Cut Cut Bang* Bang*

Earlier today I went to a salon with my nephews for their haircut. A lot went through my head during the short while that i was there.

The cut hair on the floor around the barber's chair reminded me of the movie called 'Everyone Says I'm Fine' that Rahul Bose also starred in. The premise of the story is that a hairdresser while cutting his clients' hair is able to read their minds and see all the tumult in their lives.

While i have seen many a salon manned by women since having been in the west, somehow it was for the very first time that i saw a salon that was owned and operated by Indian women, rather, women of Indian origin, for this is Canada. It was nice to see women in a profession that till not so long ago, at least in India, was considered to be male dominated.

It was also funny to see the expatriate parents who felt like they should have a say in the sort of haircut their young ones get. The stares that are exchanged between the kids and their parents, the wry smiles on the faces of the hairdressers and the confused looks on the faces of people who are not of Indian origin, were just, what is the word that i am looking for, priceless.

This salon wasn't particularly chic but it wasn't bad either - the ambiance of the place was nice, the staff was personable and skilled, and the facilities seemed to be good. One thing that irked me however was their selection of table top magazines for clients who were waiting for their turn. All that this salon had was some old editions of Revlon, Elle, or some such fashion mags - there was nothing to read or do while my nephews got their hair cut. It reminded me of one of my pet salons - the place used to have magazines such as Popular Mechanics and Flyer RC (this one is for enthusiasts of Radio Controlled Flying). How cool is that? I still remember the day when i willingly let a couple of people have their hair cut before me just because i was reading this super article about RC Controlled Choppers. This makes me wonder - what if there were theme salons? Now that will be nice. I for one will always go to a salon for engineers.

*Bangs is a term used in North America to refer to hair, especially long ones.