For many Indians, a childhood haircut meant a ₹20 cut, a trip to the local saloon with dad and a loud Kumar Sanu song playing somewhere in the background. Now, an Instagram user has turned those familiar memories into a website that lets people relive the era through its music.
In a now-viral Instagram post, user Yash Bhardwaj revealed that he created a website featuring songs commonly heard at Indian barbershops. The idea quickly struck a nostalgic chord with thousands of people who grew up listening to the same tracks during their childhood haircut trips.
Sharing a video about the project, Bhardwaj explained the inspiration behind the website. He said, “I built a website that lets you listen to all the banger music at Indian barber shops. This
should remind you of a time where haircuts used to be 20 rupees.
You would go to a saloon with your dad, not a salon, and they’ll have pictures of Zayn Malik and all these cool references, but they’ll give you a katora cut anyways. Let me know if you want me to add more songs. Right now it’s very dominated by Kumar Sanu. He’s the GOAT of barber shop and truck driver music.”
The nostalgia-filled post resonated strongly online and has already amassed more than 1.3 million views, 103,000 likes and 1,700 comments. While many users loved the idea of recreating the quintessential Indian barbershop atmosphere through music, others reflected on how nostalgia works and whether recreating old memories can ever truly capture the original feeling.
One user praised the concept while suggesting an interactive version of the experience. They wrote, “Great design, a live one would be much greater and also a option to have a POV option and have a haircut (kat-aura cut 😂) would be a banger love your initiative BTW ❤️🙌”
Another user questioned whether nostalgia is best left as a memory rather than recreated physically, saying, “Is it just me, or does anyone else think nostalgia is better when it stays in your head or exists as a part of conversation? Like The moment you try to physically reconstruct it into something tangible, it somehow kills the magic.”
For some, however, the website brought back memories of the complete barbershop experience, including the rather intense head massages. A user commented, “Then leave with a headache after an aggressive champi and piercingly high pitched singing from these songs.”
Another admitted that the viral project had made them nostalgic for an experience they had never personally had, writing, “I never thought I’d have FOMO of going to a men’s saloon😢”
The nostalgia also extended beyond barbershops, with one user recalling another collection of songs associated with Indian truck journeys. They said, “Saw this on Twitter and damn it was soo good also found another one of banger of truck songs that’s so goood man.”
With Kumar Sanu tracks, old-school haircut memories and the unmistakable atmosphere of neighbourhood barbershops, Bhardwaj’s project appears to have tapped into a shared cultural memory.
