TN woman storms male bastion to earn a decent living

It is common for women to work or own beauty parlours for the fair sex. But a visitor to a busy market area at Trichy in Tamil Nadu will see an unusual sight of a woman holding a pair of scissors or a razor and performing hair cutting or shaving.

Patricia Mary, 32, has taken over the mantle of barber as her husband is now confined to bed at a
de-addiction centre due to excessive alcoholism.

He got admitted to a hospital after an accident and the deaddiction was also taken up simultaneously.

Mary is running her husband’s “New Wembley” Salon at Chitamani market area in Trichy town where she does haircut, shaving and facials for men.

Many passersby stop in disbelief and then move on seeing Mary at work.

Life was comfortable when Mary got married to Reuban Shanmuganathan at the age of 22. Her husband was doing well and the salon business was flourishing.

After the wedding, Mary, a diploma-holder in embroidery, purchased a sewing machine and took up tailoring work and life was cruising well and she became a mother to a boy and a girl.  

Then, things suddenly turned and life went topsy-turvy as Shanmuganathan became an alcoholic.

“My husband took over the business from his father and earned a decent amount. I also helped him financially by taking up tailoring. I would stitch blouse, churidars and even school uniforms. Life was normal till then,” Mary said, while attending to a customer, who came for a haircut.

“It was a love marriage. I knew my husband used to consume alcohol before the marriage. However, he stopped after our wedding. But he fell back to old habit,” she recollected.

During her free time, Mary would assist her husband in mixing hair dyes and facial bleach.

“I learnt hair cutting by watching my husband in action. Once I cut his hair after he gave some tips. It came out well. Then, I started cutting my son’s hair and after that the work was
regular affair for me,” she said.

However, her husband took to drinking again, affecting his health. Left with no choice, Mary had to take up her better half's profession to ensure the family two meals a day.

After her husband stopped working, Mary had to take over it and run the business. “I needed to pay school fees of my children. My parents are poor and they could not help at that time.

With the help and encouragement of Women’s Enterprises Association of Tamil Nadu, I was able to run it,” she said.  

Her daughter is studying in the seve­nth standard and son in the fifth standard in a private school. The reaction to her decision was muted. Her problem was getting male customers. They were little hesitant to come as they had doubts about my abilities.

“Initially, they were reluctant to come to my shop. Slowly, people started walking in. I work from 7 am to 6 pm,” Mary said.

“To begin with, some customers, especially college students, were reluctant to allow me to work on their hairstyle. After the initial experience, they are confident and allow me to work on their hair,” she added.

She claimed that “a few people offer me tips but I refuse. Some ask for discount. In some cases, I charge less so that the customer returns again,” she said.

In the first few months, Mary would get about five customers a day. Now, on an average she gets at least ten customers. “I earn about Rs 300 per day from the shop. I make about Rs 3,000 a month through my sewing work,” she said. During festival seasons, her earnings through sewing will double, which, she said, will be useful for her husband's treatment.

Shanmuganathan said that he will return once he is fit after the treatment. “I had given up liquor after attending regular counselling sessions at Alcoholics Anonymous.

All credit to my wife, who gave my life back,” he claimed. Mary also offers door service for female customers in the nearby area.

At New Wembley Salon, an ordinary haircut costs Rs 50 and Rs 20 for shaving. Facials and other makeup charges range between Rs 200 and Rs 500. “I do not work on Friday. That is the only day,
I spend with my children and husband,” she said.  

Mary gets up at 4 am and completes her household work and readies children for school. She hopes to expand her salon and employ more women and also men and she is planning to approach a bank for a loan.

“After my husband comes back to work, I will approach a bank for securing loan,” Mary said.  

Mary, who has no great ambitions, feels women should have the courage to face  life and deal with any crisis.

“They should not be cowed by the situation. Instead, they should muster courage and face the situation and problems,” she said. 

Shanmuganathan sounded confident that he would do a better job, including renovating the salon in the future with his wife’s help.