Cuts and manes that have lasted decades

AN John, a very English barber shop in its earlier years, has consistently kept up with the times.

For a very long time, the only decent place to get a haircut in Kolkata (rather Calcutta, which is a different city) was AN John. For some, it still is "" despite the Habibs, Bridgette Jones, and others.

Founded in 1951, AN John, on the Queens Mansion arcade in Park Street, is the "oldest salon" in the city according to Raman Bharadwaj, the grandson of its founder, AN Bharadwaj (he took on the working name "John", knowing it would work better with his English clients), who now runs the show.

His grandfather, informs Raman, trained at the East London Hair Academy in the 1930s, and for a while ran salons in Lahore, Mussoorie, Simla, Bombay and Delhi before settling down to run the one in this eastern cosmopolis.

An old-timer who visited the salon in the days of the legendary Gina (and then followed her to Silhouette at the Grand Hotel) says it was like a Wild West salon then, complete with wooden swinging doors.

Raman calls it more of an English barber shop. Today, of course, the place sports a very contemporary look, having undergone three renovations since the 90s.

AN John, unlike most other old institutions, has changed with the times, the reason it continues to be around still. And it has grown "" in 2005, it opened another outlet at Salt Lake's City Centre mall and this year, it opened a Hair Academy.