Jhankar Hair Saloon

Jhankar Hair Saloon is over on Kila Road in Meerut City. It is a busy spot because Kila Road is always full of traffic and people heading toward the Jai area. I have been working in this shop for a long time now. The walls have a few posters on them and the floor is tile that I have to scrub every week. The chairs are the heavy kind that don't move much. I keep my razors and combs in a drawer right under the main mirror. Meerut can get quite cold in the winter and very hot in the summer, so the shop feels different depending on the month. People stop by after they get off the bus or before they go to the mosque. The kids come in after school and they are always much louder than the older men. I use a lot of talcum powder and the smell sticks to everything. It is a noisy place because of the motorcycles outside and the fan spinning overhead. I don't use any of those new machines, just my hands and the tools I know. Sometimes we run out of water and I have to go get some from the tap down the street. It is a simple life and the shop is just a small part of this big city. I stay open until the last customer leaves, which is usually quite late.