MISCELLANEOUS OCCUPATIONS

HAIR-CUTTING SALOONS

The barber has been a part and parcel of the social life all over. So, he is even in remote parts of the district. His ways of serving the society are indeed novel. Thus, wherever possible, he sets up permanent shops or hair-cutting saloons; or else, with a bag which is a miniature mobile saloon, knocks at the doors of his customers. Yet, for all this benevolence, the society reciprocates him by placing his seat on a low rung of its ladder. It is only in recent years that this occupation is losing the stigma attached to it in the past. Any person who has the initiative, enterprise and aptitude to take up to this occupation can do so in a most up-to-date manner sought after by the people of the locality. The units in the form of establishments are more a distinct feature of the urban parts than of the rural parts of the country. But it appears that with the exception of a few big towns having a population of more than fifteen thousand, the units everywhere are run on a small scale by artisans who are hardly adept in the art of their pursuit. It is only in big towns that the establishments are found to be well-equipped with furniture, light and fans, radio-sets and, in a few cases, with mechanical appliances, too. The general advance on the technical side in the course of years also seems to be reflected in the get-up of the hair-cutting saloons which are found to be provided with chairs of latest designs, mirrored walls, better toilet service and perfected machines, power-run in a few cases. Besides, the entire lay-out of the shops is arranged aesthetically, stress being given on its cleanliness and, above all the presentable appearance of the artisans does certainly contribute towards increasing the glamour of the establishments. The modern customer is not happy with a dilapidated chair or a fading out mirror or with an out-dated machine. What he wants is a cushioned chair to sit on, a fine glass ahead to look at, a smooth puff of powder round the face, a dainty hand squeeze of oil to soften the hair growth and a silent machine to carry out the hair-cutting operation. Naturally, this has enhanced the cost of equipment and, in general, the expenditure on establishment. It appears thus, that radical changes have taken place in respect of pattern, employment, equipment, income, etc., of this occupation. The sub-joined table shows the number of persons engaged in this occupation during the last sixty years:—

*The figures of occupational distribution of population are not obtainable in the Census of 1901.

†This figure does not cover the district fully. It is exclusive of employment in the Janira State, the same being not obtainable in the Census of 1921.

At the time of our survey, the number of establishments amounted to 14 at Alibag and 15 at Mahad, ward wise distribution whereof is given below:—

In the course of the survey, establishments of all sizes—medium, small and big—operating at the selected towns of the district such as Mahad, Pen, Panvel, Roha and Alibag among others were contacted. Following are the results of our findings.

Accessories.

The establishments do not seem to incur any expenditure on accessories except a small amount on cosmetics such as pomade,snow, face powder, scented oil and soaps, etc. But the itinerant barbers in the district are found to carry on with old practices which forbid the use of cosmetics and require nothing beyond a simple soap and coconut oil.

Tools and Equipment.

A few pair of scissors a razor and cropping machines are all the things that a person requires in the course or this pursuit. Whereas an itinerant barber can carry on with one set of these tools, a hair-dressing establishment must keep more than one set so as to be able to attend to a number of customers simultaneously. A shop is usually equipped with a few chairs, tables and mirrors which are hung on the walls. In a majority of establishments, the furniture used is one of a simple type and just enough to serve the purpose. It is only in a few establishments that it consists of revolving chairs and dressing tables often provided with mirrors among other amenities. Our sample survey disclosed that the cost of tools and equipment, in a small shop, was about Rs. 300. In a medium shop, the same was found to be about Rs. 500, but in a big shop, it exceeded a thousand rupees. The owners were inclined to invest more in tools and equipment with a view to giving a good appearance to the shop. Probably, this tendency can be traced to the craze for decency insisted upon by customers.

