Madhai Hair Cutting Salon

Manilal Chamber is a busy place. We are at number 1, right on Pankore Naka Road. If you know where Ratan Pole or Sheth Ni Pole is, you know this area is packed. It’s right near Golden Market. Madhai Hair Cutting Salon has been in this spot for a while. The room is narrow, so we have to be careful when we walk past each other. The walls are covered with mirrors so it feels a bit bigger than it actually is. It’s 380001, right in the middle of everything. You can hear the vegetable sellers and the bikes honking outside all day. We get a lot of workers from the market coming in for a quick trim during their break. They are usually in a hurry, so we work fast. We don't have much room for people to sit and wait, just a small bench by the door. It’s usually covered in newspapers. The air is thick with the smell of hair tonic and old wood. We use those old-fashioned spray bottles for water. It’s not fancy, but it’s honest work. We know the shopkeepers nearby and we all look out for each other. When the sun hits the road in the afternoon, it gets hot, but the shop stays relatively cool behind the thick walls. We just keep going day by day, making sure everyone leaves looking a bit better than when they came in.