TIRUPPUR: Only the snips of scissors punctuated the silence as the man getting his hair cut, partly unaware of the happenings, finally seemed to develop a trust for the hairdresser and the group of volunteers who had expressed to help him out.
Squatted by the roadside, the unhesitating barber parted the homeless man’s strands of hair that had not seen a wash or a comb in years. Tufts of unkempt grays and blacks hit the ground one by one, and when the barber was done, the scissors had also snipped away at the stigma. The volunteers then assisted the man in getting a bath and provided him with a meal.
Once or twice every month, mostly on Sundays, in Pothampalayam village along the border of Tiruppur district, the 45-year-old hairdresser, N Deivaraj, and the volunteers of ‘New Deiva City Trust’, one that he has been running since 2000, stick to the ritual – offering a free haircut to destitute people and individuals struggling with mental health issues, neglected by their families and the society, living on the roadside.
The volunteers of the trust, which still operates out of a building unfinished due to lack of funds, besides providing free haircuts to homeless people, have also rescued, over the two decades, nearly a total of 5,000 individuals and assisted them in getting a place at a shelter home. The founder of the organisation said he has so far given free haircuts and a meal to around 35,000 such individuals.
In 2000, Deivaraj, who had taken up his grandfather’s profession after being unable to pursue schooling post-Class 10, began the initiative by visiting homeless individuals on weekends and offering them free haircuts. Reflecting on the precursory actions, Deivaraj said, “Initially, I extended help through my profession, occasionally giving free haircuts. It was only after settling down in Tiruppur I founded the trust, which was formally registered only in 2009.”
Years of coming across people living on the roadside, especially during his schooling at his native Kattaripatti in Karur district, and being unable to provide them with anything has developed the resolve to consistently carry out work over the decades, he said. After organising free monthly hairdressing camps, along with all the volunteers who have turned up, we started receiving requests from a lot of people, he said.
“Used to being neglected, homeless individuals often shrink from strangers, even when we reach out with compassion. Some speak a word or two after getting a haircut, while some open up only when they recognise your intentions. After some of them requested us to offer accommodation, we started helping them get admitted to orphanages and shelters,” said Deivaraj.
Though he managed to organise camps and rescue individuals, building a shelter for the homeless people turned out to be the will-o’-the-wisp that Deivaraj has been chasing after for decades. “Homeless shelters are reluctant to support individuals with physical disabilities,” he said, “and lack of funds and sponsors have made establishing one such shelter elusive.”
The organisation has an ambulance for rescue works and has even acted upon requests from outside the district. Besides, it is also engaged in performing the funeral rites for the orphaned dead. “We have performed the last rites for about 2,000 deceased individuals. Sometimes, we get sponsors, and for the rest, we spend out of our pockets,” said Deivaraj, who became a tea seller after moving from Aathupalayam to Pothampalayam.
Sivagami, who married Deivaraj when she was 21, runs a petty shop in the village, and the two have five kids, including two children, whom they adopted after their father – a friend of the couple – passed away. Sivagami said, “Once I understood my husband’s intentions, I never hesitated to travel with him. The money could be spent towards the development of the family, however, it is not greater than the satisfaction we get from the service.”
From time to time, the trust building has sheltered surprising visitors. Recalling one such incident, Sivagami said one Marimuthu (55) from Pollachi in Coimbatore district, due to a disagreement with his family, lived alone in Tiruppur. After a stroke left him unable to tend to his needs, he developed lesions in his body. “When the trust rescued him from the roadside, we admitted him to a government hospital. After his family refused to take care of him, Marimuthu stayed in the trust for six months, during which period we treated the lesions. In December last, he was reunited with his family,” she said.
The family has found a kindred spirit in R Parthasarathy (66), an orphan from Thoothukudi who lost his job at a knitwear firm after an accident three years ago had severely injured his arm and leg, forcing him to go homeless.
“I fought hard to overcome hunger. I did not know whom to turn to for help. In early 2024, the trust found out about me and rescued me. Till now, I’m living with the Deivaraj family, who serve me the food they eat.”