Jents Parlour Salon

Jents Parlour Salon is tucked away on Maqbool Alam Road in the Chaukaghat area of Varanasi. If you know Varanasi, you know the streets are rarely quiet. There is always a lot of movement outside our door. We’ve been running this salon for a while, providing a place for the local men to get a shave or a haircut. The shop is pretty straightforward. We have the standard barber chairs and a row of mirrors. It’s a small space, but we keep it organized. Usually, there are three of us working here. We get a mix of young guys looking for a specific style and older men who just want the same cut they’ve had for twenty years. We don't do anything too fancy, just the basic stuff that keeps people looking tidy. The mornings are usually slow, so we spend that time sharpening the tools and cleaning up from the day before. By afternoon, it gets a bit more crowded. We have a small TV in the corner that’s usually on a news channel or a cricket match if one is playing. It’s a very normal, local spot. People come in, get their hair done, talk a bit about the weather or the local politics, and then head back out into the Chaukaghat traffic. We just try to do our jobs and keep the place running smoothly. The floor is made of old tile that we have to scrub quite hard to keep looking okay. We don't have any expensive decorations, just some calendars on the wall. It feels like home to us.