The throng at Valluvar Kottam High Road is not surprising, especially during what is known as ‘peak hour’. At 10 a.m. cars, bikes, and pedestrians fight for space but in the end it’s the looming bus that is the winner.
A row of shops sandwiched together sit quietly opposite the Nungambakkam Police Station. It takes a few minutes before one can spot the retro-looking sign of Malabar Hairdressers — written in bright blue on an even brighter yellow background. It’s noticeably empty inside; the fading butter yellow paint on the bottom half of the walls is peeling off and the top half is covered in a dirty white.
Bharathan is waiting on one of the grey plastic chairs that line one end of the room. He looks nowhere near 63; his poker-straight jet-black hair combed neatly backwards is offset by a white French beard joining the sides of his chin. “I came here when I was 15 or 16; the shop was opened in 1939-40 by my uncle who went to Singapore for an idea of what a barber shop looked like,” he says, and adds that in those days “it was easy to travel to Singapore by ship.” According to Bharathan, the chairs, now replaced, were specially brought down from Singapore.
The fact that Nungambakkam was (and is) a predominantly residential area, was what prompted Bharathan’s uncle to set up shop.
Dressed in a simple white shirt and grey pants, Bharathan goes on to narrate the story of how he came to Chennai to join his uncle in the business. “I was in Calicut and learning how to cut hair, but in a big city like Chennai people ask for different styles. So before I came here I practiced for six months in my hometown.”
Spending endless hours fussing over customers, it is natural that Bharathan has a lot of customers. But the interesting stories are those of celebrity customers. “I used to cut hair for then chief minister Annadurai,” his eyes twinkle. “He used to stay on Avenue Road and he would send a police jeep to pick us up. Once, a policeman saw me getting into the jeep and immediately ran towards the shop wondering if I had done something wrong,” he laughs. Annadurai, Bharathan remembers, was a kind man who offered him tea and pakodas , his (Annadurai’s) favourite. However, Bharathan always refused. “He was the chief minister, how could I eat in front of him,” he asks.
One of the Malayalam cinema actors who visited Malabar Hairdressers during his stay in Chennai was Sathyan. “The Chemmeen actor has come here twice. At first he stayed at Sami Lodge and then moved to Hotel Rohini International in T. Nagar.”
During his time at Malabar Hairdressers, Bharathan has seen a lot of change in the area. The most prominent one, according to him, is the frequency and variety of buses. “There used to be a time when only two buses — numbers 9 and 10 — would ply from Nungambakkam to T. Nagar. After some time, more buses were introduced to areas like K.K. Nagar and Anna Nagar,” he recalls.
There has been change in his life too— Bharathan says there used to be a time when the rent used to be Rs. 25; now it’s Rs. 2,500. There were also a number of women clients around 25 to 30 years ago, but now, due to the number of beauty parlours in the city, he says it doesn’t make sense for him to take up requests from women. What about parlours for men affecting his business? “The men’s parlours charge anywhere between Rs. 1,000-1,500 for cutting and facial and even if they get four or five customers a day, it’s enough for them,” and adds that his rates are quite nominal, with a haircut priced at Rs. 70 and along with a shave at Rs. 120. “I earn Rs. 150 a day and it’s definitely not enough,” he says and the air is suddenly grim.
The relationship Bharathan has with his customers is friendly; he is invited to weddings in their families that he makes sure he attends. “Whether I eat or not, I see my customer’s face and greet him,” he says. His family is well settled — both his sons are working in different cities (“education is very important”) and his daughter is married and lives in Velachery. Bharathan lives with his wife in Choolaimedu in a rented house.
The future seems rather bleak for him, though. Bharathan complains that there are no workers to help him out and a shop like this, he indicates, is difficult to maintain. “I want to open a shop of my own but where is the place? There is nowhere else I can work. Who will take me? I will work till I can.”
