Lotus The Salon

Lotus The Salon is right across from Chandra Medical on Old Adalat Road. It's a good spot in Shahajanabad. Bhopal has some busy streets but this one feels like home to us. The shop is at No 1. We have a few shelves with half-used bottles and some towels that we're always washing. The sign outside is a bit faded from the sun but people find us anyway. When you sit in the chair, you can see the cars going by. It’s mostly regular people from the area who stop in. We don’t have any of those expensive coffee machines, just water from the filter. My cousin helps me out sometimes when it gets crowded on Saturdays. We try to keep things organized but sometimes the hair piles up fast when we’re busy. We’ve got those big glass windows so it gets bright inside. Sometimes the street noise is a bit much but you get used to it. I like being here because everyone knows everyone. It’s not like those malls where no one talks. Here, we know who is getting married or whose kid started school. We just do our job and hope people like what they see in the mirror. It's just a small shop on a busy road, really. Nothing more to it. Just us working every day and keeping the floor swept as best as we can. We've been at this spot for years. The walls could use a new coat of paint maybe, but nobody seems to mind. The front door sticks a little in the monsoon season, so you have to give it a good push. Once you're inside, it’s just a normal place to sit and get your hair sorted out.