Tufan Gents Saloon

Tufan Gents Saloon is located over in Belgharia on Rifle Range Road. It’s a busy part of Kolkata and there is always something going on outside our front door. The shop isn't much to look at from the street, but it serves the local men well enough. I’ve been working here for a long time. We have three chairs but usually only two are in use at once because it's just me and my nephew. The floor is concrete and we painted it gray a few years back, but the paint is wearing off where people stand. We do a lot of head massages and simple haircuts for the boys. Most of the regulars are people who live in the nearby apartments or work at the shops down the street. We keep the door open most of the time to let the breeze in, though it brings in all the noise of the bikes and the buses. There's a small shelf where we keep the razors, the scissors, and the aftershave. It smells like talcum powder and soap in here most of the time. Sometimes the electricity goes out for an hour or two, and we just use the natural light from the doorway to finish up our work. People don't mind the wait. It's a very relaxed atmosphere in the shop. We don't have a computer, just a small notebook where I track the daily earnings. It’s a place to get a haircut and hear some gossip about the neighborhood.