Maheshika, craved to marvel in beauty care
Shirajiv SIRIMANE
It was our protagonist’s husband, Anil who first gave her the idea
that she should start a salon and at first the whole idea amused her
very much. She preferred staying at home and performing the daily chores
of a housewife rather than buying expensive equipment, renting houses
and employing people and most importantly going to classes and learning
a new trade.
However, pondering the idea again Maheshika Chathurani thought ’why
not give it a try,’ and then started going for classes. Maheshika,
however craved to marvel in beauty care and then decided to cater to the
up market and selected Kandy to launch Maheshi Salon & Spa opposite her
house.
With the skill and expertise she gained through the course she
followed (Professional Hair Dressing Diploma at the City and Guilds)
Maheshi slowly buy surely established her forte and today she is looking
at expanding to a carefully selected up market clientele. Today one has
to make an appointment several days in advance is they are to get her
service.
“I am looking at taking two floors of my house to traverse specially
the spa business,” she said. Under this development a new car park too
would be built with an investment of around Rs. 15 million. She also
said that she is now happy that she gave up the idea of becoming a
doctor and ventured into spa and a saloon business.
Maheshika Chathurani with a customer |
“This is a challenging job but I like it,” she said. She opined that
one of the gray areas in Kandy was the lack of a professional salon for
body scrubs and she stepped in to this area and has opened a special
area for this.
She said that one of her specialties is the use of branded products
specially imported form Europe. “This is the main reason for the high
end clientele to come to us,”she emphasized.
The success prompted her to follow more advanced education which in
turn helped her to give out better ‘solutions’ for her customers. “I
also attend regular seminars and also use the internet to update my
knowledge in the industry,” he said.
Maheshi Saloon & Spa also participate in fashion shows and she has
stood as a judge in many contests in the arena. Commenting on the salon
and spa business, she lamented that today every body is opening out
salons with huge advertising. However customers are puzzled in the quest
to find a quality salon. Using cosmetics and beauty care products should
not be done haphazardly as it could lead to skin disorders which need
treatment. “It is high time that authorities take some meaningful steps
in this regard,” she added. |