Maa Basanti Gents Beauty Parlour

Maa Basanti Gents Beauty Parlour is on the ground floor on Belgachia Road. We are right opposite the Bharat Petrol Pump and pretty close to Paikpara, so it's a spot many people pass every day. The shop is a typical Kolkata gents' parlour. We have the usual row of chairs and those big basins for washing hair. It gets a bit humid in the afternoons, but we keep the doors open to let the air in. Most of our customers are working men from the 700037 zip code area who need a quick shave or a trim before heading home. We aren't doing anything fancy here. It's just honest work with scissors and combs. You can hear the buses rumbling past on Belgachia Road all day long. We start early and don't really close until the last person is done. The place has a bit of a worn-in feel, which I think people like. It feels familiar. There is always a newspaper laying around for people to read while they wait their turn. We know most of the families around here. Sometimes a father brings his son in, and you realize you’ve been cutting the father’s hair since he was that age too. It’s just how things go at Maa Basanti. We are just part of the daily rhythm of this little corner of Kolkata, right near the petrol pump.