Essays

Perhaps no other feature in the human body plays as important a social role as hair. Long regarded as the highlight of a woman's beauty, many references are made in ancient literature to the long flowing tresses of a beautiful maiden.

In Indian thought, the mustache too has played a critical role in defining the virility of a male. With such a social outlook on hair, it is but natural that the barber plays an important role in the social systems of the people.

In early ties, villages were small and barbers who visited houses regularly to cut hair or shave soon become a privy to the family situation and secrets. The barber, being a regular visitor watched children grow and blossom into youth. As a natural response he began to match-make. The importance given to a barber is perhaps a response to his old role in fixing weddings.

In fact in Bihari weddings, it is the barber who carries the letter fixing the wedding date from the home of the bride to the home of the groom. The groom's families place it in the puja and then sign it and give it to the barber. He is turn returns it to the bride's family. It is only after this that preparations for the marriage begin.

In Orissa the family barber accompanies the groom's procession. It is he along with his assistants who blow the conch and create a sound called hulhuli made by the rolling of the tongue. These sounds are created throughout the ceremonies.

According to Bengali custom, the bride and groom after the ceremonial bath, dress in a new set of clothes gifted by the in-laws. The set they were wearing prior to this is given away to the family barber.

In the olden times it was not unusual for the barber to perform a "sarvanga vapanam" or shaving off hair all over the body for a man. Many believe it was a way of closely examine the physical fitness of a groom prior to marriage. This is no longer performed in today's world except in some tribal areas.

Perhaps the importance of the barber can also be attributed to the fact that he is associated with the tonsure which is considered significant in most Indian communities, i Tonsure is believed to be a symbolic shedding of the ego of a person and the surrender to the power of the Almighty.                            

 Today many also believe that the early tonsure of a child ensures that a good growth of hair will follow. The first shaving of a young boy or the "Kesanta" is referred to even in the Vedas.

It was performed to mark the arrival of youth and the departure of childhood. The belief was that the ceremony would awaken the conscious of manhood and remind the boy to exercise caution over his youthful impulses. With so much reference to the hair in our rituals and beliefs, it is not unusual that the barber plays a critical role in many functions. He brought with his role apersonal touch and a family connection—a system that is on its way out today. All said and done, more people now are depending on him for a closes shave rather than doing it themselves each morning. The business class and the politicians are getting so used to the barber's shave before bath and dressing up for the day’s work. The barber is still on the scene but for different purposes like a hair crop at intervals of a few months and dyeing the hair jit black. And then off he goes till sent for a limited practical agenda. There is not much time to sit and heartily gossip.