JOIN USIt’s not even a matter of three-four hours to make someone learn how to cut one’s hair but the idea is to learn it properly, and to make it a source of income without any shame,” says hairdresser and stylist Parvez Habib, from the popular Habib’s salon.
Announcing his retirement on his 52nd birthday on November 29, Parvez spoke eloquently about his dream project to start a three-month course in hair cutting and hairdressing for underprivileged people, war widows, acid attack survivors and divorcees. Ask him about the initiative, and he tells Metrolife, “It has been my dream for the past 32 years, ever since I joined the profession. But as I was engrossed in my responsibilities including family and earning a name, I couldn’t devote time. Now, I feel it’s a perfect time to realise this dream.”
So what all will the initiative comprise of? “I plan to start with around 12 people and train them for free over a period of three months. During these months, they will be given a stipend and can also stay at our South Delhi’s Sainik Farm Habib’s centre which has a capacity for 100 people. Though the nitty-gritties are still being worked out, all the techniques and intricacies of styling and cutting will be imparted as part of the course,” explains Parvez.
Emphasising that it is not out of sympathy that he plans to do this project but “empathy”, and “to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision” of creating more jobs within the country, he says the idea is to include the ostracised people in society. “A lot of such people end up wasting their lives because they are not given jobs or aren’t qualified enough. In fact, many women think that marriage puts a full stop to their careers. But that is not so. It is rather a comma. I want to make those people learn the art who don’t have any other means of livelihood,” he says.
“I want to create an environment where working in a salon is not considered derogatory or less worthy, and at the same time, such people can realise their potential,” adds Parvez.
He also plans to include a few rehabilitated drug addicts in the longer run. “As we all know, people are sceptical to provide them jobs, so if this initiative can do something for them, why not?” he quips.
Parvez says that though the initiative doesn’t have a name as of now, he only wants it to serve its purpose rather than have a name. “What I want is that it should reach out to as many as possible. Even if my name is not taken, the initiative should work, is what I hope for,” says Parvez, who is the elder brother of celebrity hairstylist Jawed Habib.
Though Parvez initially wanted to be a dancer, on one of his teacher’s suggestion, he became a hairdresser, following on his father Habib Ahmed’s footsteps in the profession. “A teacher suggested that being a dancer will not help me have a longer career. So, he told me to choose a profession which has no ups and downs. And hairdressing is one such profession. Though earlier hair cutting was considered a small trade, with the influx of big players and awareness around grooming, it is no longer restricted,” he candidly admits.
Parvez says that the initiative is open to any and everyone who is willing to learn. “Though I am a hairstylist by profession but I call myself an artist because an artist never looks at the downside. I am sure that people will turn up for the initiative which initially may be for the money but eventually will be for the art of hairdressing,” he mentions, adding “I am a staunch supporter of the fact that unless a person is well-qualified, they shouldn’t be allowed to work. Because if they don’t work properly, it reflects badly on the practice itself.”
But doesn’t he think that a lot of people and their clientele might be skeptical of such an initiative? “There may be disfigured faces or people with disability people providing the services which may not go down well with a lot of people. I am ready to accept criticism, but I am looking towards the bigger picture. These people can get a new life, learn a new trade and restart their lives, which is more than anything I can ask for,” says Parvez.