Pardesi Hair Cutting Saloon

Shop number 9 on Shyam Nagar Road is where you will find us every day. We are located right in the Bittan Market area, which is one of the more well-known spots in Bhopal. Being so close to Bittan Market means there is never a quiet moment. You can hear the vegetable sellers calling out and the traffic moving along all day long. The saloon is just a basic, honest room with three of those old-fashioned heavy cutting chairs. We have big mirrors that cover most of one wall. They have some small spots on them that just won't come off, no matter how hard we try to scrub them. We use the same types of razors and scissors that we’ve used for years, sharpening them ourselves. The floor is usually covered in hair until we get a spare minute to sweep it all into the corner. We have a small radio that stays tuned to a local station just to have some background noise. It is mostly a man’s space. Guys from the market and the nearby Shyam Nagar houses come in for a quick trim or a shave. We don’t have any air conditioning, just a large ceiling fan that moves the warm air around in circles. There is a small bench sitting outside where people can wait and talk. It is a simple way to make a living. We’ve been in this shop for a long time, and while the neighborhood has changed, we stay pretty much the same.