TIRUPPUR: It was a hazily lit afternoon in 2007 and a cold breeze swept through the never-ending paddy fields. Deivaraj slowly approached the elderly man, sleeping completely naked along a drainage channel at Marudamalai near Coimbatore. Waking him up, Deivaraj asked, “Do you want to get a haircut?” He repeated the question, as the old man remained silent. Finally, after much effort, he along with the help of a friend, managed to shave his head, bathe him and doll him up in a shirt and dhoti. As they were about to leave, the man came to Deivaraj and said, “Thank you,” – the fee for the haircut.
This was one such instance, where the 47-year-old Karur native, N Deivaraj, travelled hours from Tiruppur to help a destitute man get a makeover in life. He along with his three brothers — Shanmugaraj, Sundaraj, and Selvaraj — run salons in Tiruppur city and give hundreds of old, mentally ill and homeless people free haircuts, a way to bring a ray of light to their otherwise, miserable lives. He also heads a small group of hairdressers working for the same cause. “I believe helping a destitute is like serving God,” he says.
This Class 10 dropout, however, gives all the credit for his good deeds to his late father, Namasivayam, an ex-serviceman, who taught his children to dedicate a portion of their income to philanthropic works. “Following the footsteps of my father, I started to keep 50% of my income for helping people, when I started my own salon in 2000,” he explains.
Initially, Deivaraj offered aid to poor children in government schools and used to distribute study materials to them. Later he started giving free haircuts for them. On the eve of 2003 Independence Day, he, his brothers, and six other hairdressers organised a haircut camp, where they gave free makeovers to over 600 boys. The camp was then extended for 15 days.
But in 2005, he found a homeless man on the road, which changed the course of his life. Reliving the life-altering incident, he says, “I was travelling along the Kumaran Road when I found an elderly man lying on Noyyal bridge. Wearing dirty clothes, he had a long beard and matted hair, which seemed like never been near a salon for at least four years. Though I attempted to have a conversation with him, he remained silent and ignored me. I informed my brothers, with whom I approached the man again the next day. We talked to him for hours, gained his trust, and shaved his head. After a bath, we made him wear new clothes.Throughout this time, the old man remained still but smiled at the end. That was enough for us.”
The journey was never a cakewalk for him. Apart from financial struggle, Deivaraj had to deal with violent people, who were not in their right minds. Sharing one such experience he says, “In 2006, one of my friends, directed me to a mentally ill woman in Gobichettipalayam. When I reached the place, locals warned that the woman could become violent. But we decided to take the risk. As I tried to explain about our service, she narrowed her eyes and slapped me on the face. Despite the pain, I asked her to beat me more. This made the woman still. She then said she wanted nobody to touch her and only later we understood that the woman was a victim of sexual harassment. I assured her that we would never hurt her and slowly, she accepted our service.”
He also offers free service at orphanages. Senthilnathan, manager of Vivekananda Sevalayam says, “Deivaraj’s service is incomparable and he has been consistent in helping society for more than 20 years. I run an orphanage for children in Thirumuruganpoondi for the past 17 years and he has been offering hairdressing for our boys.”
For the past 15 years, Deivaraj has conducted several hundred camps across TN and changed the lives of thousands of destitute people. Talking about future plans, Deivaraj explained that he is planning to construct an old age home in Sevur and continue his service.
(Edited by Sneha Joseph)