ISSN No-2231-5063

Vol.1,Issue.XII/June 2012pp.1-4

Research Paper

BARBER CULTURE: A NEWSWORTHY ADVANCE OF BOLPUR TOWN

Dr. Prohlad Roy Visiting Inspector of NCTE in Eastern India, Assistant professor, Deptt. of Education, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan

ABSTRACT Since the Empire of Ballal Sen (king of Gour during middle of 12th century AD) this discrepancies was generated in Bengal's society and originated like Brahmin, Khatrio, Baishya, Sudrah. Barber was a specific untouchable backward community of sudrah- society. Usually barbers belong to a heredity caste or clan and a reflector of purifying and cleaning of our blue planet's society.

Due to untouchable they are not engaged in other jobs without their own saloon work and ultimately their economic, educational and social backbone cannot witness with significant developmental scenario till today in most part of our country. But with the advent of globalization, the saloon work and barber's social life has been changing to some extent from its origination in respect of working method, process and location. The present paper highlights such a group of barbers' people who are engaged in saloon work in Bolpur town depicting the changing cultural scenario related to their working life and the needs of their life with changing society. KEY WORD: Napit, Sudrah, globalization, migration, untouchable. INTRODUCTION: Mansuhanghita (a most ancient book of Hindu rules and regulations) is the parents of caste division of social stratification in Hindu society. According to this book, our society was classified into four-group like- Brahmin, Khatrya, Baisahya, Sudhra. Brahmin is the most higher caste and belonging to the tip of society or in social stratification in respect of all purity, ability, social administrative power, knowledge, regulator and controller of all lower caste mainly Sudrhaya. According to Manushanghita, the birthplace of Brahmin community is the mouth of Brahma (God of Universe). So Brahmin has highest power in society and all in caste. And sudraya is the servant of all the higher caste of the society. These sudraya people are untouchable in Hindu society so their work is to purity and clean the higher all castes (Brahmin,Khatrio & Baishya) through the cutting of their hair, beard ,nails. Barbers are identified in Hindu society specific some surnames like Brahmin, Paramanick, Thakur etc .When we will open the historical page of barber, then a vast controversial background comes up. Archeologists have found well designed copper-bronze razors in Indus valley excavation. In ancient Indian barber's were traditionally used a messengers & go between delicate matters. Even today in rural India, for instance, opening the discussion of an arranged marriage alliance to the father of a prospective groom & bride, barbers are the proffered gobetween. Since the empire of Ballal Sen community division in Hindu society has been emerged strongly & from that time all the barbers were belonging in Sudrah community. For that reasons they are untouchable. They don't touch to Brahmin (upper class community of society) and even unfortunately if they touch to Brahmin, then the upper class Brahmin expelled from one's caste (or out-caste). So, the statuses of these Napits are belonging in untouchable part of our society till today. Though it has been slightly reformatted from modern scientific time period but most part of rural as well as urban India, it is doing maintained, that is, barbering work only made for barber community. Court barber' with direct access to the kings and ministers were obviously men of influence. In fact the founder of the immense Nanda Empire (pre-Mayurayan) started life as a humble Barber. In ancient India they also performed surgery and dentistry to battle field injuries because of their expertise in handing the razor. If we want to find out the time period of the application of this barbering concept in Indian society, then we have huge winsome examples like- looking at old Indian sculpture(Pasupati murti of Harrapa civilization,scupter of Gautam Buddha on rock etc.) .We notice most of the men folk were clean shaves, except wondering wise men. In our country barber was basically attached to village and was paid every harvest in sacks of grain, granted some land which he could till, a place to stay and obtained some tips. In turn, he had to look after the hair of everybody in village. In some rural area hairy species of water buffalo too needed regular skin shaves. In ancient society the rural India was experienced the mobile barbers who moved around, bringing alone their kit as they move from village hut to village houses .So on that times the barbers shops were not developed in modern way or as like in permanent shop. Gradually with the stepping of time, barbers set up their

Golden Research Thoughts Please cite this Article as : Dr. Prohlad Roy, ABARBER CULTURE: A NEWSWORTHY ADVANCE OF BOLPUR TOWN : Golden Research Thoughts (June ; 2012)

