Young Indian men are increasingly shunning facial hair. Thankfully, two amateur pogonologists criss-crossed the country to capture the hirsute before they’re lost to history. Hair India author Richard McCallum speaks about his travel companion Chris Stowers’s remarkable portraits

The Dali
In Bhopal men weren’t happy being photographed, so Chris set up his stuff on a street corner and just shot anyone who approached him. This guy never said a word, but he has a wonderful Dali moustache.

The Split Briar
This chap is a member of the Border Security Force, the camel-mounted cavalry that protects India’s borders. He’s part of the BSF band, which travels to Delhi for parades. It’s the only mounted camel band in the world, and they all have Split Briar-style moustaches.

The Tulip Vase
This was taken at the Kila Raipur Rural Olympics, a three-day event in Ludianya. The bullock-cart races are the main attraction of the games, but they also have events featuring guys bending iron bars with their teeth. This is a perfect Tulip Vase moustache.

The World’s Longest Moustache
This guy, Ram Singh Chauhan, works for Jaipur Tourism and his world-record moustache has been in the James Bond film Octopussy and on the cover of Lonely Planet. The moustache is 12ft long, grows four inches a year, and has taken 27 years to extend this far. He keeps it coiled up in his beard and it’s a wonderful experience watching him slowly unravel it.

Tarzan’s Tendrils
We found this man at a camel fair in Rajasthan. He keeps his moustache coiled up and attached to his cheeks with rubber bands, like two Danish pastries. Its unravelling was very ceremonial – after 17 years of cultivation it makes him money, although he gets a bit on the side by playing the flute with his nose. Hirsuteness runs in the family. His dad had a big moustache too.

The Whale Tail
This man’s an ex-wrestler and he’s enormously strong. His Whale Tail beard’s not that amazing, but his eyes are quite extraordinary.

The Netted Poirot
This gentleman was another spectator at the Kila Raipur games. We saw him from a distance and it didn’t look that interesting, but up close his moustache looked fantastic and his beard is kept in a net. I wanted to call this the Great Crested Goatee, but Chris won with The Netted Poirot, after the fictional Belgian detective.

The Dougal
We named this beard after the character in The Magic Roundabout (a 60s TV show). We had to chase him on his bike over many fields. He posed for 10 minutes without saying a word, then cycled off again.