An Indian Perspective on “Black Gold”

Thanks for weaving the story of India’s locks-for-luck tradition into the Winter 2012 edition [“Black Gold”]. For the past two years, I’ve seen another side of the practice, from behind the visa windows at the consulate in Hyderabad [India]. Some of the more auspicious-minded applicants we see every day arrive straight from Tirupati with freshly shaved heads. Rest assured, though, that all the outstanding engineering students we send to Madison are confident enough in their academic qualifications without feeling the need to add that particular act of devotion.

Jeremy Jewett ’03, JD’09 Hyderabad, India

Published in the Spring 2013 issue