a trek through the wilderness of North Karnataka and Goa. It could be a nice documentary or a book. i'll call it Roots.  ¶ 09:30