BARBER CULTURE: A NEWSWORTHY ADVANCE OF BOLPUR TOWN

Vol.1,Issue.XII/June 2012;

shops under a convenient shady tree (or canopy type greenish trunk tree) or cross roads junction or markets. After that a ramshackle wooden shade or kaccha wall (made by bamboos strip with soil) with tin roof (or rice straw roof) serve as a barber shop there is usually big mirror, and ancient wooden chair with an adjustable neck rest for shaving has emerged. Which ultimately move to concrete A.C. barber shop (mainly in urban area). With the improvement of our scientific civilization, curtain system (Parda pratha in Bengali) of our society has been partially deteriorating and for this Indian female society has came to contribute their contribution in barber activities with the help of barber shop, especially name as female beauty parlor. METHODOLOGY: The study is best on primary data which includes door to door survey of the total 50 barber shops and houses of barber, personal interview and other convenient sources due to complete non- availability of secondary data. Here random sampling techniques have been applied due to large number of observation. ABOUT THE STUDY AREA: Bolpur is a in Birbhum District in the state of West Bengal, India. It is 145 km north of Kolkata and is best known for the proximity to Visva- Bharati, the university set up by Rabindranath Tagore the Nobel laureate poet. Given its proximity to Santiniketan and Sriniketan it is one of the seats of Culture and education in West Bengal.Bolpur is located at 2340'N 8743'E / 2367'N 8772'E. Bolpur is 2 km away from Tagore's Shantiniketan. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study comprise the followingTo highlight the concept of barber, barber shop and barber culture The rate and magnitude of changing scenario of saloon workers culture with barber shops in the context of modernization, nationalization and globalization in Bolpur town. And To elaborate the barber's perception about customers (welfare aspiration, market competition) . BARBERSHOP IN BOLPUR TOWN: In the initiation of barbering, barbers were mobile and moved around, bringing along with their kit as they move village home to home. After some time period, their mobile behavior has some changed and become static and set up barber shop under a convenient shady tree or crossroads junction or market. And in modern phase their barbershop has moved to concrete globalize structure (like-'Friend' Barber shop of Bolpur town). Though recently in some rural hut (local Bengal's term market structures in specific day of every week), there are some relict of the old age barbershop is found but the number of it's very shortly (recently it is found in back side of Bolpur-sriniketan railway station, where saloon work is done under tree shade with old style chair &no mirror is found here for customer). In ancient time due to lack of concrete saloon or modern nameplate or glow signboard, people find out the barbershop with the name of the barbers, like Hari Napit (local name of barber) shop. But in modern phase, in most part of Bolpur, around 50% barbershop has its specific glow signboard or nameplate e.g. Rupam saloon, Glamour saloon. But there are around 50% barbershop of this block has no name in front of their barbershops. These all are identify by customer with the name of barber of those barbershops like Ambika Thakur's saloon in Santiniketan road. RECENT BARBER CULTURE In ancient time customers were seated on one or two bricks structure and the barber cutting the hair or braded with standing or sometimes bending their knees or they also seated on the some higher place than customers. With the increasing of time, it moves to an ancient wooden chair with an adjustable neck rest for shaving. And which is found most frequently in recent modern phase, this seating place and its nature moves to highly modernized bearing with sponging chair (found in mainly 20% saloon).
Setting on one or two bricks accumulated in a place

Simple wooden chair

Modernized bearing chairs

BARBER DRESSES

Bengalis Hindu identified specimen dress :Dhoti- Lower wear, Panjabi- upper wear

western style dresses:Pantlower wear,Shirt-upper wear

Please cite this Article as : Dr. Prohlad Roy, ABARBER CULTURE: A NEWSWORTHY ADVANCE OF BOLPUR TOWN : Golden Research Thoughts (June ; 2012)

BARBER CULTURE: A NEWSWORTHY ADVANCE OF BOLPUR TOWN

Vol.1,Issue.XII/June 2012;

USE OF CLOTHS DURING CUTTING OF HAIR & BREAD:

White colour markin(local term) cloths

Modernized towel

USE OF TOOLS FOR CUTTING BEARD:

Khur (local Bengal term of Razor)

Khur (local Bengal term of Razor)

Khur (local Bengal term of Razor)

USE OF SHAVING CRAM

No cream, only use water for wetting beard

Godrej bati soap (Local term) soap,

5 star cream, cosmos cream, denim

Redimate foam (ex. Glide shaving foam)

USE OF BRUSH FOR SURF ING CREAM

Specific cream surfi ng roller made by wooden / Plastic Structure in lower part & very t hin hair l ike nucleated bendabl e vertically attached plastics

No creamused, only Bati soap i s used for create foam by using hand &water

No use of brush, only use foam, with hand on cust omer face

Specific instrument for wetting beard:

No instrument, only used water by water for wetting beard

Glass bot tle with brazen knob for water spraying

Pl asti c bottle for water spraying

Method of hair cutting & use of tools:

Onl y one ty pe of hair cutting with shear

Specific iron-based hair cutter from 1980

Different Sizes hai r clipper - 12 MM or 3/8 , 4 MM, " or 3MM, hairdryer Machine.

