In a small salon in a nondescript town in northern India, a haircut is not just a trim or a crewcut, but an opportunity to have some art embossed on the back of your head.
Brothers Rajwinder and Gurwinder Singh Sidhu in Dabwali in India’s Punjab state are now famous in their small part of the world for giving haircuts shaped in images of the customer’s choice.
From the Taj Mahal, complete with its many turrets and towers, to a lifelike portrait of Michael Jackson, the brothers use a range of trimmers, scissors and pencils, among other tools, to get every minute detail of the hairdos correct.
Photo: Reuters
“In the beginning we used to give anyone we could get hold of free haircuts so that we could practice our skills on them. Some days we used to practice till 2am, because during the day we used to run the regular salon,” said Rajwinder Singh Sidhu, the younger of the two brothers.
These days the brothers, aged 29 and 31, charge anywhere from US$20 to US$30 for their special hairdos, and say they have plans to take their business outside of India as well.
From requests of images of Bollywood stars to popular sports stars and even an impression of Mickey Mouse, the brothers’ salon is seeing a steady stream of customers who want to draw attention to themselves at social gatherings or events, but do not want something lasting, like traditional tattoos.
“Today, I got a tattoo of the Taj Mahal. The monument is very beautiful and with this tattoo, I will stand out in the crowd,” said salon customer Darbar Singh, showing off his brand new haircut.
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