CHENNAI : I don’t get pedicures and manicures done regularly. For me, it’s a beauty routine that needs attention prior to a family event or a social function. But Kumar Manthiram and his wife Shashi Kumar have managed to convince me otherwise. The couple who run the Foot Fetish Salon in Kilpauk, recently launched their second outlet, exclusively for pedicure, manicure and head massages at Anna Nagar East.
“I believe a man/woman’s prestige lies in their feet,” says Kumar as he instructs Selvam, my pedicurist, to set up the service. Kumar has worked in several parlours in Mumbai before moving to Chennai in 1995.
He set up his first salon in 2006. “I noticed that people never take care of their feet. Everyone gets a facial regularly, but the feet are forgotten,” he says. The second outlet focuses only on relaxation. “These days, people don’t have time to take a proper bath. They don’t have time to relax. Here, you can put your feet up, and relax,” he says. Kumar hopes to open 100 such salons and employ people with hearing and speech disability. The salon is cosy. There are four recliners in the main area and three inside a room. To ensure privacy, each recliner is separated by a bamboo curtain. “If you come alone or with your own group, and would like your privacy, you can pull the curtains down,” he says as I settle in on the oh-so-comfortable chair. I look down and find a basin with some intricate designs. I’m in for a royal treatment.
Apart from Selvam, Purnima and Neha from Darjeeling are at my service. While Purnima gets me ready for a relaxing dry head massage, Neha, my manicurist, and Selvam are all set with their equipment. Purnima’s warm hands instantly make me forget that I am here for work. Selvam fills the basin with warm water and mixes vanilla salt into it. Neha and Selvam work in tandem, cutting and filing my nails before asking me to dip my hands in a bowl and legs in the basin.
The trio work their charm to leave me with a supple skin. Kumar chimes in, “We leave you with baby feet in an hour.” He also advices me to get the services done at least once a month if not once in 20 days. “Earlier, every household had a stone and people regularly cleaned them. But now we don’t. It’s always best to take care of your feet as all the nerves end in the feet,” he explains.The salon offers six different flavours and I’m given a peppermint-vanilla pedicure and manicure. After 30 minutes of taking off dried layers and cuticles, Selvam and Neha scrub my legs and hands respectively and then apply a mask. The last 15 minutes of the service is something you need to look forward to. After the mask is washed off, Neha gives me a full-hand massage. And Selvam continues to take care of my feet. At the end of the blissful session, I’m left energised.