New Herbal Ladies Beauty Parlour & Aastha Boutique

This is a busy little spot in Orderly Bazar in Varanasi. We run the beauty parlour on one side and a boutique on the other side. Being right opposite Baranwal Medical helps people find us among all the other shops. We have rolls of cloth and half-finished suits sitting near the hair dryers and mirrors. It gets a bit crowded when we have someone coming in for a fitting while another person is getting their hair washed. We have been here for quite a while and the shop feels very lived-in. The floor is a constant mess of thread and hair, so we are always holding a broom. We have two old sewing machines that make a lot of noise throughout the day. Many women come in to get a blouse stitched and then decide to get a facial while they wait. It’s a very practical way to spend the afternoon. We drink a lot of tea to keep our energy up during the wedding season when everyone wants things done at once. The shop gets good sunlight from the big front window which helps with the sewing. We have some old pictures on the wall of different dress patterns, but most people just describe what they want. We don't use a lot of high-tech gadgets, just our hands and the tools we have used for years. It is a local place where we know almost everyone by their first name.