Story of a Closed Salon – End of an Era

A 58 year old men’s salon in front of my house in Vile Parle got closed recently on 14th of February. What impact would such news create on anyone? Hardly anything!! After all, it was a men’s barber shop where people visit occasionally either for a haircut or shave as a ritual. Why would anyone have any kind of feeling for such a place?

Well, that salon might not mean anything to most of us but it meant a lot to me. I am cutting my hairs religiously over there from my birth. Not just me but my father, grandfather and even great grandfather used to be associated with it for haircuts or shave. Just think of it! Four generations have cut their hairs from the same place and also from the same person, Shankarrao Kadam. When I last cut hairs from Shankarrao about 2 months back he was 83 years old. I always used to tell Shankarrao that I would like you to cut hairs of my son / daughter which would make you do such job for five generations; a rare achievement indeed. But all of a sudden Shankarrao took this decision. My dream would now remain a dream.

Going for a haircut on a Sunday morning and meeting Shankarrao was an occasion I used to enjoy. His profession notwithstanding, Shankarrao is a person with rich cultural taste. We used to discuss on many cultural events that have happened or would happen in and around Vile Parle. Shankarrao, an accomplished Harmonium player in his own right, have accompanied many artists in classical / semi-classical / devotional music programs. Classical music was his Achilles’ hill. When he knew that even I take a lot of interest in classical music and am learning harmonium he felt very happy. We used to talk endlessly on this common interest of ours. Sometimes, he used to inform me about a must-listen program of Vile Parle Music Circle or at times, I used to share my experiences about a concert I attended on Parle Tilak Vidyalaya’s ground. We used to discuss on various topics related to music – style of singing of a particular artist, status of Marathi Natyasangeet, his participation in Bhajan program on occasions such as Ganesh Festival, Datta Jayanti, the current state of music and what not! His memory was terrific. He used to recall his yesteryear memories, his interactions with many artists during all these years.

Music really has no limits. Age is never a bar for music. It is universal. Music helped create a special bond between both of us in spite of such a vast age difference which I would always cherish in my heart. There was a special touch in things he used to do. I had visited his house during Ganesha festival. Every night, he used to call local artists to perform in front of the God and the artists used to perform completely free of charge even in their busy festival schedules only for the love they had for Shankarrao. Shankarrao also could relate to people of different ages; a characteristic difficult to find in people.

To be sure, he is an ordinary man with limited means. His salon was simple but neat with only 3 chairs. It wasn’t air-conditioned like spas and salons of today but it was quite airy. Even though the salon was not state of the art by any means, it differed in one key aspect – the personal attention and affection that the customer used to get from Shankarrao and his assistants. This sole thing so unique in today’s world had glued many customers (like me) to his shop instead of going to some other fancy spa and salon. Indeed, the customer loyalty in his case was terrific. His employee loyalty was also very high. Both his assistants were working in that salon for last at least 20 years. I remember, a few years back, one of his assistants had left the salon only when Shankarrao helped him set up his own shop near Ghatkopar.

But all was not well. His loyal customers were either getting old or were leaving Vile Parle and the young crowd preferred more stylized salons than his. There were few exceptions like me but then these were really only the exceptions. Even, Shankarrao was getting older (he is 83+ now) and his sons didn’t want to get into this profession. It was becoming difficult for him to manage looking at his ailing health. It was also not a lucrative option for him as he was barely breaking even.

So, he finally decided to close his shop which he had so willingly nurtured. I have heard that a ladies beauty parlor would replace this men’s salon. Ironically, the last day of the salon’s operation was 14th Feb – the Valentine’s day. This is the day when people share love. For his assistants, this was a forgettable day when they lost their jobs; their only source of livelihood. More than 10 days are over from the time the shop is shut. But I still see one his assistants coming daily to the closed shop and wondering aimlessly here and there looking for some work. “Yeh beauty parlor nahi chalega babuji. Hamari rozi roti leke ja raha hain.” These were his words when I had met him on 14th. Daily, whenever I see the closed door of the barber shop, I feel sad. The vivid memories of my interaction with Shankarrao come right in front of my mind which I know I would never get again.

I would share with you one important learning which I got from Shankarrao and his salon before ending this blog. In life, we must work to earn our living. We should take our profession seriously as no profession can be categorized as good or bad. It is up to us to decide that. But one thing that we need to keep in mind is that our work should be accompanied by a serious hobby. The work teaches us HOW to live our life while the hobby answers the WHY part of that question.

Next: Visiting the smallest ICICI bank branch at the feet of Lord Bahubali

Memoirs of 2009: Travelogues – 7 [Decoding the expressions of few of the amazing Ajanta paintings - 2 ]

There are few more amazing paintings in Ajanta which may not be as well known as Vajrapani or Padmapani paintings but they are equally beautiful and extraordinary. I detail some of those paintings here:

Paintings of Buddha in different poses: See these about 120 dhyanam poses of Gautam Buddha teaching his disciples how to meditate. We also see the aura behind Buddha’s head in the form of a halo. Even though the painting is not very clear and sharp, we can sense the calmness, composure and concentration on his face.

Royal Dancer (A Courtesan): Look at this royal dancer. Her gorgeous looks, sharp features, bold eyes, beautiful ornaments, and colorful dress compel anyone (a viewer like me or the people in front of whom she is performing) to give at least one look towards her and appreciate her beauty and dressing sense. All the more, even in such dressing she looks gorgeous and not obscene.

Meditating Buddha: See this large painting of Buddha surrounded by his disciples. Unfortunately, the image is not too sharp and clear due to lack of light inside the cave. But one thing to observe here: The size of the Buddha’s painting is much larger and grand as compared to his disciples (look at the lady sitting just in front of him) as if the artist wanted to ensure the grandness in the stature of Gautam Buddha.

Mother with her child: This beautiful painting of mother caressing her child depicts the universal mother – child relationship which is so true even today. The warmth, love, care which is seen on the mother’s face and the feeling of security and satisfaction which is seen on the child’s face is one of the most lovable scenes even today.

Miscellaneous Paintings:

Children playing merrily with elephants.

An emperor facing crowds or watching some entertainment happening in one the galleries of his palace while his wives are sitting just below his chair – One thing to observe: women were not given equal treatment even in that period in a dynasty which was following Buddha’s teachings and philosophy.

Huge and grand War Paintings

These are few of the paintings which intrigued me to think deeper about them. Most of the paintings are fragmented though. Even then, the paintings are highly appreciable for the mere art which existed in that period, the tales they were trying to depict, the beautiful and spiritual scenes that they show and the vivid colors that they have used and above all, because these are the paintings about humans, and their relationship with their God, Bhagwan Gautam Buddha.