Deepas Parlour

Deepas Parlour is located on Triplicane High Road, which is one of the busiest streets in this part of Chennai. The address is a bit confusing because it has a New Number 366 and an Old Number 200, but most people who live around Triplicane know where we are. It’s an old building, typical for this area, and we are right in the thick of all the shops and tea stalls that line the road. The stairs leading up to us can be a bit steep, so you have to watch your step when you come in. Inside, we’ve tried to make it comfortable, but it’s still just a small local shop. We have some basic chairs and a couple of cloth partitions for privacy. The noise from the High Road never really stops—you can hear the buses and the horns all day long. Most of our visitors are women from the nearby houses who just want a quick trim or their hair done for a local wedding or function. We don't have fancy lights or a big reception desk like the modern salons. We just have a small table where we keep the register and some hair pins. Sometimes the power goes out, and we have to wait for the light from the window to finish what we are doing. It’s a very local way of doing things, nothing like the big chains you see in the city malls. It’s just us doing our daily work in a place we’ve known for years.