Ponni Salon

If you walk down Saradhamills Road in Podanur, you’ll find Ponni Salon right near Kousika Hospital. It’s a busy stretch of road, so there’s always noise from the traffic outside. We’ve been at 230-A for quite some time. The shop isn't very large, but we make it work. We have a few big mirrors and those heavy chairs that lean back when someone needs a shave. My father started things out here, and we just kept it going the same way. We get a lot of people coming in who are visiting the hospital or just living nearby in Coimbatore. The floor is tiled, and sometimes it stays a bit damp after we mop it in the morning. We have a couple of magazines on the table, but they are usually a few months old and have some water stains on the covers. That doesn't seem to bother anyone though. People usually just talk about the weather or how the local teams are doing. We don't do anything complicated, just standard cuts and shaves. The towels are always drying on the rack outside in the sun when it’s not raining. It’s a simple life running a shop like this. You meet everyone in the neighborhood sooner or later. Sometimes the power goes out and we have to open the doors wide to let the light in so we can finish a cut. It’s just how it is.