Tullahram Dass, your traditional barber

By Naomi Parris

SOME may call him old fashioned or even vintage, but his way of doing things gets the job done, whether it’s a ‘fade’ or just a simple haircut.
Sixty-three-year-old Tullahram Dass is a barber who, for the past 50 years, has never traded in his pair of trusty scissors for the updated electrical razors.
Sharing the details of his life, Tullahram popularly known as ‘Tullah’ disclosed that he started barbering as a means of getting by in life to provide for himself; however, he quickly fell in love with the craft.

“I was out of school, parents were separated and I had to get up and get and start the work early at age 14. I had nobody to look out for me. I had to look out for myself and that is how I start,” he explained.
‘Tullah’ recalled cutting and grooming people’s hair along the streets of Georgetown before formally working in a barbershop along with his brother-in-law.

After working some 22 years in the shop, Tullah decided that it was time for him to start his own enterprise.
Once you spot a classic Wolseley, PS 874, parked at Light Street, Alberttown, ‘Tullah’ is most likely in the barber’s shop, doing to a grateful client what he does best.
His shop is not one that can be easily missed as it is one with a vintage look and vibe. Passersby and customers can hear the tunes of his pet birds or sounds of the FM radio emanating from the doors and windows indicating that he is open for business.

PRESERVING THE TRADITION
What really sets him aside from the barbers of today is his ability to do any style and haircut with just his scissors and comb.
If one were to sit in his chair, they would surely leave as a brand new person. His love for the art and skilful technique are what keep his customers from the days of him just being a lad learning a trade, coming back.

“When I first started, they didn’t have machine so we used to use razor and comb and scissors and comb,” he said.
The razor, he added, “was sharpened on a set stone and then you strap it on a leather, but this right now is razor blade.”
“In order to become a barber, you have to have love for the profession; a dedication, a passion to please each customer that sits to have themselves groomed,” he told the Pepperpot magazine.
The man stated that it is love for the profession and value he has for his customers or client’s appearance that are the reasons he is considered one of the most senior barbers in the country, and one of the few who mostly use scissors.

A SOLACE IN TIME OF TRAGEDY
For ‘Tullah,’ barbering is not only a job and a source of income, but it is also a comforter in times of tragedy.
Wanting to pass on the tradition, Tullah taught his son the trade and shared his talents with his son. Working along with his son was one of his most prideful and biggest accomplishments.
His son, he recalled, had just completed his secondary education and was gradually walking in his footsteps to make a name for himself in the trade when his life was unfortunately taken away from him by a speeding drunk driver.

Shortly after Tullah’s wife also passed away after a long battle with brain cancer.
In these times of sorrow and loss, ‘Tullah’ noted that it was his love for barbering and the appreciation he would receive from his clients that kept him together.
Today the chair his son once worked in is occasionally filled by his grandson, whom he is currently teaching the art of cutting hair.

MODERNISATION
‘Tullah’ admitted that he does sometimes use the electrical machine; however, his loyalty still belongs to his trusty scissors.
“I cutting hair with machine too, but the young barbers nowadays now don’t know to use scissors; they only know to use strictly machine,” he said.
The machine, he added, limits a barber’s talents, while the scissors or traditional blade allows for more freedom; however, he noted that many of the youngsters today prefer the easier way of doing things.

“Young people looking for the easier way out all the trades, carpentry, trade, mason trade is electrical tool all of them looking for,” he said.
Tullah says not all barbers can “properly cut or deal with” various types and textures of hair…or shapes of heads. He says the reason for this limitation is that most new barbers depend totally on appliances such as the electric trimmer.
He says many of the current crop of barbers have entered the profession not for the love of cutting hair, but for the monetary benefit.