Meet Raju
    -   Barber,

          Disciplinarian,

                      & Friend

Mr Sinniah Thangarasu, 69, has been the ACS Barker Road resident barber since 1978, when the National Cadet Corps then wanted to standardize the haircuts of its cadets. Apart from students, his customers now include Old Boys, prominent businessmen, civil servants, doctors and even alumni from rival schools!

Affectionately known as Mr Raju, Uncle Raju or simply Raju, his customers have faithfully followed him from the old Barker Road swimming complex to Swiss Cottage (during the construction of the current Barker Road campus), and then back to the present Barker Road Sports Centre. Some Old Boys working or studying overseas still go back to him for their hair cuts on their visits back to Singapore. To one of them, ‘Raju is as much an ACS icon as is the Clock Tower’!

Old boy Mr Tony Chan Wing Khei is one of Raju’s many satisfied customers. “I first discovered Raju when I used to take my sons to swim at the old Barker Road swimming pool. I was pleased with the results and have been going back to him ever since. That was over 25 years ago!” 

Raju grooming the hair of Mr Tony Chan Wing Khei, an old boy and satisfied customer of Raju
for more than 25 years.

When Raju first opened shop, he charged $1.30 and $1.50 per haircut for students and adults respectively. 27 years later, he now charges $6, $7 and $9 per haircut for primary students, secondary/college students, and adults respectively. Despite these very reasonable prices in today’s context, he says that most schoolboys don’t support him nowadays, preferring to go to expensive and trendy unisex salons. Gone are also the days when he used to receive 10-20 students a day.

“Not too short please, Uncle Raju!” – Keith Wong,
P1 ACS (Barker Road) seems to be pleading!

Goh Teng Wee, Nursery ACS (Barker), looks relaxed
and comfortable as Raju puts on the finishing touches.

Mr Raju has a no nonsense attitude. He expects clients, both young and old to be punctual for their appointments. He is very firm with mischievous and fidgety young children and thus able to keep them still when cutting their hair. A parent commented that she brought her son to a few barbers before discovering Mr Raju, concluding that only Mr Raju could control her son.

Old age and health problems may see Raju retiring next year. Many of his customers are going to miss the relaxing shaves on the reclined barber chair, the scalp massages with the “cooling lotion”, the Dettol hot tower face wipes, and many more reassuring touches that he will take with him when he calls it a day.

Article & photographs by Derrick Choo

Having already had his hair cut, Richard Tan, P2
ACS (Barker Road), waits while his father Dr Geoffrey
Tan (an ACS Old Boy) gets his hair cut.

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