In ancient India, the hair colouring method was not applied in society. But due to scientific revolution and modernization, our Indian society as well as Bolpur society is trying to adopt the modern techniques (like-Garnier colour natura) in their hair colouring like Blue or reddish or brown etc. In most modern period, when peoples are highly influenced by cinema artist, national players etc. The frequency of hair cutting, beard maintaining, face washing, cleaning, bleaching has increased largely. So the uses of different creams, techniques, methods, washing instruments have increased largely with like face scrubbing by Herbal Apticotface body scrub, Biofresh fruit cream, Aroma plus Herbal-Astringent Lotion, Dabur Gulabori premium, Hip[hop skin com foam wash , Aroma plus Herbal cleaning milk, Bio- fresh diamond kit of face wash ,naturoma saffire- cleaning gey. In earliest time period of our earth's civilization, the massage in barbering was not found .But Please cite this Article as : Dr. Prohlad Roy, ABARBER CULTURE: A NEWSWORTHY ADVANCE OF BOLPUR TOWN : Golden Research Thoughts (June ; 2012)

BARBER CULTURE: A NEWSWORTHY ADVANCE OF BOLPUR TOWN

Vol.1,Issue.XII/June 2012;

with the improvement & growth of our society, the fashion, passion & desire of folk peoples has been changed. Due to heavy working- day of man, people try to take some rest period with the body, scull, and hand and in most modernly face massage. With the changing aspiration vis a vis behavior of the human being, there are different companies are trying to supply the required needs of massage methods to fulfill human more satisfaction. And to support this statement, I will deliberate some examples from the Bolpur-barbershops, where sporadic massage creams (Olina massage cream of Himachal Pradesh) are being used in this first decade of 21st century. Most of the barbers (modernized or old fashion shops) of this town follow some different head and body massage methods. According to these barbers, the causes of these types of massaging after hair or beard cutting are one type of facility to capture more customers.Most the modern barbershops (Rupam saloon,Keshbinnash saloon ) used T.V., digital sound player(C.D.) in their barbershops. In this whole surveying, it has come out that, comparative old fashion songs (1960-80 decade Indian Bollywood songs) are used here for entertaining of Napit's & customers, rather modern Rock-music. I think, these old-age slow-redhym highly thoughtful songs create a peaceful & restful mind for customer & barbers which ultimately create some psychological peaceful condition for their nerve-system in their hardy working life. On the lop sided comparative less modern poor barbershops( like-Sakuntala saloon at Bhubandanga)also followed the entertaining media like Radio .Even sometime, when if this radio entertaining method is not available , then barber create a song-full environment through their own voice also eradicate the fatigue body & mind condition of customers. They used fresh daily washing clothes for cutting or beard .they deposited all the cutting hairs to the specific corners of their shops. They transported all hair & disposal materials of their shops (like used shaving foams, bled, cottons, mouth fresher nappies) from their shops. I have search their most cleanness behavior i.e. all shops deposit disposal items of their shops into a specific bucket or dustbin in specific shops corner, which in not looking frequently when customer entrance to shops. Even those salons are very poor in structurally and economically, they are also following cleanness behavior through the temporary accumulated of cutting hairs and other waste items in the specific corners of their shops.To maintain their own position of income different barbers adopt different methods in their barbering process. For explaining, they are used music system T .V. special waiting place, different modern creams or Lotion after shaving &before shaving & they felled the customer demand with patiently. Modernized saloons are largely followed by above facilities. For catching customer, most of the barbers are followed of their specific new facilities like try to give some light massage to customerbody, head, hand, fingers, without any additional cost after hair cutting or shaving .comparatively, some economically poor barbers, they try to give some new extra facilities to their customer like after & before shaving, they clean the face of customers with modern Tonner or cleaning milk ( like -Aromaplus Herbal cleaning milk of Kolkata)without any additional cost . But they try to give their best and they followed their good hand massage after haircutting or shaving. Globalization improves the disease consciousness among Barbers. For instance, after whole day working, they clean their hands by soap or Detols. Also in their shop they use individual bleeds for individual-folk. Most of the Bolpur barbers (92%) are not conscious about their own health and customers health. Rest of beauty parlor both male & female shops maintained their 'no smoking' writing in interior of shops for example, Friends beauty parlor. REFERENCES:
1. Ahmed A (2004) 'Social Geography', Rawat publication, New Delhi 2. Basu Roy & Saha P (2008) 'Social area analysis of urban slum dwellers A case study of Rampurhat Town district,W.B.' 3. Bhatia V.K. & Rai S. C. (2003-04), 'Evaluation of socio-economic development in small area' Indian society of agriculture statistics, New Delhi. 4. Hudson C.G. (2005), Socio-economic status and mental illness: Test of the social causation sand selection hypotheses American journal of Orthopsychiatry, no.755. 5. Madhiwala N, (2006) 'Healthier in urban slum in India' The national medical journal of India, New Delhi, Vol.20, No.3.6. 6. Verma L.N. (2006) 'Urban Geography'Rawat publication, New Delhi.

Please cite this Article as : Dr. Prohlad Roy, ABARBER CULTURE: A NEWSWORTHY ADVANCE OF BOLPUR TOWN : Golden Research Thoughts Golden Research Thoughts (June ; 2012)