Mastana Hair Saloon

Down here on Badhwasiya Road in Jodhpur, things are usually moving pretty fast. Our shop, Mastana Hair Saloon, is tucked away in Tilak Nagar 1st. It’s a busy part of Mahamandir with a lot of people coming and going. When we open up the shutters in the morning, the first thing we do is check if the water is running right and start the cleaning. The Jodhpur sun can be really something else, so we try to keep the shop as cool as we can for anyone walking in from the street. The floor is tiled but it gets dirty fast with all the hair and the grit from the road outside. We have a couple of chairs that have been with us for a long time. People come in from the neighborhood, mostly workers or students living in the nearby houses. It is not a place with big flashing lights or loud music playing. Usually, it’s just the sound of the scissors and maybe a radio playing softly in the corner. We spend a lot of our time just standing on our feet. It’s hard work but it’s what we know how to do. Sometimes the tea man from across the road brings us something hot in the afternoon. That’s usually a good part of the day when we take a small break and sit for a bit. We just want to make sure everyone leaves looking a bit more tidy than when they walked in through the door.