Once upon a time, the scene of cutting hair and beards to get tools and scales was very well known in the village bazaars. The wandering Narsundars used to sit in rows. That scene seems to be lost now. However, Anand Sheel (65) of Bara Upazila of Pabna has remained in this profession for half a century. He is a resident of Raksa Mahalla of New Varenga Union of Bara Upazila.
Recently visiting Raksa Bazar, Anand was seen cutting hair and beard in an abandoned room of the old fish market in Sheel Hut. A small tool in the shop. Cutting the hair and beard of the customers sitting on that tool. People who come to him are from lower or middle class.
A man named Shahjahan Uddin, who came to cut his hair, said, ‘Anand Da is a sidewalk barber but his work is very good. When I was a child, I used to go to the market with my father and get my hair cut by him. Now I bring my son and cut his hair.’
Talking to the local elders, it is known that even two decades ago, the scene of itinerant men like Anand Sheel cutting their hair and beards was seen in different bazaars and remote villages of the country. Basically, they used to cut people’s hair and beards by sitting them on bricks or straws in the bazaar or going from house to house. At present the number of such Narasundas is very small. Suddenly two people meet at a market in a remote area. They don’t have a fixed place to sit. Wherever he gets a chance, he sits down with hair and beard cutting tools and sitting bricks and steps.
Anand Sheel’s regular customer is Tapan Sheikh of Bakchar village. He said, ‘I work for Kamla. It costs at least 60 rupees to go to the salon for hair and beard cutting. But with Enna, you can get hair and beard cut for only 30 taka. Enna’s work is no worse than that of the salon.’
Talking to Narasundar Sri Anand, it is known that this is how he cuts his beard and hair in this pre-independence market. People coming to the market from New Varenga, Bakchar, Bakhtarpur, Chakpara, Sonapadma areas are his customers. He runs his family by cutting his hair and beard. 20-30 taka for haircut and 15-20 taka for shave or beard trimming.
Narsundar Anand Sheel told Jago News, “Once upon a time, many people used to work as barbers in the bazaar.” But now there is no one else in this area except me. The income earned by working in the bazaar does not support the family. The income would have been a little higher than if I worked in a salon.’
Local Humayun Kabir said, “When I was young, my father used to take Raksa to the bazaar to get his hair cut. I used to fall asleep sitting on the tool and cutting my hair with my head on my knees. To future generations they will now seem like fairy tales.’
Chairman of the new Varenga Union. Abu Dawood said, the evolution of civilization has changed the course of human life. With the touch of innovation, the salons sitting in the bazaar are about to disappear. Namedami salons have taken the place of Narsundari. In the eighties and nineties, the familiar scene of cutting people’s hair and beards sitting on a straw like this is no longer common.
SR/JIM
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