The street barbers Feature Nabeel Ahmed Abro

Feature

Nabeel Ahmed Abro

Roll#2k15/MC/66

BS part 3

The street barbers: hope for poor people still alive

“It is a fact acknowledged globally that a Labour is a friend of God.”

In many of our cities and towns these people are seen in variety of forms like carpenter, tailor, mason, barber and so onin the streets. You see especially the barbers with their entire outfit that can easily be packed in a handbag or worn on their bodies across the country. They squat opposite them on the streets too, and with a huge disregard for the passersby start shaving his head or beard!

The street barbers commonly donot require big showy equipment. In fact;they havenothing like a shop. There is no question of having a sign board like “Body focus hair dressing saloon” or something like that. Theirequipmentsare comprised of boast of a single razor, a couple of machines and a single pair of scissors, - none of whichis in a very shiny condition.

For all this, no one is poised to think that our street barbersare drawl fellows. They arethe story tellers and great conversationalists. No subject is behind their understandings: they can talk with confidence on every topic. From the latest political development in any part of the world to a mere gossip about the next door shopkeeper, your street barbers have the opinions to express it with confidence. As far as the cities of Pakistan are concerned, such kinds of barbers are found at different corners of Hyderabad. Where they put a chair and a large mirror in front of a tree to win the bread.

The barbers in a great deal are found at beside Wahdat Colony road, Sheedi Goath, Giddu Chock and Ponam Pump fly over Qasimabad, where the huts of Bagri community arein a good deal and the dastarkhawan of "Seelani" are to be landed as well. At that area poor people eat the lunch and also have dinner free of cost. On the other hand, on the religious occasions of Bagri community they also get their haircuts and got shaved under the open sky.

Above all, many landless communities come to Hyderabad for the purpose of trade. And some of them start to do this work. So, many of their families rely on this type of work.

Doda Jamali, one of the customers, said that nowadays in this expensive world it is difficult to earn two times food and it also becomestoo difficult to make the haircut once in a month in expensive barber shops. The rates of shopkeepers are so high that the poor people cannot afford it. At shop, barber takes 100 rupees for shave and 170 for hair cutting and whereas we pay only 30 rupees for shave and 50 rupees for hair cutting.

Thus, in such a condition there is no option better than street barber.To us, one rupee is the most important.Another customer Imran chang told that I along with my children used to go to barber for hair cutting as I am peon and live in a house of a rent, so in this connection I can’t afford expenses of barber shop.

Barber ustad Wazir Ali told that poor people including students who can’t afford the expenses of barber shopusually come to me for hair cutting and shave in low rates. Students especially come to me by their weekends. He further told that I do not pay the rent of a shop and also the utilities of electricity. It is the only reason that I get low rates. It is a quite true that their families depend on these barber shops.