Young, male and ponytail

Today the ponytail is not just reserved for men, who are into rock and roll. It is also becoming appropriate for an office setting, says Pheroze Kharegat

To have a ponytail, you must use a hair tie

Management honchos Prahlad Kakkar and Arindham Chowdury have done more for modern metrosexual man taking to ponytail hairstyle than any fashion expert. Time there was when, if you were an executive, it was unthinkable for you to have a ponytail.

In fact, as reported by Business India in April, 2010, things have gone to the other extreme, and the route to the top can be with a ponytail. At Patu Keswani’s Lemon Tree Hotels, all male managers and supervisors have to wear ponytails with a trademark yellow ribbon. The company, which was set up seven years ago, has about 1,300 employees, and of the 400 supervisors, about 70 are women, who cannot have this hairstyle, at least not with a yellow ribbon. “Some things evolve intuitively rather than through a brand compass,” says Keswani, and adds: “When I was in the IIT, I had a small ponytail. After years of being a corporate executive, I wanted to grow my hair again, like a return to those days of irresponsibility. Then, when my ex-colleagues from The Taj joined me, they wanted to do the same, have a ponytail. Then they said: “Why not make it aspirational for those who want to be managers, as this is a unique status symbol?”

Definitely, long hair are out of the question in certain industries, where the short and cropped look suggests greater efficiency and integrity. HR professional Rajeshwar Sinha advises: “If you want a ponytail, you should better check your company’s dress code first. The ponytail is a strict no-no in the financial, banking and investment banking sectors. The ponytail look is seen as hugely individualistic, and the financial sector does not endorse that. I don’t think someone would be able to trust you in terms of money if you carry that kind of look.”

Ponytails have been around for as long as hair. I am sure that when the first men and women were walking around, doing their hunter-gatherer routine, they used whatever they could find to tie back their hair, and keep these out of the way. Then as generations progressed, what was used to bind the hair may have changed, but the act of pulling these back has not. In the late 1980s, a short ponytail was seen as an edgy, “in-your-face” look for men, who wanted to stand out from the crowd, but keep their hair flat and functional.

Today, the ponytail is a hairstyle in which most or all of the hair on the head are pulled away from the face, gathered and secured at the back of the head with a hair tie, clip or similar device, and allowed to hang freely from that point. It gets its name from its resemblance to the undocked tail of a horse or pony. Ponytails are most commonly gathered at the middle of the back of the head, or the base of the neck. It was once a symbol of protest. The student revolution of the 1960s included beaded necklaces, batik kurtas, peace medallions, and the way men grew their hair long, tying these up in a ponytail. Prahlad Kakkar, one of the most famous ponytail wearer in India, lived through this phase. “I went for it because it was a sign of rebellion, a way of being different.” Now, however, Kakkar observes, it is a casual thing to do — even in corporate setups”.

But is the ponytail a mass craze? Hardly, say experts. There is a specific personality associated with the ponytail. The cinema world of Bollywood never lacked ponytail adherents. Actor Shah Rukh Khan had a ponytail in the film Paheli, and also wore one for real two or three years ago. Actor Aamir Khan’s hair was profuse when he filmed The Rising. Actors Arjun Rampal, Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan followed the trend for all their films.

Of course, to have a ponytail, one must use a hair tie of some type. The thing not to do is using a rubber band. It will break several strands of hair and damage, who knows how many more, every time you remove it. So go to the drugstore and buy a package of pony ties. — MF