Elderly Barber Continues Traditional Craft Amidst Modernization in Janakpur
Summary
In Janakpurdham, 66-year-old Ramnarayan Thakur keeps cutting hair and shaving beards in an open-air stall near Janaki Temple, even as modern salons and home grooming tools draw away customers. His ancestral trade, once busy in Janakchok, now survives on a handful of daily customers and a small income.
Key Points
- Ramnarayan Thakur has worked for 24–25 years from an open-air stall near Janaki Temple in Janakpurdham, using only basic tools and a wooden stool setup.
- He says the rise of modern salons, parlors, and home grooming appliances has sharply reduced the number of customers for traditional barbers.
- The profession runs in his family, as his father, Devachan Thakur, also worked as a barber at Dhanush Sagar pond for decades.
- Despite the changes in Janakchok and the decline in earnings, Ramnarayan continues the ancestral trade every day while his son works in Qatar.
