Gurdaspur Diary: For Harleen Kaur, beauty is not just skin deep

There is a saying that whatever is in the beauty salon, remains in the salon. Reason enough why the dapper Harleen Kaur never discloses the secrets of her trade except to the women whom she is training. Cheap beauty parlours, run by amateurs, can be seen dime a dozen in the city’s innumerable alleys. However, it is rare to see a fully trained cosmetologist working in the city. Harleen Kaur belongs to the latter category. She has a diploma and has done a correspondence course in cosmetology— the science of beautifying the hair, skin and face — from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. Cosmetologists indeed bring out the beauty in a woman. She does exactly that! When Romesh Mahajan, Secretary of the District Child Welfare Council (DCWC), was scouting for an expert who could impart free training to women in the newly established beautification centre on the premises of the DCWC centre, he had to look no further than Harleen Kaur. Her mother, Parminder Kaur, is a regular at training women in the basics of computers. Already, 15 women have joined the beautification centre. It was inaugurated early this week by Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal.

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Harleen imparts training in three batches per day. The centre is a collaborative effort with the Universal Development and Awareness of Nation (UDAN). The UDAN man here is the hard working, diligent and the ever so humble Baljeet Singh who ensures that everything is spick and span at the centre. Harleen says contrary to popular perception, her job is not an easy one. “My comb is not a magic wand. I am a beautician, not a magician. A lot of hard work is required in my profession. For me, beauty comes from inside. While working, I take a lot of care about doing hair because hair is the crown you will always have to wear,” she said. The woman indeed is setting a new trend here in Gurdaspur. She also sounds a warning to Romeos roaming around her centre. Always be nice to the person who is holding scissors next to your head!

Railway underpass to be functional soon

The much awaited Tibri road railway under-bridge will be fully functional from August 14. Work on it had started several months ago. The ambitious project has overrun its deadline on at least a dozen occasions. Once operational, it will breathe life into the city. Serpentine queues used to be witnessed when a train would pass. The city faced massive traffic snarls as vehicles used to pile up on both sides of the road. Senior AAP leader Raman Bahl said, “There will be no more delays. It will be a red-letter day for Gurdaspur when the venture finally is thrown open to the public,” said Bahl.

(Contributed by Ravi Dhaliwal)