BARIPADA (Odisha): Hair is the most prized possession of every girl, but for 20-year-old Shruti Maiti, virtue is more valuable than the beauty of her long locks. A Plus Three third-year student of MPC Autonomous College, Shruti has shaved off her head to donate her hair for wigs of cancer patients. “A smile on the face of a cancer patient is more beautiful than my locks,” she says.
Shruti, a resident of Tulasichoura locality in Baripada town, decided to donate her hair to cancer patients a few days back. “The idea of shaving off my head came to me when I was a final year student of Plus Two. I met the mother of a close friend who had lost her hair due to chemotherapy. I decided to help her,” she said.
An NSS volunteer, Shruti started contacting several beauty parlours and their owners to donate her hair for the preparation of wigs for cancer patients. However, they could not help. “Then I came across an NSS volunteer Anandamayee who had donated her hair for the cause. As per her advice, I searched the internet for organisations that procure hair from women to make wigs for cancer patients. Finally, I came across two such organisations,” she informed.
Three days back, she called a local barber to her house and asked him to tonsure her head. Initially, Amit, the barber, was taken aback by Shruti’s decision but he later complied when he came to know of her noble intention. He did not even charge her for the service.
Shruti said she will send her hair to one of the organisations through courier soon. The youngster’s selfless act has earned her the laurels of Twitterati. The MPC wing of NSS in a tweet said, “You need enough courage to sacrifice the most important part of your beauty, your hair.” Shruti’s mother Swapna said she is proud of her daughter’s deed.