The occupation does not require a large capital investment since the latter represents only such disbursements as are involved in the purchase and maintenance of tools and equipment. Formerly,when a hair-dressing establishing was absent, the intinerant barber would carry on with an initial investment of Rs. 50. With the rising cost of tools, however, the initial investment has risen to more than a hundred rupees. At small villages in the district, the barber is found to manage with second hand tools acquired from his colleagues, who may have retired from work or from big hair-dressing establishments who may dispose of their tools after having used them for a fairly long period. In many cases, as the occupation is of a hereditary nature, tools are transferred from one person to another. Thus, the initial investment is reduced to a little repairing here and there.

Labour.

The itinerant barber leaves the house at about 8 a.m. and works till mid-noon, although the hours of duties are never uniform and vary in response to the work the artisan may be able to secure during the day. Usually, he moves about in certain localities on specific days in order to collect work. Excepting the hours as stipulated above, the artisan passes idle hours, although some-times, during this period of leisure, he is found to undertake the task of shearing animals. A hair-dressing establishment has however, fixed hours of work spread partly in the morning and partly in the evening and usually observes the time schedule rigidly. Except in big towns in the district where shops are busy during the mornings and where business is brisk during holidays, there is steady work and the occasions of having to work overtime are few and far between. The artisan is paid wages either on a fixed or on a piece-meal basis, but in either case, he earns an income of from Rs. 30 to Rs. 80 per month. The itinerant barber who is an independent artisan has not to incur any expenditure on establishment and earns an income ranging from a rupee or two on an average but sometimes even up to five rupees a day. No difficulty is envisaged by the shops in securing labour. A number of shops are found to be managed by a person who is the owner himself with the assistance of a few employees—usually one or two brought from among his relatives at the native place. Barbers as a class are, however, uneducated but not unwise, although in recent years, they have developed a high degree of general consciousness to enhance the standard of literacy. All the same, those who receive some education are not prone to under-take this occupation. Thus, this economic pursuit has hitherto attracted the uneducated class belonging to the Nhavi caste, which is one of the backward communities, and in consequence, remained unorganised.

Turnover.

Hair-cut and shaving are the only operations conducted by the artisans of the district, and no hair-dressing nor wig-making is attempted either by independent barbers or at the established shops. The quality of work rendered by the barbers in the district, whether working independently or engaged by the shops, is derelict. The rate of operation, too, is slightly less than one obtaining in the important cities of the State, probably because the expenditure on establishment and other items in the latter is bound to be higher than that in the former and because the capacity of the inhabitants is incomparably low when measured with that of persons residing in cities. The gross turnover of the shop, as revealed by our sample survey, was found to range from Rs. 4 to Rs. 7 a day in the case of a small shop, from Rs. 6 to Rs. 11 in a shop of a medium size and from Rs. 10 to Rs. 25 and sometimes even more in the case of a big establishment.

The barber is found to possess a small agricultural holding which is, more often than not, of an extremely uneconomic character. In the agricultural season, the artisan is very busy partly at the agricultural operations and partly at this pursuit. However, neither the tillage of land nor the ancestral occupation is independently or otherwise able to support him. Not only that but it is indeed difficult to decide in certain cases whether the person is mainly an artisan or the tiller of land. Further-more, the efflux of a number of artisans to Bombay in search of employment provides a substantial indication of the unremunerative character of the occupation in the district. The artisan working independently or in the shops in urban parts of the country is better placed than his colleague in its rural parts. All the same, even the economic' condition of the former leaves much to be desired. Probably, the low economic status of the occupation has its impact on a few factors; firstly, the artisans at the shops are pure and simple wage-earners, while the cream of the earnings passes on to the proprietors. Presumably, this is one of the evils of industrialisation. Secondly, the independent artisan, who has none else to share his earnings and whose occupational outlay on recurring items is hardly anything is found, in the absence of a fixed establishment, to lose customers and to suffer instability in the occupation. No surprise, therefore, that a number of independent artisans to-day should be prone to shift over to the hair-cutting shops as pure and simple wage-earners.

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