Lucky - the musician of Kaza

The best thing to do after arriving in Kaza for the first day is to-do-nothing. Especially for those coming from the plains, acclimatisation is the key to survival in high altitude regions like Spiti Valley. For those who are visting to have a ‘look’ at Spiti Valley, they lose more than 4-5 days just to reach and exit. As there is so much to see and do in the entire valley it is gross injustice to plan a holiday for a week. But that’s exactly what we ended up doing in the name of a ‘working’ holiday!

Along with my fascination for local food, another adventure I get into in Indian destinations is to try out the traditional head massages. Except for the last bit of cracking of neck, I let them do everything in a way they want to do. Every time they bring in their palm closer to my neck I ward them off as evil. The idea of a broken neck scares me away from these guys.

After swallowing the bad taste of ‘croissant and cinnamon rolls’ from the ‘German bakery’, I was looking for an avenue to entertain myself. For all the ‘almost-broken-bones’ after the previous days twelve hour journey from Manali, I didn’t want a ridiculously priced breakfast croissant ( not to say of its taste!) to spoil my mood. It was then I noticed ‘Lucky’ hair dressing salon right opposite to the eatery. Lucky, a fashionable (if your fashion taste belongs to 70’s) young man who comes from the plains, spends five months of ‘season’ in Kaza and the remaining time in his village like all business people who work in Spiti Valley.

Lucky has a way with your head! Moving his fingers in a unique way, he is not the typical road-side barber who ‘champissage’ you by drumming his way with your head. He respects the person in front of him, he feel their energy levels and rhythmically move his fingers, palm and fist in such a fascinating way on your head, neck and face. If you observe him carefully, you can see how he treats each customer differently. Like a bass player he picks out his own notes that fit the chords like a ‘walking bass line‘.

For me Lucky was one of the best barbers I have come across during my travel in the country. If you ever visit the small town of Kaza, don’t miss out on the ‘Lucky’ experience. This humble and warm person can make a difference to your Spiti experiences. Lucky could be the improvised soloist playing his jazz in the cold desert of Spiti. If one still feel the rhythmic massage on tired neck even after a week’s time, that’s when you realize that the massage wasn’t just a jumbled up bunch of notes, but certainly a magician who can multi-task as a drummer, soloist and chord-player!

And to the customer who loudly commented that she felt her head was put in a washing machine for a while, well, all I can say is that it’s quite ‘un-Lucky…’