New Wembley Saloon just off the busy thoroughfare in Tiruchi’s Chintamani Bazaar area is where you will find Patricia Mary wielding her scissors — both as a tailor and barber. When she’s not stitching clothes, she morphs into an expert barber for male customers (men and boys), offering services like haircutting, shaving and facials.
“My father-in-law set up the barbershop in 1984,” says Patricia, sitting in a mirror-walled shop that has a corner piled up with school uniform shirts around a sewing machine. “My husband Reuben Shanmughanathan took over after my father-in-law’s death five years ago.” The couple was at the shop by 6 a.m. everyday, where Reuben would wait for his customers and Patricia would complete her tailoring orders.
Patricia was also her husband’s unofficial intern who helped to mix the hair dyes and facial bleach preparations. “I learned how to cut hair by watching my husband. Then I used to cut his hair, and he’d give me tips on how to get the styling right,” she says.
Life took a tragic turn when Reuben met with an accident caused by his alcoholism and his right hand was seriously injured.
Patricia is clear-eyed when she speaks of her husband’s drinking habit. “We have known each other since childhood (Shanmughanathan became a Christian to marry her), and I was aware that he was a light drinker even before we got married. But he became an alcoholic after his father’s death, and his drinking caused us serious problems at home and work.”
Stepping in Faced with a barbershop and no barbers, Patricia was encouraged by the local wing of Women’s Enterprises Association of Tamil Nadu (WEAT), to run the New Wembley Saloon.
The inevitable raising of eyebrows followed – but Patricia says she has got used to the comments.
“When I am cutting someone’s hair, I am a barber, irrespective of the customer’s gender. There were a few male customers who stopped coming here after I took over, but I still have a few regular patrons who know and trust my ability to do a good job,” she says.
She also offers home service for female customers in the neighbourhood. An ordinary haircut costs Rs.50 at New Wembley. Facials are in the range of Rs.150-200.
“Most men pay up, but a few try to argue that I should charge lesser because I am a woman. ‘It’s the same face, the same cosmetics and same shaving knife’ is my usual reply to such customers,” she says.
A stitch in time … Patricia also makes a living as a tailor, and is a diploma-holder in embroidery and pattern-cutting. “Business used to be good, especially when I could earn up to Rs.4000 in the Deepavali season, but nowadays everyone wants to wear readymade garments,” she says. She keeps the tailoring side of her career afloat with orders for school uniforms and sari blouses.
Patricia says her husband has given up liquor after attending regular counselling sessions at Alcoholics Anonymous, and that her mother-in-law and father pitch in with the daily routine at home.
She also feels that women should equip themselves with as many skills as possible, so that they can face any crisis with equanimity.
“I dream of learning how to style women’s hair and then setting up a family salon here,” she admits when pressed on her future plans. “Right now, though, I want our son and daughter to do well in their studies and get ahead in life.”
