Holding on fast to the mantra - ‘hard
work is followed by success’ - Salim Pradhan, the son of poor parents of
a tea garden in the Dooars, has proved the dictum’s truth to emerge as
the favourite hairdresser for the Indian cricket team and Mumbai’s film
stars.
Salim moved to Bangalore at the tender
age of 12 in search of work unable to endure the pathetic life his
parents were leading to make ends meet in Patharjhora tea garden of the
Dooars.
According to Salim, he initially worked
in the salons of Bangalore as a cleaner and gradually learned the art of
hairdressing by watching experts at work. His lucky break came the day
when a salon owner asked him to use a pair of scissors to dress a
customer’s hair. Everybody present was amazed by Salim’s talent as he
went about working with the finesse of an expert.
Gradually, Salim started earning a name
for himself in Bangalore as a good hairdresser, and he says he started
his career from the city’s famed White Mantra Saloon. His talent was
soon recognised by leading salons across the country and he received
work offers from several of them.
The Dooars’ lad was then hired by
Bollywood actor-director Sohail Khan, the brother superstar Salman Khan,
to work at his salon named ‘Khalistha’ at Bandra, Mumbai that was being
run in partnership with Bollywood’s famous fashion designer Manik Soni.
Salim says he got the opportunity to
dress cricketers Yuvraj Singh, Murali Vijay and S Sreesanth, and film
stars such as Salman Khan, Ritesh Deshmukh and Sunny Leone, among many
others. He does not even recall the entire list of his regular
customers, who are film critics, sports personalities and politicians.
But he fondly remembers Murali Vijay and
Sreesanth as the duo always praised and encouraged him to take his
profession to new heights.
Murali used to say, “Tere hath me jadoo hai yaar” (You wield magic with your hands, my friend), recalls Salim.
Having experienced the glitter and
glamour of city life, Salim has now decided to settle down back in his
own native place. He has struck a deal with Sushma Rai Mukhia of Mirik
to open a salon in Siliguri. The partners today opened their
‘Attraction’ in town amid much fanfare. A beaming Sushma says working
with Salim will help her a lot in understanding new techniques to
satisfy customers.(EOIC)