Banty Beauty Parlour

Banty Beauty Parlour is over in Vavseri, which is part of the Saiyedpura area. It’s an old part of Surat, and you can feel the history in the narrow streets and the way the buildings are close together. We’ve been here for quite some time now. Our shop is small and simple, just like the rest of the neighborhood. We don’t have a big fancy storefront with neon lights. Most of our clients are people who have lived in Saiyedpura their whole lives. They walk over from a few streets away and we have a chat while I work. Vavseri is a place where everyone knows everyone else. You see the same faces every day at the same time. It’s a comfortable way to live and work. We keep the shop clean and the tools ready, but we don't worry about being the most modern place in the city. That’s not what people come here for anyway. They come because they know us and they know we do an honest job. The afternoons can be quite warm in these old streets, but we have the fan going and we keep the door open to catch whatever breeze there is. It’s a modest life, running a parlour in Saiyedpura. We aren't trying to change the world; we’re just here to help the local ladies look their best for whatever they have going on.