The recent uproar over the term Barber in the movie ‘Billu Barber’ being derogatory is incomprehensible. I thought until recently I visited a barber shop and have been doing so since the time the locks of hair on my head needed a trim. Though I should admit that barber shops in India have witnessed an image makeover in keeping with the changing times.
I remember the days when I used to visit a barber shop which had a rather noisy chair and the only source of entertainment while waiting was a 2 week old ‘India Today’ or an equally old copy of the ‘Ananda Viketan’ and for the movie buffs it would be a month old copy of ‘Screen’ or ‘Stardust’ with the All India Radio cranking up the good old ‘Ungal Viruppam’. On entering it all I had to say was ‘Summer Cut’, irrespective of it being Winter, Autumn or Spring. Unlike today when we receive a catalogue from which to choose the hair color and the contours you require to be shaped. The rickety chairs have been replaced with plush ones which swivels with hardly any noise, the ‘India Today’s’ are of the latest edition and the Radio has been elbowed by their swanky successors, the MP3’s with a top of the range audio system connected to it… and yes... what I failed to notice was that they are no longer Barber shops…they are Salons, or Hair Dressers or Hair spas. I need to learn to be more politically correct when I address certain professionals.
A piece of trivia which most of you from Chennai might be aware of will act as an anecdote on how we have embraced ‘Barber’ as a part of our life. The oft-repeated story is that Hamilton Bridge, just north of San Thome, was named after a British official called Hamilton and that in local usage it became Ambattan Bridge and, thereafter, Barber's (ambattan = barber) Bridge. Looks like that this bridge might be soon in for another round of name change and would probably be called a Hairstylist's Bridge in the near future.
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