Searching for Context… through facial hair…
A ubiquity throughout most of India, The Mustache is a point of pride for many. While taking a lot of these pictures, I’d ask the gentlemen specifically if I could have a picture of their mustache, and the answer was always the same: “Of course! Give me a moment…” at which point the man would give a little spit-and-twist, or maybe just a quick pat-down to make sure no stray whiskers would sully his photograph. I myself resolved to grow one, and stopped shaving my upper lip even before leaving Sri Lanka. In Kolkata, a month or so later, after giving me a shave, a barber asked if I would like it dyed. I took this as a sign. I chopped the silly thing off in Sikkim, where mustaches are apparently out of style anyway…
Pondicherry — brothers in arms. we drank brandy & waters with these guys in a park. it was a Sunday. good times.
Pondicherry — seriously. don’t touch the SL.
if there is any justice in the world, this man is paid extra for maintaining such an authoritarian upper lip
Hampi — a marvelous couple
Somewhere in Orissa — This guy was part of a three-man-band who played from the back of a very well-decorated pick-up truck. it was crowded.
the other half of the truck. happy fellows…
on a random train ride into West Bengal…
Varanasi– this fellow made very good beetroot cutlets. yum.
also in Varanasi, about 20m from the burning ghats. these guys were on vacation… at the burning ghats. go figure.
Agra — these guys have the esteemed post of guarding the impossibly polluted River Yamuna, which borders the Taj Mahal. this might explain why the fellow on the right is aiming his rifle at his own torso…
Haridwar — off the ghats of the Ganga, for thirty rupees, one of these mustachioed barbers will shave your head, showing your devotion
Haridwar — on the ghats, just before the sunset Puja. I liked this guy. his son was also very happy to chat with me about fire and bindis and Vishnu and all types of other Hindu stuff
Rishikesh — not technically a mustache but he gets an Honorable Mention anyway for being so awesome
Neil Island — this man makes an excellent biryani. this picture was taken about four days before Adam Yauch passed away
Delhi — where most street vendors are better dressed and styled than your average US senator. this man is making chole bhature. it was very good.
Delhi — another fine street vendor, near the Gateway to India
Darjeeling — a diminutive hotelier and yours truly. immediately before this photo was taken, I made the guy a huge whiskey & soda, of “sipping strength”, and he just straight chugged the whole thing… which is almost as common a sight as a mustache here
High Scores — The Best of the Best
Radnahagar, Havelock Island — Friendliest ‘Stache Award… this guy was AWESOME. he was the only nice fellow working at this guesthouse (if you can even call it that – my hut is in the background ), and we’d sit around and drink rum and shoot at cans balanced on fenceposts. he never wore a shirt was eternally smiling.
don’t even act like you wouldn’t buy cookies from this man
Kolkata — this guy wins my Well Polished Dali Award. he ran one of the rat-infested hotels that line Sudder Street, but he himself was immaculate
Varanasi — Best Mustache to Personality Award. a fine example of mustache wizardry. this man was quite possibly insane, or maybe just had one too many bhang lassis…
Delhi — this man comes in first – barely – for Best Raj. he was the doorman at a Chinese-owned pub in Defense Colony, a rich neighborhood in South Delhi filled with expats and ambassadors and other upper-class Indians
side shot. he was proud, really proud… and that’s why he’s such a winner
Port Blair, South Andaman — Best Raj, Second Place. it was early and I had just spent 18 hours on planes and buses and I literally ran after this man on his bicycle to ask for a picture
Delhi — Best Henna. This man sells chai on a patch of sidewalk just south of New Delhi Railway Station. he was stern and bent and moody, but his answer to “may I please take a picture of your mustache?” was the same as everyone else’s: “yes, of course.”
Beach Five, Havelock Island — Best Facial Hair to Ear Hair Ratio Award. he was also a real sweetheart; he’d let us borrow his bong all the time, provided we brought it back clean and full. I learned his name no less than six different times and still can’t remember it
Elephant Beach, Havelock — Honorable Mention, “Toronto to Tel Aviv” ‘Stache Award. Daniel is one of the coolest sumbitches I ever met. we went spearfishing together that day. as you can see, he’s pretty damn good at that. the Trevally he’s holding was about seven kilos, and the groupers and mackerel hanging from it’s snout were quite tasty as well.
So there you have it… a good use of bandwidth, no?
six liters of blood and a rusty compass 
Excellent research project, Nick! Well done!
Hello Nasty!
Where’s the self-portraits? I wanna see your stache!
Awesome collection…it’d be a great coffee table book, although I don’t generally support the idea of a coffee table book (massive, heavy book for nominal novelty value). Maybe a “coffee table App” for the I pad…or maybe just more blog posts of mustaches.
Damn, I wanna go to India
Excellent collection. Unfortunately the only mustache I’ve been able to grow lately is made of beer suds. Daniel definitely knows the best way to go fishing. What a great way to spend a day er… week… I guess time not really important. Peace.