Stylish Beauty Parlour

Stylish Beauty Parlour sits at number 80 in Ushaganj, right near the Parsi Dharamashal. It’s an old part of Indore, and the streets around Chhawni are always cramped with scooters and people moving about. We’ve been in this spot for years, and the walls have seen a lot of different styles come and go. The shop is small, so things can get a bit tight when we have more than three people waiting. We don’t have those big fancy reclining chairs, just the basic ones that do the job. My hands are usually stained with henna or damp from washing hair all day. We get a lot of students from the nearby hostels and women who have lived in Chhawani their whole lives. Sometimes the power goes out, and we have to wait it out with the door open to catch a breeze. It’s not a glamorous job, but it’s what we know. The neighborhood is noisy, especially with the temple and the dharamshala nearby, but you get used to the sounds after a week or two. We spend a lot of time cleaning combs and folding towels. Most days are long, starting early and finishing when the street lights are already on. We don’t do much advertising; people just see our sign and walk in because they need a haircut or their face cleaned up after a long day in the dust. We often have a cup of tea while waiting for the next person to come through the door.