FROM THE ITC MAURYA, NEW DELHI

          “ONE DAY MY DREAM WILL COME TRUE"

"Oh no, Prime Minister Narendra Modi can look more handsome; his beard trimming can be improved and his hairstyle can also be better. I have written to Modi in this regard and I am waiting for his reply" lamented Kusumlatha.

Yes, Kusumlatha - the hairstylist in ITC Maurya, New Delhi is very different.

She has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to give her a chance to cut his hair and trim his beard. "One day" she added, "my dream will come true".

I had met Kusum in the salon, part of the Spa of this iconic hotel. That was in the first week of May 2016. She impressed me with her professionalism. Whether it was her talk lines or light head massage or the face massage - I will give her full marks for everything.

At the same time I was very surprised and inspired to listen to her story. I met her separately to write this blog story. Behind the successful hairstylist was the story of gut wrenching pain and heart break.

She got married in 1980. God blessed her with two sons. After eighteen years of marriage she got divorced. She left her village in Uttar Pradesh and reached New Delhi in 2001. She opted to sharpen her skills in hairstyling- joined Habib's academy; flew to Malaysia to further enhance her skills in hairstyling, got trained for 20 days in Clipso Academy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. What I could infer is that Kusum used her hardships and traumas for substantial creative and intellectual development. What impressed me further was that she was so cool while narrating her life’s journey.

Seeing things with a fresh pair of eyes which was conducive to her personal growth and long term relationship with guests is her real strength.

Believe me, her clientele includes high profile politicians/ the super-rich / celebrities of Delhi, embassy staff members including many an ambassadors of different countries stationed at Delhi. On one occasion the ambassador of Nigeria gave her a tip of Rs, 25,000/-(Rupees twenty five thousand) as he was so impressed with Kusum's service delivery.

Kusum always thinks big. Born in Pichokra village in Uttar Pradesh she is a postgraduate in Indian History. Her elder son Akshay Kumar (24) is a businessman, younger son Ajay Kumar is a B.Com first year student. He is studying at Dehradun. Kusum has also visited Dubai and Hong Kong.

She is very grateful to Alem - her colleague. It was Alem who encouraged her to sharpen her skills in hairstyling. Their first meeting was in 2003 at Habib's academy, New Delhi. They were classmates.

What I liked in Kusum is that she is hard wired to perform at her best. She focuses on what is truly important to the guests and nothing else.

"Oh, she is our heroine at the Spa" jocularly added Gurpreet Kaur, the Spa Manager at ITC Maurya, New Delhi.

Text and Pictures: R Kesava Mallia in New Delhi.