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One of the perks of aging was that I could give up my looks as a lost cause and save a lot of time and money that would be spent primping in front of the mirror. The hair-style, style of clothes and so forth, that suit me are now practically set in stone and I save a lot of shopping time, as well. The time saved is better spent worrying about other body-parts that now demand attention, such as (lest you get the wrong idea!) the knees, shoulders, back and so forth.

The monthly visit to the hairdresser/ ‘beauty’ parlour ( as it is called in Mumbai) is usually spent with a book/i-pod, while the person-in-charge does whatever she has done to me for the last zillion years.

So, it was a minor shock when she said, “Ujwala, you have some rash on you cheek.”….thereby calling my attention to my face.

I nodded, without opening my eyes. “Of course, my cheek is always red after all that massage.”

Now I had offended her. Her voice rising a few octaves, she said, “That is the increased circulation!!! THIS is different.” She held my unwilling fingers and made me palpate the tiny rough beginnings of …something on my cheek.

Now I opened my eyes, awake to the possibility of something happening on the landscape of my facial skin after many, many years.

“What’s the big deal? Am I growing hair or something?” I asked disinterestedly.

“No, no. Just a little rash.” She trilled nervously.

“Oh, oh.” I thought. “She is nervous about whatever she has slathered on my face, being the reason for this …mini turbulence on my face.”

Aloud I said, “Its’ okay, J , don’t worry about it.”

I took my own advice and promptly forgot about it.

But a couple of days later, it started.

The public reaction. A quick glance at my cheek and then away and then back again. Those who were close to me, actually ventured to ask about it with great concern, which graduated to deep gravity and later some alarm on their part, over the next few days. Over the week, I would surprise people who would look away when they were caught staring at me or rather my cheek.

While this did not unduly alarm me, it did tell me who my friends were. Those who felt close enough and concerned enough, asked me about it or commented about it, while the rest kept a diplomatic silence. One even suggested that I get an HIV test done, with his usual tongue-in-cheek flair, and some suggestions for home remedies were also offered. My own mother wondered loudly about my craggy cheek.

I knew it was time to get help from a dermatologist, when my hubby of 24 years, who has not paid any attention to me or rather my face in a long, long time, actually said, “There is something on your cheek.”

I peered this way and that, trying to see my cheek in the mirror. Finally, I clicked my own profile on my mobile-phone, and viewing it, was aghast at the horror on my cheek.

Finally galvanised into meeting a dermatologist, I spent an agonising weekend. What could it be?

An allergy to (OMG) samosas? Yikes, I would have to give them up.

Better samosas  than chocolates, I thought bravely.

“This is acne vulgaris.”Said Dr.V decisively. “One of the common ‘hormonal’ issues at your age.”

That vulgar sounding  malady of my teen years was making a come-back! So I would look like an adolescent only from the neck upwards, I thought, amused and rather disappointed.

It speaks volumes for my priorities that the greater emotion was relief at not having to give up samosas or chocolates. So much so that, I did not mind the routine of ointments and lotions, which necessitated looking in the mirror oftener than I do.

And so it begins, the hormonal issues at my “age”. Hopefully, by the time this is published, my hormones will have completed their pillage of my face and moved away, to other parts of my body, where they will draw less comment.

Ujwala Shenoy Karmarkar is a practicing Anaesthesiologist working in Mumbai. She loves conversations, meeting people, reading and listening to Hindi film songs. She writes about anything that moves her. She blogs at http://ujwalasblog.wordpress.com