Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Hairdressers affected by stigma, material changes

— Photo: K. Ganesan.

CUTTING A SORRY figure:A traditional shop in KK Nagar which was modified in keeping with the changing styles.

“Free trade is destructive in nature; it breaks up old nationalities and pushes the antagonism of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie to the extreme point. In a word, the free trade system hastens the social revolution.” – Marx

MADURAI: Barbers along with washermen are one of the most important service providing castes in our society and both of whom during the last two decades have been largely affected by the changing economic conditions, dwindling opportunities and on the mobility front it has been a sealed route.

Madurai city, which is in the midst of a cultural change, is also no different. Beauty parlours, modern and postmodern salons and big brand cosmetics have indeed invaded the city in a big way adding to the zeal to have an upholstered landscape.

A recent article in The New York Times noted, “Beauty products and in particular skin-lightening products are by far the most popular product in India's fast-growing cosmetics market.”

This indeed leaves us so many questions unanswered, especially when one looks at it from the perspective of the service castes, which were traditionally involved in this profession in Madurai.

S. Solaimalai, who owns a barbershop at KK Nagar here, has been in the profession for the last 15 years. He worked as an assistant for 10 years before he opened his own salon. He says that with the entry of more fashionable salons, which come out with more tempting packages with high-end cosmetic products, people from other castes have entered the profession in a big way.

This trend even though a better one for the profession has actually driven us out and people from our caste do not own any of these state-of-the-art salons, they just work there.

One of the assistants working in a high end salon on Anna Nagar said, “We use nature-based organic products and maintain hygiene.” Answering a question on hygiene, a traditional barber from the Maruthuvar community said that it's farcical to throw that charge as the community has been involved in midwifery for so many years and were the earliest ‘medical professionals' and first to use precision instruments.

A hairdresser, who owns a moderate salon on the Kamarajar Salai, says that labour shortage is one problem that he has to encounter these days as the stigma attached to the work remains. However, he points out that women from other castes have entered the profession as the nomenclatural reference with a cosmetic touch of ‘beauty parlour' has indeed bowdlerised the profession at least on a superficial level.

Occupational prestige in the case of males still is a challenge and only when men from other castes enter this profession there will be no shortage. Its real a tricky situation and many elders from our community have left the profession and have entered other small jobs.

Popular culture has indeed been a referral guide on many issues and one could immediately lean back. Renowned filmmaker K. Balachander's ‘Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu' (The Colour of Poverty is Red) comes to our mind about the stigma attached to the profession.

Kamal Hassan has acted in the film as a disillusioned and rebellious youth trying to defy the social norms and break the hierarchy. He leaves his conservative home and upper caste parents in Chennai and ends up in Delhi. His self-righteous attitude leaves him jobless frequently and after trying his hand in doing many jobs he chooses to work at a barber shop where he meets his father accidentally.

Speaking about his job in a barber job to his conservative father who was shocked to see his son, he says, “ I chose this job as there is no need to sell conscience and moreover I am not cheating anyone or committing a murder, “I cut the hair, not anybody's throat.”

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