Sisters turn barbers in UP’s Kushinagar, shave off poverty

Teen sisters of Gorakhpur turn barber to
Two teenaged sisters have probably breached one of the last male bastions by becoming barbers and giving haircuts and shaving beards at a men’s saloon in Kushinagar district.
Nearly five years ago, sisters Jyoti (18) and Neha (16) started working as barbers at a makeshift shop owned by their father Dhruv Narayan in Banwari Tola village in Padrauna, Kushinagar, in the guise of boys.
It was only in recent times that people outside the village discovered that they were girls doing a job mostly done by men.
The girls say that they picked up the scissors not by choice but out of compulsion after their father suffered a paralysis attack.
“Though my grandfather and father worked as barbers, we never thought that we would also have to take up this job. It was our poor family condition that compelled us to step into our father’s shoes. I was studying when my father fell ill and had to close down his shop. As it became a matter of survival for us, we were left with no other option but to reopen the shop,” says Jyoti.
To avoid criticism and ridicule, Jyoti started off in the guise of a boy and was later joined by her younger sister Neha.
Youngest among eight sisters, six of whom have been married off, Jyoti and Neha dressed up as boys and sported short hair to let the customers feel comfortable.
The sisters say that the customers initially treated them as boys but later they came to know about the reality which drew sharp criticism from relatives, who never stood by them in their trying times.
Jyoti dropped out after class 12 while Neha discontinued studies after class 10.
The hard work put in by them yielded good income to support their family and helped in the treatment of their father. The girls turned their makeshift shop into a saloon and now earn around ₹400-500 daily.
“When I started off, I had no idea about shaving or haircut. I changed my named as Deepak aka Raju to hide my identity. Later, Neha also shunned hesitation and joined me,” says Jyoti.
“Today, we do not need to hide our identity as everyone know us. Our relatives still feel that this work lacks dignity. I now want to switch to beauty parlour business which is today a source of dignified livelihood to thousands of women in India,” she adds.
Dhruv Narayan, who has still not recovered fully, says: “I feel proud of my daughters who supported the family in crisis.”
-
39-km ring road project: Ambala admn to disburse land compensation from next week
Compensation against land acquired for the Ambala ring road project will be disbursed to land owners from next week, officials of the district administration said on Thursday. “NHAI has already released ₹150 crore for land compensation. Further process for disbursement will be initiated by the district revenue officer,” said Kuldeep Chand, an official from the technical branch of NHAI's Ambala zone office.
-
Pegged as self-financed, several Panjab University courses proving economically unviable
While the first decade of 2000s began with the launch of several self-financed courses at Panjab University, envisaging them as money-spinners, not all courses have managed financial viability in the long run. University Institute of Applied Management Sciences and University Institute of Legal Studies are generating surplus revenue. Even in the next near, the income of ₹7.05 crore fell short of the expenditure of ₹20.55 crore.
-
Chandigarh family away at Shimla finds house burgled after return
Thieves broke into a house in Sector 8-C while the family was away at Shimla, and decamped with ₹3.5 lakh in cash and some gold jewellery. On returning home on August 10, they found the cupboards in their house ransacked and ₹3.5 lakh in cash, along with gold jewellery, missing. On The complainant, a retired bank officer's complaint, Jagdeep Singh, police lodged an FIR under Sections 380 (theft) and 457 (house-trespass) of the Indian Penal Code at the Sector-3 police station.
-
Lower liquor prices in Punjab cause slump in sales in Chandigarh
Cheaper booze in Punjab has left the liquor contractors in Chandigarh in red, as Bacchus lovers have turned to neighbouring Mohali for their liquor fix. After the recent cut in liquor prices in Punjab under its new excise policy, liquor vend contractors in Chandigarh claim their sales have declined by 40% to 50% within days and unless, the tax rate in Chandigarh is brought on par with Punjab, the slump in their sales will continue.
-
Lineman electrocuted in Dera Bassi, PSPCL JE booked for negligence
A day after a 26-year-old lineman was electrocuted to death while fixing power lines in Mubarakpur, Dera Bassi, the police on Thursday lodged an FIR against a junior engineer with the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited. The junior engineer, Talwinder Singh, was booked under Section 304-A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code. The deceased lineman, Mandeep Singh, was a resident of Sundran village, Dera Bassi.