The Gazetteers Department

In a village, the itinerant barber moves from place to place to serve the customer. He keeps his accessories in what is popular-ly called the dhopti. These accessories consist of one or two razors, a pair of cropping machines, a comb, a piece of soap and an old mirror. This profession is generally followed by the 'Nhavi' community of the Hindus. In a village the barber prefers to sit under the shade of a tree or in the verandah of a house. In the towns this profession is not restricted to any particular community but is followed by those who have capacity and con-fidence. A town barber has generally to keep his shop well-fur-nished, and well equipped with various items such as mirrors, radio-sets, etc.

The furniture of a medium-sized establishment in towns con-sisted of six mirrors, four chairs, etc., altogether costing about Rs. 700 whereas the cost of tools and equipment of a small-unit varied between Rs. 50 and Rs. 100. The accessories of these est-ablishments consisted of cosmetics such as snow, powder, soap, etc.

The fixed capital of a hair cutting saloon varied from Rs. 200 to Rs. 1.000. depending upon the size of the business. The prices charged by the hair cutting saloons were generally the same in all types of establishments.

The survey revealed that the monthly gross income of a medium-sized saloon varied from Rs. 250 to Rs. 300, while that of a small saloon ranged between Rs. 120 and Rs. 240. Most of the saloons used family labour and only some were found to employ 1 or 2 outside workers giving them about half a portion of their earnings. The establishments were generally located in rented premises, the rent varying from Rs. 10 to Rs. 30 per month.

According to the 1951 Census, the services were grouped under 'Barbers, and Beauty shops' and the number of persons following this occupation was stated as 1,499 (men 1,476, women 23), As per the 1961 Census the number of persons engaged in services rendered by hair dressing saloons and beauty shops, stood at 1,834 men.

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