The awesome aura from a hairy upper lip

Letter from India: Policemen in central India are being given a special allowance to grow moustaches, as senior officers believe it makes them command more respect.

In Madhya Pradesh state they receive 30 rupees (53 cent) every month to groom their whiskers.

"The response is growing, and in the months ahead we expect to see more moustachioed policemen," said the district police chief of Jhabua district, where the experiment was launched earlier this year.

Moustaches improved the personalities of constables, the officer said, as the whiskered lawmen were acquiring an aura of their own.

The moustaches were reportedly creating a positive impression on the local people, earning respect for the law-keepers.

The district police chief hit upon the idea of moustaches-for-cash following a seminar attended by district policemen and local residents.

There were two or three moustachioed constables in the gathering, and he noticed people looking at them with awe and reverence.

That was when he thought of encouraging his force to grow moustaches that traditionally are associated with authority and masculinity across India.

The moustache allowance was merely a little motivation.

But police officials admitted they were keeping an eye on the shape and size of the moustaches so that they did not look too intimidating and have the opposite effect on people other than the positive one intended.

Only "proper" moustaches are encouraged. These twirl rakishly along the upper lip. Handlebar moustaches, too, are permitted so long as they do not look too menacing or challenging.

Policemen are discouraged from duplicating the moustaches sported by villains from Bollywood, India's film capital of Bombay, who are often shown stroking their whiskers malevolently whilst torturing their victims or raunchily while eyeing women.

Moustaches are part of folklore in India, connected with respect, honour and above all machismo.

They represent a man's standing in society, and in northern Punjab state there is a popular saying: If you don't have a moustache, you have nothing.

Further south in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Karnataka states the moustache culture underwent a makeover in police circles during the hunt, lasting several years, for the notorious bandit leader, Veerappan, who was wanted for some 120 murders.

The officer in charge of hunting down the bandit, who was shot dead last October in an ambush, found it necessary to grow a long twirling moustache to match Veerappan's massive, almost iconic, whiskers.

Shaped like the Arc de Triomphe, it dominated his visage. It all but concealed his lips, its oversized tufts dwarfing his face and hanging bushily off the edge of his chin.

A journalist who spent time with the bandit said he lavished elaborate care on his moustache, treating it with special oils and herbs before carefully combing and rolling it round his fingers to give it a stylish droop.

Moustaches have also led to lengthy legal battles in India.

One such case involved Victor Joynath De, a flight attendant with Indian Airlines who was recently grounded for refusing to shave off his handlebar moustache.

The airline said De's precious asset was a health risk, especially with him frequently handling food.

It also declared that it was possible that such a striking facial feature could unnerve passengers.

"My moustache is me," the attendant maintained determinedly.

Supported by his wife, also a flight attendant with the same airline, he took the prickly issue to the Calcutta high court in eastern India that ruled in his favour after months of amusing and learned arguments on facial hair.

De told the court he was proud of his moustache that had taken 25 years to grow and now stretched prominently across both cheekbones.

"I never dreamed of trimming it," he declared. He stated that all the time he worked for the airline his moustache attracted many adoring eyes inside the plane and on the ground.

Meanwhile, a villager from the western desert state of Rajasthan is aiming for a place in the Guinness Book Of Records for having the world's longest moustache, which he claims is 13.5 feet.