One of the tags on Tuesday in Kerala is barbershops remaining closed. But now barbers themselves want to drop that tag on their establishments and instead join the Sunday holiday fraternity. Three districts, Kannur, Kozhikode and Wayanad have already brought about the change and from this week onwards barbershops in Kollam district too will remain closed on Sundays and not Tuesdays.
The decision in this connection was taken by the State conference of the Kerala Sate Barber-Beauticians Association held in Kasaragod from April 21 to 23. The decision was announced at a press conference here on Wednesday by the office-bearers of the district unit of the association. The Sunday holiday for barbershops in all districts will be implemented by January.
Association district secretary P. Ganesh said that the Tuesday holiday for barbershops was in force since 1973. “That decision was taken by the association because of a superstition in circulation at that time that haircuts on Tuesday could bring misfortune,” he said. That made people reluctant to enter barbershops on Tuesdays for a haircut.
“But now, times have changed and more over people in our profession now look forward to a break on Sundays since most social events take place on Sundays,” he said.
Mr. Ganesh said that the association would not protest if at the individual level barbers work for some time on Sundays to attend to their longstanding clients who could be used to haircuts on Sundays.
