Shree Kumar Hair & Beauty Parlour

We open the metal shutter every morning at the Bhuridhajavala Complex near Chirag Auto. Jail Road is already busy by then. It’s just a small shop we’ve been running for a long time. The sign outside is a bit faded from the sun, but people in Gondal know where we are. Inside, there are two old barber chairs and a big mirror that we have to wipe down every hour because of the dust from the road. We don't do anything fancy here, just basic haircuts and shaves for the men around here. Sometimes women come in for simple hair work too. The floor is concrete and we sweep it constantly. You can hear the bikes and cars outside all day long. We have a small radio that stays on a local station, mostly just for background noise. My cousin helps me out when it gets busy on Sundays. We don't have fancy leather seats or air conditioning, just a couple of ceiling fans that hum. It gets quite hot in the summer, but we keep the door open to get a breeze. We know most of the people who walk in. They’ve been coming here since they were kids. We just sit on the bench outside when there are no customers and watch the world go by. It’s a simple life and we’re happy to have this spot in Rajkot. We just do our work and go home to our families.