Interview with hair stylist and make up artist Dr. Sylvie Rodger



Dr. Sylvie Rodger

celebrity hairstylist & make up artist

One of Delhi's leading hair stylists and make-up artistes, Sylvie says he didn't know he would leave behind his six years as a general surgeon in London to become a hairstylist. "Yes, I was a doctor at St Luke's, London, delivering babies and all that. But, believe you me, I was the wildest doctor in the hospital -- I was the only doctor with purple hair!"



Six months of pending leave took him holidaying to Chicago. It was there that a hairdresser cousin at the American Institute of Aesthetics introduced him to hairstyling that first became a hobby and, later, a vocation. "First I killed time doing some odd modeling, etc. I modeled my beautiful hair, dyed with the permanent colors of a rainbow, for my cousin. For me it was a question of, what the hell, I could cut my hair and grow it again."




A job at a salon came along, then some teaching and another salon where "things really took off". He became popular and, two years later, opened his own parlor. But things were not easy for a hairdresser who walked the streets in women's clothes and had little knowledge of Hindi. There was even more: He was homosexual, he was open and the first to move around as a transvestite in a sexually restricted atmosphere.





Despite the difficulties, Sylvie liked India enough to give up the thought of returning to America. His mother's support remained his anchor through troubled times. Obviously, she is someone he holds very close to his heart. A 15-minute prayer is devoted to her every morning. "She told me to live in dignity. If I was made like that, she asked me to live like that. Nothing is taboo, she stressed. Homosexuality had been in India since ancient times and would always be there," he recalls.

Sylvie confesses his admiration for young boys. "I'm basically a flirt," he says. Getting into a permanent relationship seems unlikely at present. "I can't go through another heartbreak," he reasons. He knows the boy he's seeing now will get married to a woman in a few years. Relationships always get over, they never last. "We look happy and full, but I'll always be hurt because I'm always falling in love with straight men. It's going to happen all the time and I have to live with it."





Over the years, Sylvie seems to have learned how to deal with his personality being caught in a 'straight men' environment. His previous boyfriend, "a jat," is now in Bombay, trying his luck in Bollywood. That relationship lasted 10 months until the jat married a woman. The marriage fell apart soon enough and he returned to Sylvie.

"Where's he? He isn't at home. I called under a different name and his mother said he's not at home..."

Sylvie talks openly of his relationships, his sexual preferences; in fact, he is elaborately explicit. He only lowers his voice when his boyfriend enters, telling me under his breath that he didn't want him to hear about his exploits.
He feels much has changed in the Indian attitude towards homosexuality. Two years ago, people didn't want to be seen with a homosexual because gays can be spotted a mile away. "But now, since the exposure has increased, people have begun to realize that gays are human beings at heart," he explains. Now, when Sylvie is a guest at any function, people flock to him, kiss him, hug him, shake hands and ask for autographs. "That is acceptance, nobody gives me a dirty look."









Such enthusiasm, he says, is not restricted to the metros. He claims to have experienced the same warmth in a conservative city like Lucknow. "The people just screamed when I appeared on stage. I met three boys, absolute strangers, who helped me organise my make-up because I'd left my kit in Delhi. I was in tears when I realized that. My make-up kit is my face and my face is my value. Those boys stayed with me throughout. And, later, one of them even spent Christmas with me."

Social acceptability, Sylvie believes, can only come by being open. "The homosexual community should have the courage to come out. The world is not such a bad place after all."

For Dr. Sylvester Rodgers, who last wore a pant and shirt during his stay in London, the christening to Sylvie has been a complex transition. To us 'straight folk', a strange metamorphosis, perhaps one difficult to comprehend. Nevertheless, he has made a dent in the Indian social structure, is comfortable with his identity and his lehengas, shararas and backless cholis. They too seem to have come of age.







Sensationz Media and Arts Pvt. Ltd.
















Location: Delhi, India

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