U V Kini: Barbers

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Among the many things that a man loves is, to be given a shave by another. It’s a good feeling. You sit back in the barber’s chair with your eyes closed and enjoy the trip. The lathering of your face, the shaving and the massaging of your face with cream later, is an experience you have to go through to enjoy. For me though, the head massage at the end of the haircut is something I enjoy more than the shave. But some barbers make more noise (by beating your head) than give you a good massage. Sorry ladies, with all the talk of equality by women’s lib organizations, this is one (man’s) domain you can never hope to encroach!

One thing a man hates to do every morning is to shave is own face. You get up in the morning and when you look at your mug in the mirror and see the stubble, you curse at the thought of shaving. There was an ad by Godrej shaving cream some years back with a catch line “the one bright spot in a man’s morning”. I used to say “shaving - the one dull spot in a man’s morning”.

It’s good time pass at the Barbers. I remember a funny conversation with my barber, in Mangalore, which took place many years ago. There was a good English movie, Blue Thunder, (starring Roy Sheider) showing at New Chitra Talkies, Mangalore. While cutting my hair, my barber said “Kini avare, did you see that movie. There is a scene in which an air force plane fires a rocket at a helicopter but misses and hits a building and explodes. Yentha seen appa adu!!” I said “Yes, I saw it yesterday, when did you see it?” He said “I did not, my friend told me about it!”

They are also the storehouse of local gossip. Any information on any local person is available with your friendly neighbourhood barber. To get any info, you just have to ask an innocent question about somebody. The barber will then give you the person’s whole life story.

There was a time (about 50 years back) when hair cutting would be done at home. Well to do families would have the barber come to their house and all the members of the family would have the haircuts done en masse. A certain day of the month was fixed for this purpose. The barber would arrive with his box of scissors, blades combs mirrors etc. In Konkani it was called “kapaaNi pEthi”. (Barber’s box). This sobriquet stuck for any box used for hoarding personal valuables by any person. During his visit, the barber would be fed first and later the hair cutting and shaving would be done outside the house, usually under a tree, with all the members of the house queuing up for their cut.

Barbers originally used to shave with the straight razor, also called the cut - throat razor. The first thing a barber did when he came to his shop was to hone his razor on the oiled whetting stone. Then he would strop it regularly, between shaves, on a leather strap hung in a corner, for sharpening. But nowadays they have razors, which use disposable blades. Each customer is shaved with a new (half) blade.

Have you noticed that very young boys nowadays grow thick sideburns before they sprout moustaches? On some children it looks unsightly. It is because the barbers use razor blades to trim and straighten the sideburns. They just drag the blade all the way down the chin after trimming. They used to do it with manual hair trimmers and scissors earlier. Manual hair trimmers have been replaced by electric trimmers and the barbers do not have the patience to plug in the trimmer and use it. They also do not use the trimmers on the nape of the neck (just above the shirt collar) for trimming the hair. They use the razor blade.

This practice is very very dangerous. All sorts of people come to the barber. You never know who is a carrier of what kind of disease.. So if a blade that has earlier nicked a person infected with a dangerous disease, nicks you, God help you. When you are being shaved however, the risk is a lot lesser. That is because the most viruses cannot survive in soap lather. But when the barbers trim your side burns or the nape of your neck with the naked razor, you are at risk. More often than not they use the same razor blade used on others. They change blades only for a shave.

I have made it point (you can say I am paranoid about this), never to allow the barber to use a naked blade on my son or on me. He uses the scissors for trimming my nape as well. I had even got into an argument with the barber when he used a blade on my son in spite of my telling him not to. Whenever I go the saloon I just have to look at the barber and he says “Maalom hai saab, blade lagaaneka nahin!”

U. V. KINI is currently currently residing at Margao, Goa. With his wife, son and daughter. He has printend and published two books. Sanathana Dharma - An introduction to Hinduism (English) and A compilation of Kannada, Marathi, Hindi and Konkani Bhajans printed in both Kannada and Devanagari scripts.

He has currently commenced work on a third book.

Mr Kini, member of the Executive committe of GSB Samaj, Goa, was born and brought up in Mangalore and has done his schooling in St. Alosius, Mangalore.