KEY POINTS:
Tarloch Singh was hiding from the sun beneath the awning of his rickshaw, half asleep and half with an eye for a possible customer. It was hot and humid and Mr Singh's thick, unkempt grey beard did not look comfortable. But the look on his face made his
disdain for the suggestion that he shave it off clear.
"I've always had it. I'm used to it. I've had it for 30 years," said Mr Singh, who as a Sikh wears a turban and beard for religious reasons. "I don't cut it. I let it grow. But I wash it every day with soap to keep it clean."
South Asia is the home of remarkable facial hair. From the long, trailing beards of orange-clad saddhus to the astonishing handlebar moustaches, the subcontinent has them all.
But are the days of such superlative sights on the wane? The team behind a new book of photographs celebrating the beards and moustaches of India believe such facial accoutrements are losing their attraction for younger generations.
"I look around and I see younger people and I don't think that facial hair is so popular," said Richard McCallum, co-author of Hair India: A Guide to the Bizarre Beards and Magnificent Moustaches of Hindustan.
McCallum, a British entrepreneur based in Delhi, hit upon the idea of plugging the "deplorable gap in contemporary Indian pogonology" (the study of beards) after meeting a photographer, Chris Stowers, at a party in the Indian capital.
They began talking about some of the stranger sights of India and one of them mentioned the idea of a book.
To aid their work, the two men also grew facial hair. Stowers grew a moustache that topped seven inches by the time he came to shave it off, while McCallum opted for a beard that he thought made him look like a tramp.
Their labours resulted in some intriguing finds. In Rajasthan, there was a world record-holder for the longest moustache _ it was about four metres long and its owner had apparently appeared in the 007 movie Octopussy.
Stowers said that while their book might offer a snapshot of India, he believes it will not be possible to find some specimens of beards and moustaches in 20 years' time.
A straw poll among beard and moustache owners in Delhi tended to support such a view. At the Shahi mosque in the Vasant Vihar neighbourhood of the city, gateman Mohammed Firoz said he too wore his beard because of his religion. "My god also has a beard so I wear a beard," he said, tugging at his thick facial hair.
But Mr Firoz, 40, said many younger Muslims were not interested in beards. "Everyone can have one but the younger people do not care so much."
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