Wanted snippy fingers

Wanted snippy fingers

The geeky gen next are moving away from the friendly neighbourhood barber and booking their appointments with style studios, making their choice on who would get to give them a hairdo. The hereditary practitioners too have chosen to join lucrative parlours, resulting in a serious shortage of barbers in the city

Niranjan Kaggere
Posted On Sunday, December 14, 2008 at 01:12:37 AM

After you have booked your time with your favourite style director to get a hairdo, its time to relax and experience the whole ambience. Once inside the style studio, you are not forced to don a smock right away. Instead, the stylists ensure that clients first relax with a coffee or a juice. The art deco motif, the spa music and aromatherapy set the mood for shampoo time. There’s a colour menu. Custom mixing is available too. Clients can opt for a neck massage and paraffin wax hand treatment. All while getting a hairdo.

Cut to the chase. Limelight, Bounce, Talking Heads, Salon Nayana, Squeeze, Spratts, Bodycraft, VLCC, and of course the parlours at Taj, Oberoi, Leela, and Lakme Hair Saloon, are just a few that have given Bangalore a cut above the rest. Not to be left behind, our own neighbourhood shops are transforming. Just ten years years ago, Srinivas ran his own small barber shop at Peenya. Today he runs a high-end salon at Rajajinagar where he employs 15 people and his clients range from college kids to corporate honchos.

But that is only part of Srinivas’s story. As one of hundreds of hereditary practitioners who have abandoned their own roadside shops to either start or work for high-end salons, Srinivas has inadvertently created a crisis. Bangalore, with a population of over seven million, is witnessing a serious shortage of barbers, since many have gone for greener pastures.
According to the Karnataka Savitha Samaja, a statewide association of barbers, out of around 25,000 saloons operating in and around Bangalore, the majority of salons are under-staffed.

“Each shop has at least three to five seats. Owing to staff shortage, currently services are rendered in only two or three seats with others being left unoccupied. Increasing rents of premises and prohibitive costs of cosmetics have inflicted considerable loss to the industry,” says Krishnamurthy, general secretary of the Karnataka Savitha Samaja.

“With each family having at least two to three people requiring the services of a saloon regularly, 25,000 saloons is not enough,” explains Lakshman, a salon owner at Hampi Nagar. “Barbers keep coming to the city. But they stay only for a few months and take to other professions in the city. Whenever boys within the family fail to clear exams they come to the profession. But within a few months they quit the profession owing to other attractions,” says Krishna, owner of a salon on Bannerghatta Road.

PRICE WAR
The shortage of trained barbers has triggered a price war among salons with those at the low end charging somewhere between Rs 30 to Rs 50 for hair-cutting and an extra Rs 25 for shaving. “It is not just the labour shortage which has shot up the price but also the entry of many newcomers from other communities. The price of cosmetics, building rents and the like have increased over the years. Though the rates vary in different parts of the city, the association cannot regulate the price as it affects the livelihood of so many people,” he added.

Opening of a saloon and maintaining it is not an easy task. It would require at least Rs 5 lakh. “The cost varies according to areas. If you are opening a saloon in Indiranagar or Koramangala, an advance of Rs 4 to 5 lakh has to be paid. In other areas, it would come to between Rs 1 to 2 lakh. Further the monthly rent varies from Rs 4,000 to 10,000 depending on the area. Apart from this, monthly maintenance accounts for Rs 7,000 to 10,000,” says Suresh, a saloon owner in Chandra Layout.

THE DIE IS CASTE
The barber community is referred to as Savitha Samaja. According to Krishnamurthy the community is known for two professions - as barbers and as nadaswara performers. The community is also called by different names like Bhajantri, Nayanaja Kshatriya, Savitha (those who took birth from the sun’s back) and Hadapad. There are around 16 sub-castes in the community.

Despite the new shortage, we still patiently cater to the needs of the people and we need to compensate for the increasing prices of cosmetics and rising salaries,” said Arun Kumar, a saloon owner in Jayanagar.

HAIR CUT AND PEDICURE
A posh hair salon promises to give you not a haircut but a hair makeover at the hands of stylists. But to get a taste of this top-notch service requires you to first set up an appointment with the stylist. Here you have the generous option of choosing between a senior or junior stylist to provide you with “consultation” service. You can also opt for the ‘style director’ which guarantees even more personalised attention apart from a greater level of expertise of course.

This choice obviously comes at a price - where a junior stylist services might set you back by Rs. 300- Rs.600, getting a new hair style from a senior stylist will lighten your pocket anywhere between Rs. 500- Rs. 1000 and more.

It’s all not just about getting a hair cut or even styled. It’s an entire package, which includes a pedicure and a head and neck massage. There is also the rarefied ambience to soak in, which does not a little to lift’s one’s self-esteem.


Price of a haircut
Ordinary saloon Rs 40 to 50 (it was Rs 25/- a year ago)

Mid-level saloon Rs 250 to 500

Premium Rs 750 to 1,000

STATS
Total population of Savitha Samaj members (barber community) in the state 35 to 40 Lakhs

Total number of saloons in Bangalore 25,000

Total number of saloons at the Taluk level 150-200 shops

Total number of saloons at the District level 250-300 shops

Total number of sub-castes in the community 15

Minimum investment every month Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000 (including salary, cosmetics & rent)