Bleacing, dyeing, jahaji and hairdresser talk...

"Dis uncle does sand pun he word", the young woman said in the hairdressing salon.
I had returned to cut my hair. My barber preaches on a Wednesday - and he never has to ask me what to be done on the hair.

I was walking on the road, when I saw a slight, woman, wearing spectacles, beckoning to me "Come , come"and I said .."Who, me?" and she said yes.. she had seen me at mandir she said. "I cut gent's hair".. and I said okay, but I have a barber..
She said to still give her a try. I went and came back.

She asked me how I wanted it .. I said well, low like.. .. I said that 'I usualy tell the barber to mek me look nice'.. the young woman said .. but you is a handsome man.
I would not hear this in a barber shop

The hairdresser, the young woman and me in the Salon.
 Barber shop gaff is different.

I asked how long she had been doing this work - it seemed almost thirty years.  "Do you dye your hair" she asked me, and I said no no.. but plenty man dyeing their hair. Dye is not good, you have to keep doing it. I notice that her hair was dyed and I thought I should shut up now.  Young woman said.. nuff man bleaching too! I said.. before anybody said anything about where to bleach.. that it is not good , burn your skin, hairdresser agreed with me.. those things not good for your skin. Young woman said.. yep. Kartel bleach, and Alkaline bleach and that she hear that even Mavado bleaching now.

We gotta talking about God. Young woman it seems used to be Hindu, "I did pooja, went to the river, jandhi..but things were not working, so I tried something different.. and things are working out okay" The hairdresser and I both agreed, it is okay .. you have your spirituality. Once you not killing or robbing or beating anybody... we didn't say anything though about the pooja and how it had not worked for her'

Conversation somehow turned to family, and work. Hairdresser and me talked about jahaji family .. young woman asked 'What is jahaji family?".. i was sad that this had been forgotten. I did not konw if she knew about indentureship. Hairdresser and me
explained.. jahaji family are the people who came on the boat together.. lived in logies and were considered family, their children did not marry each other and so.

More than 170 years after the first ship came, and 50 years of independence.. I guess it was easier to know more about the bleaching habits of Jamaican dancehall artistes than the family bonding of the coolie people who came.

Hairdresser finished. She asked "would you like me to trim your eyebrows" and I said, eh eh, no way.. and she said 'that's okay, you have nice eyebrows, keep them like that '.. I would never hear this in my barber shop either.

As we parted, she said - well hope you come back. I said, I not sure.. and she laughed and said well, you could alternate.. one time with your barber and one time with me.

I would never never never hear anything about a man alternating with a man and a woman in my barbershop.