SM Suman Rashid, Amtali (Barguna) Representative: There used to be a hair cutting festival with temporary salons on both sides of the road in Nomarhat Bazar, Amtali Upazila. Today, they are disappearing with the evolution of time.
Gulishakhali, Kukua, Haldia in Amtoli Upazila,
Weekly small and large markets were held continuously in Atharogachia, Chawra, Amtali, and Arpangashia unions. In this, grocery stores, raw materials markets, fish markets, blacksmiths, potters, weavers, and salons sat on the sidewalks and had a festival of haircuts. There would be quite a crowd of haircuts on the sidewalks. They would stand in rows one after the other. Today, the historical scene of haircuts is being lost due to the evolution of time and space.
The elders said that there was a weekly market in Amtali on Wednesdays. There were many barbers, including Amal Babu, who used to sit on bricks and cut hair. However, the word barber was not only used for barbers, it was said to be a lineage of them.
The person cutting the hair would sit on his knees while the barber would cut the hair.
But even if they forget about this tradition, they will not forget the people who cut their hair on their knees.
Humans are naturally worshippers of beauty. Hair and beards carry the beauty of a person, and people have been thinking about this hair and beard for ages. This is why the value and need of barbers is very high. Those whose job is to make people beautiful by cutting their hair and beards are barbers.
With the evolution of civilization, the new beauty salons on the side of the road are now a thing of the past. Modern salons and parlors have taken their place. Although they cannot survive in modernity, the elderly still hold on to their old professions in order to make a living. They can still be seen cutting hair and beards in markets, on the banks of the river, on the sidewalks or in rural areas, or sitting on benches arranged on bricks. But even if you can see hair cutting, it is only done by one or two barbers who do it on a very small scale. However, hairdressers were quite well known as barbers back then.
Makhan Shil was the barber of Kalibari in Gulishakhali. Most of the men in his family worked in this profession. Makhan Shil used to cut hair sitting on the street at the weekly markets in the Kalagachhia, Gojkhali, Khekuani, and Kalibari areas of Gulishakhali Union. Occasionally, he would get into arguments over where he sat.
Nakul Shil still cuts hair and beards by visiting various markets in Amtali Upazila. Nakul Shil said in a tone of disappointment, “I have continued my father’s profession but there are no buyers. Now there is no one who cuts hair and beards sitting under the open sky in markets. Let alone running a family, the money to buy combs, soap, alum, powder and lotion is not enough.”
He said that many years ago, you had to pay four paisa for a haircut and two paisa for a beard trim. The family used to run well with the income at that time, but now, the daily wage you earn by shaving your hair for 30 taka and your beard for 20 taka is not enough to make up for the shortfall in your family. But earlier, I used to shave with a Balaka blade, which cost 1 taka. I buy this blade for 5 taka. I can save a lot of money.
In this regard, he recalled the past and said, “Earlier, we used to work on annual contracts, but now that rule is not there.” He lamented that the changes that have come now include the tools and equipment for cutting hair and beards. Sharp razors are no longer seen in those salons, instead, razors with blades have come in. Shaving creams, lotions, hair curlers have come. When he started this work, these were unimaginable.
Gulishakhali resident Shah Nur Rahim Risad Monti said, “When I was young, I used to go to the market with my father. I used to go to the market to get my hair cut. Now, no one cuts hair and beards on the side of the road, and boys and girls’ hair is cut in modern salons. Even if we still see this scene with our own eyes, there will come a time when it will surely seem like a story to future generations.”
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