Know Your City | ‘No rate card; people give what they have’: A peek into Chennai’s 83-years-old salon

From Sanguni Nair, the shop was taken over by his son S Aravindakshan in 1970s and later in the early 90s, by his grandson A Sandeep (42). (Express photo)

“We got the name Kerala Hair Dressers since our grandfather came here from Kerala and started this salon. He came to Chennai in 1929, worked in several shops in and around Madras before setting up one here in Pondy Bazaar,” Sandeep says.

From a big clock on the wall to a rotary-type black telephone to paintings of the national flag and peacocks on the panels next to the mirrors, the salon has a lot of antique items. The wooden panels and custom-made, salon-style roller chairs made of teak add more charm to the place and take one back in time.

From the moment when one steps one’s foot inside the salon, one can witness a sense of calmness. Amid the prayer chants from an audio player and the constant “snip snip snip” from the scissors of the hairdressers, there is not much chatter here in contrast with the other salons in the city.

From a big clock on the wall to a rotary-type black telephone to paintings of the national flag and peacocks on the panels next to the mirrors, the salon has a lot of antique items. (Express photo)

“The telephone came here in 1971. My father was using it and later, after some years, it was sparingly used and he put them in a box. But since I am a lover of antique items, I checked with my father, but he had forgotten where he had kept them. Later, we searched across the house and found this in a 1993 box. I changed the cables and from 2019, it found its way back into the salon,” Sandeep says.

Pointing towards the big clock, Sandeep says, “Venu Mama, my grandfather’s best friend, who was a watch mechanic, gifted this clock to him. Muthu, who was introduced to my grandfather, made all these salon chairs. Even at that period, it cost around Rs 17 per chair. It has been more than 80 years and everything remains the same and that shows the quality of the work.”

Sandeep says the paintings are meant to ensure that the customers sit still because if they turn their heads, the hairdressers will be distracted.

“I am just following in the footsteps of my father. He used to have a radio to play devotional songs. Several people appreciate this. In other shops, they play loud film music, but here customers feel a sense of calmness and positive energy. I bought a CD player and now I also have an audio device,” he says.

The salon has a total of five staffers including Sandeep himself. All have been with him for several years. “Customers step into my shop asking for our staff by their names, as they have been working here for a long time and most of my customers are loyal customers. They would come here when they were young. Now they bring their children. It is like a family shop,” he says.

The salon has a total of five staffers including Sandeep himself. All have been with him for several years. (Express photo)

Sandeep says the who’s who of Tamil cinema has visited his salon. Actors Thangavelu to VK Ramasamy, Poornam Viswanathan and director Chandrasekhar are among his regular customers. Even today, Sandeep personally provides the service to veteran Tamil actor Sivakumar, he says.

Sandeep says he rigorously sticks to the principle that work is worship. Since he was not very good at studies, he was always interested in his family business. He practised haircuts and shavings on his father’s staff members. “All the grandchildren of our grandfather are postgraduates except me (he laughs). After completing my SSLC, I started working here. It has been three generations and we are still running the salon. I do not know what the future holds for me,” he says.

Sandeep opens the shop around 7am and the shutters are lowered around 9pm. He says people who shop at Pondy Bazaar and T Nagar visit his salon afterwards, so he closes it occasionally around 10-10.30pm. He says Naidu Hall, Geeta Café, Salam Store, Khadi Bhandar were some of the few businesses that were present initially in Pondy Bazaar, where one can see hundreds of shops alongside the pavements today.

The salon, which is around 83-years-old, is on a rented space, for which the rent was initially Rs 7.

Even though many customers suggest he air-condition his salon, Sandeep does not want to change its structure. “The electricity [bill] is another factor, since we come under the commercial category. We need to consider that as well,” he says.

Asked about the difference between today’s and yesteryears’ customers, Sandeep says the previous generations were more disciplined but things have changed now. He does not blame the younger generation, though. Though customers ask for a different type of haircuts and his staff oblige them, Sandeep prefers short haircuts. Women never visited his salon in the past but now young women stop by for a quick haircut.

“There are different types of hairstyles like ‘step cutting’, but nothing adds more charm to a person like a short haircut. Hair growth will be good and there will be no problems like hair loss. I also do not advise dyeing, straightening and artificial add-ons like bleach and facial. If customers prefer them we offer those services, but I still tell some not to do that,” Sandeep says.

Sandeep says a golden rule that he has learnt from his father is not to lose originality and make do with minor changes to stay in the race. “We are just being who we are. Most of our customers are a bit old. Not many youngsters visit our salon. And yes, footfall has reduced, but I do not see it as an issue as we still have our loyal customers. I do not have a rate card here; people give what they have,” he says.

“I charge around Rs 180 for a haircut, but even if people offer Rs 150 I accept it. I do not want to lose a customer because of money. This has been the practice since the time of my grandfather. When I started in the 90s, we would never have time even to have lunch. There were only a few salons then. We had customers from 10 km around this area,” he says.

All the workers in his shop are from Tamil Nadu. They understand what Tamil customers want and offer them services accordingly. “Many beauty parlours today employ workers from other states. They speak Hindi and a smattering of the local language. This sometimes creates issues, as there is often a gap between what is promised by the hairdresser and what is delivered,” he adds.