[Urbanstudy] (Fourth Posting) : parlors, people and medicalisation process.

Thu Jul 27 20:48:16 IST 2006

Hi,
  As  by now you all must be aware that i am working on the beauty industry in Pune where i am specifically  studying various parlors within the city and researching on the notion of space, consumption, labor and medicalisation process.This is my fourth posting whereby i am sharing the experience of one Dr. Koparkar who being a doctor by profession is running successful parlors in the heart of the city  and has single handedly brought a new meaning to the notion of beauty parlors. From him i have got valuable information not only about how parlors evolved and later took shape in the city but also about the people involved in this business and most importantly why medicalisation process has become an important aspect of parlors today. I am hereby bringing out beauty parlors in the eyes of Dr. Koparkar.

  Dr. Koparkar is one person who brought a different meaning to the notion of beauty parlors in the city of Pune. He was the first person who thought of starting a parlor exclusively for male who until then used to visit barber for their work. He was the first to introduce the concept of male salon and convinced people that it is as necessary for a man to groom himself as it is for women. He thus began parlors separately for male and female in different parts of the city.

  While asked about the history of the parlors in the city and how parlors came in the city and who were the people involved in this business, he goes on to say that the credit of bringing parlors in the city goes to Maya Paranjpey who started parlors in the heart of the city for the local people who until then were not very aware and keen to go to parlors to look beautiful. She started her parlor in the city in late sixties, prior to which she had her parlors in Bombay now Mumbai. Although parlors existed in the city long back and it were mainly the British and the Anglo Indians who visited the parlors for specific reason but the contribution of Maya Paranjpey and later Veena Pitre and others lies on the fact that they were the one who brought the local Maharashtrians out of their home to the parlors to make themselves beautiful who were not very eager to go outside home to look beautiful. It can be said this way that the Maharashtrians didnt feel the necessity to go to
 parlors as every ingredients necessary for keeping the skin and hair healthy was available in their home. Every women preferred natural and home made products to look beautiful. Maya Paranjpe and later Vena Pitre started the parlors in a commercial basis and made people aware of the need of a scientific and hygienic beauty treatment. These people who started in the late sixties prepared the ground for others to involve in this business and in the late seventies and eighties parlors became a household phenomenon and in the nineties till now it is in the peak as every people beginning from a maid to a lady in the corporate sector are continuously using beauty services to be at par with the rest of the crowed. Beauty parlors have now become a necessity aspect of human life just as food and shelter.

  In Pune the number of beauty parlors can not be counted in numbers as in every second house, one can see parlors now. But still there are almost three thousand five hundred parlors in the city out of which only five to ten percent parlors are registered. Since most of the parlors are run in the household by the housewives as a side business so they really do not resister to avoid tax and other legal issues. It is mainly those few parlors who have started on a commercial basis, renting huge places, recruiting people to work for them and also training aspirants that they have done it in a proper way by registering their shop in the local municipality for the license, registering under the shop act and paying taxes as required.

  In the initials there was problems  but stating his experiences, Dr. Koparkar said that when he started his parlors in the nineteen eighty eight, people were reluctant to call themselves as beauticians as the job was not really accepted by the people mainly the Maharashtrian Brahmins, for whom this job was meant to be a lowly one. He being a doctor himself and starting a parlors that too for both men and women in separate places was very unusual but he started the parlors as he thought it was very necessary to bring beauty and medicalisation process for the success of the industry and also because beauty treatment in incomplete without medical intervention since it is a science. Beauty therapy needs knowledge of anatomy and physiology which the doctors can able to grasp faster and give a better service to the clients. Although with the international examination on the beauty courses, even the beauty therapists are equipped with the knowledge of anatomy and physiology and
 cater to the need of the clients yet he feels that a doctor is better equipped to deal with the various beauty problems as it requires the intervention of both internal and external physiology. It is a process of healing specific problems which needs both medical care and beautification. He was the first one in Pune city who being a doctor did his beauty therapy course both from local schools and later did his CIDESCO course and specialized in hair dressing. He made an honest confession by stating that he did not want to do business with his medical profession and at the same time wanted to earn lot of money which his medical profession would not give so he thought of joining the beauty industry as he could perceive the prospect in this field in future. It is such an industry which will never experience loss and the demand will be ever present. Since he was the first one to get involved in this business, he faced ridicule from various people but at the same time he feels
 that the press and other media supported him in his endeavor and slowly the business started gaining momentum. It was quite a new concept in the eighties to start a parlor for men as till then parlor was meant to be a female arena so it took some time for people to accept it as men mainly visited barber for their hair cut and savings but this parlor gave a space to men to go beyond hair dressing and do other treatment which are essential for men as well as women. In those days he hardly had any as most of the people were not aware of the concept but now the situation has changed and lot many people visit the parlor for different reason. Dr. Koparkar in fact feels that there is nothing like men and women when it comes to beautification as for  both men and women, looking good and groomed is essential as it gives a different kind of confidence  to the self but from a business point of view it is essential to start  a parlor as per the need and views of the people; for
 example he has an unisex parlor but then this type of parlor wont work in a very conservative part of the city where people have orthodox views so it is necessary to separate womens and mens parlors.

  He feels that now it has become a common phenomenon for men to visit parlors but still they shy away and prefers not to tell family and friends about their visit. Moreover the people who are working also keeps their profession a secret from the family as still now hair cutting is a taboo and a low job for many. Dr. Koparkar feels that this industry gives ample scope to learn and earn a good living and it is not only the needy or the ones who does not have anything to do in life joins this profession but all those who are really serious about this profession and gives their heart and soul to it, spending huge amount of money to complete the course and later start their own business. Beauty therapy course has become like any other professional course which the students are taking up for a bright future. It is comparatively an easy course to learn and promises money.

  As per the medicalisation process is concerned, it has become popular in the last five six years as now people are aware of the hygiene much more than people of the past. Along with it there is fear of disease and spreading infection so it has become mandatory for the beauty practitioner to provide medicalised and hygienic parlors as that keeps the client coming to the parlors regularly. Care is taken to sterilize all the equipments, clean the parlor space and use tested products to avoid any problem. People are now very much aware of the latest development in the beauty industry as they are now much more exposed to the global world and hence come the urgency of upgrading the services at regular intervals. Multi nationals are producing a great number of products but then local companies are not far behind as they are also manufacturing world class product with the natural resources available in the country so it is unto the practitioner to guide the clients in using the
 products as applicable.

  Since it is a service industry, the success lies in inter personal relationship between the clients and the therapists and if the therapists succeed in giving good service to the clients then the business in bound to flourish. Dr. Koparkar feels that the industry has immense potential and the success and demand of the business will be ever prevalent 

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