#NoShaveNovember: Three bearded Mumbaikars talk about why people need to stop mindlessly using the hashtag

It is that time of the year when men proudly sport their beards, thanks to the #NoShaveNovember hashtag on social media. The annual social media trend finds its roots in Movember, which was created to raise awareness about prostrate, testicular cancer and men's mental health and suicide prevention. While the origins of the movement, which started roughly over 20 years ago in Australia, lies in growing moustaches, over the years it has evolved into include more facial hair.

Like in many other cities around the world, the men in Mumbai have been growing their beards this November and the number is visibly increasing by the year. However, not everyone needs the ruse of a hashtag to grow a beard. Mid-day.com reached out to a few perennial beard owners in the city who haven't shaved since puberty. While all of them are aware of Movember, they warn against blind adherence to the social media trend and stress the need to be more aware of the reason behind the movement.

"I think a lot of people who follow No Shave November or Movember miss the point of it," says city-based executive Jay Lokegaonkar, who has been growing a beard seriously since he was 18 years old. "The whole idea of the hashtag is that you grow out a beard for a whole month and donate the amount you would usually spend on shaving foam, razors or trips to the salon to charity. I think that part of the significance has been glossed over, just like it was with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge."

Ameya Gokhale (in picture) hasn't shaved his beard completely since 2003 and was inspired to grow it because of his father. Photo Courtesy: Ameya Gokhale

For 26-year-old Lokegaonkar, the idea of growing a beard came from seeing his father always sport a beard. The city-based professional, says he learned about Movember from social media website 9gag but it's always been a different kind of relationship between him and his beard. Lokegaonkar, who is never clean-shaven at any point in the year, proudly says, "My beard has now become a lifestyle and not a fad."

The sentiment binds Lokegaonkar to others such as city-based creative professional Ameya Gokhale, who hasn't shaved his beard since 2003. Gokhale mentions that he only does it once or twice a year, when his parents visit him. While Gokhale's parents don't really approve of the long beard, it has worked well otherwise because the beard always been an "attraction" in his relationships. In all these years, the 40-year-old claims he has never used a blade or beard products or even visited a hairdresser. As for Lokegaonkar, Gokhale too says it was his dad who influenced his love for facial hair. He says, "My dad shaved once in my lifetime. So, I guess it just grew on me."

Wadala-based Gokhale agrees with Lokegaonkar saying that most people who are part of the different initiatives and talk about participating in them treat it as a fashionable aspect of their style or do it just for the hashtag but don't realise that it is much more than that.

Carlton D'silva has been growing his beard a little over eight years ago and hasn't full shaved it since then. Photo Courtesy: Carlton D'silva

Lokegaonkar and Gokhale are joined by Carlton D'silva, another Mumbaikar, who started growing his beard immediately after he graduated from college a little over eight years ago. Unlike Gokhale, D'silva's parents like the beard as long as he maintains it. "I realised I looked better with it," says D'silva, who hasn't looked back ever since. Interestingly, the 28-year-old started growing his beard because he had heard of Movember as a teenager. While he hasn't been able to keep up with the commitment of the movement, D'silva believes people need to take more of an initiative.

The Mumbaikar observes that many people know about it but the number is still not enough to make a difference in the city and in India - not only to raise awareness but also start a conversation about men's mental health. For someone who usually doesn't stay clean shaven and is participating in No Shave November, Lokegaonkar has a message: "I would urge them to donate what they save this month by not shaving to charity and help in the true sense."

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